On September 22, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service and its Security Summit partners issued an alert to taxpayers and tax professionals to be on guard against fake emails purporting to contain an IRS tax bill related to the Affordable Care Act.
There have been numerous reports around the country of fraudulent notices for the tax year 2015. In general, the scam involves an email that includes a fake CP2000 notice as an attachment. The CP2000 is a notice commonly mailed to taxpayers through the United States Postal Service. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has been notified so further investigation will continue.
The IRS explains that its procedures for taxpayers who owe additional tax require taxpayers to write checks payable to the "United States Treasury " not the "I.R.S." as in the fake notice. They also advise taxpayers that they can check a notice's validity on the IRS's website by doing a keyword search. Additionally, sample notices can be seen at Understanding Your IRS Notice or Letter.
Find the full IRS warning here.
For further information on the above article contact Michael D. Machen, CPA, CVA at (334) 887-7022 or by leaving us a message below.
