IRS Warns About ‘Ghost’ Tax Preparers — How To Spot One Before It’s Too Late

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On Feb. 7, 2019, astatine the extremity of the 2nd week of filing season, the IRS issued a informing astir an emerging scam. Fraudsters posing arsenic taxation professionals were preparing and submitting returns connected behalf of unsuspecting paying clients without including their signature and Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN), arsenic required by law.

Seven years later, these alleged shade preparers stay successful a salient spot connected the IRS’ yearly “dirty dozen” taxation scams for 2026.

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Here’s what you request to cognize astir shade taxation preparers and however to debar falling unfortunate to one.

As outlined by the IRS, the fraud tin impact either an unscrupulous taxation preparer oregon an imposter posing arsenic a professional. Either way, shade preparers complaint fees to record taxation returns connected behalf of their clients, but alternatively springiness the “completed” instrumentality to clients to motion and record connected their own, without including their ain signature oregon PTIN.

They often marque bold promises astir extra-large refunds, lone to overstate income and assertion credits for which their victims don’t qualify. They marque bully connected their promise, but support the falsely inflated refund for themselves, on with the currency fees their clients paid for what they thought was morganatic taxation mentation services.

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Ghost preparers defraud some taxpayers and the national authorities by:

Gaining elaborate entree to their victims’ astir intimate idiosyncratic and fiscal information
Collecting fees without providing a morganatic service
Cheating the authorities by manufacturing inflated refunds
Keeping the refunds they cod connected behalf of victims
Submitting inaccurate oregon incomplete returns, which tin trigger IRS penalties, taxation bills oregon audits for their already victimized marks.

The National Taxpayer Advocate, an authoritative authorities service, cautioned taxpayers to beryllium alert for the pursuing reddish flags and informing signs that a shade preparer could beryllium targeting them: