As a reminder, tax season is also the season for savvy criminals to initiate their scams. As you prepare to file your tax return, here are some things to know to reduce your risk of them stealing your valuable personal information. The IRS and other experts provide these tips.

Tax season scams

The IRS typically initiates contact via mail. The IRS does not initiate contact by email or request personal or financial information in this format. On rare occasions, the IRS will call. When this happens, get the IRS agent’s name and badge number. Then hang up and call the IRS independently (not the phone number they give you). Better still, call your tax professional!

• Email phishing. If you receive a suspicious email, do not open it or click on any links. Do not reply or open attachments. Report it to phishing@irs.gov.
• Phone scams. Do not give personal information to unsolicited phone calls from the IRS, even if it looks legitimate. Scammers are getting good at spoofing legitimate phone numbers on your caller ID. Report the caller ID and callback number to the IRS using phishing@irs.gov. Put “IRS Phone Scam” in the subject line.
• Payment. Only pay the U.S. Treasury directly. Do not pay anyone else, even if they threaten you. No one is allowed to collect money directly from you.

Finally, the IRS and Federal Trade Commission have tons of material regarding these thieves and their techniques. Become familiar with them and reach out for help, as a tax professional may be able to help read through the scam.

FinCEN BOI reporting requirement on hold once again

Required filing of beneficial owner information (BOI) on FinCEN.gov continues its roller coaster judicial journey. On December 26th, the requirement to file is (for now) officially on hold once again, pending further judicial review. Last week, the injunction to halt the filing requirement was overturned, leaving your business until January 13, 2025, to file your report. Now that ruling is suspended. Go to FinCEN.gov to learn more, or contact our RRBB advisors for more information.