The IRS is Buckling Down on the Ability for Criminals to Steal Your Tax Refund

The beginning of the year brought with it the “new year, new you” phrase as well as the “tax season,” and the discussion among citizens regarding their attempt to file their taxes. And as many individuals struggle to gather their information required to efficiently apply their entire amount of deductions in hopes of less tax having to be paid in, there are other aspects of tax season that once had many concerned about. That was the ability of a criminal to steal your identity, commit tax fraud, and leave you with the burden of it all to deal with.

If you were the unfortunate victim of such a crime, lucky for you, not only can you obtain legal support from a Texas tax fraud attorney to aid you in your case, but the good news for 2016 tax filers is that the IRS, and the actions they are putting into place to decrease criminal activity will make it more difficult to steal your personal information and your tax refund.

CNN Money announced on June 11, 2015 that the IRS, state tax administrators, and those companies involved in the tax industry are working together to combat against tax fraud, and “implement stronger authentication methods to verify a taxpayer’s identity and data” for those who file taxes in 2016.

Tax legal representatives in Texas highlight below some of the ways noted in the article that are an attempt to protect citizens from becoming victims of identity theft as well as tax fraud.

• Allowing the IRS to see whether or not the computer and internet address used was a “trusted” one.

• While the tax payer’s experience won’t change when filing, the changes will more so occur on the “inside.”

• The time is takes to complete the return will be noted and flagged if deemed suspicious with the possibility of mechanized fraud occurring.

• More complicated user names and passwords created to help avert criminals from gaining access to your information.

• Tax preparers and those who use software systems to file their taxes will be reporting on a more frequent basis of any “suspicious returns or filing patterns flagged by those systems.”

With these improvements and attempts to allow individuals to safely file their taxes, remember to always take precaution when choosing the location or person you hire to prepare your return.

As tax time can be a frustrating period, being wrongfully accused of tax fraud or having your identity stolen makes matters worse and can leave you feeling helpless. Should you have been victimized by a tax criminal and face fines for tax fraud, do not wait any longer to contact a Tax lawyer in Texas seeing that the longer you push the matter off, the worse it can only get.