Fake IRS Notices

“Yikes, I got a letter from the IRS.  It says I owe money!”

Please be aware that the IRS will send you a letter for the following reasons:

  • You have a balance due.
  • You are due a larger or smaller refund.
  • They have a question about your tax return.
  • They need to verify your identity.
  • They need additional information.
  • They changed your return.
  • They need to notify you of delays in processing your return.

Did you receive the letter as an attachment to an email?  Then it is fraudulent, click on the Phishing link below to see how to handle that.

Did you receive it in the mail?  Then you must do a bit more digging.  Does it look real?

How do I know if it looks real?  It should come in an envelope with a large window that shows your address and the IRS return address.  The IRS logo should be next to their address.

That all checks out, but it still could be fake.

Do a quick online search of the return address.  It should show come up as legitimate (be sure to include the whole zip plus 4).

Look at the Social Security number:  The last 4 digits should show and they should be your SSN.  If it’s all x’s then it is suspect.

What does the letter instruct you to do?
It says that you owe money and tells you to pay right away and make the check payable to the IRS.  That is wrong on two counts.
One, the IRS never says pay and then prove you didn’t have to pay; they allow you to contest the amount you owe.

Second count?  It tells you to write the check to the IRS.  Never write a check out to the IRS always write it out to United States Treasury. Why?  Because IRS could be changed to IR Smith or something like that.

The language in the letter should be very impersonal but grammatically correct. The letter is generated by an IRS computer.  It will be addressed to you, there is usually no salutation such as Dear [your name].  It will not say: Dear taxpayer.

Links to the IRS website with more information:

https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/report-phishing

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-irs-notice-or-letter

 

Still not sure? Give us a call at 978.373.0675 and we can help you determine if it is legitimate or not.