IRS Collections: Reality or Scam?
IRS collections just got more complicated for taxpayers that owe back taxes. It seems like almost every day there’s a news story about the latest IRS tax scam or stolen identity data dump. It’s gotten so bad that the IRS has even taken to posting on You Tube about Tax Scams and Identity Theft.
Tax Scams and Identity Theft
Well it just got harder to tell the good guys (okay, the Internal Revenue Service, but you get the point) from the really bad guys, that is, the tax scammers. You see, the IRS recently announced that it has started using private collection agencies to assist it with IRS collections over the phone and by mail. As if it wasn’t already hard enough to tell an IRS revenue officer or agent from a scammer, now taxpayers have to try to distinguish between a legitimate private collection agency assisting with the IRS collections process, and a thief posing as one! And if you think you’ve got it bad, think about how difficult it must be for those that are recent immigrants to this country; those for whom English is a second language, or worse yet, those that come from a country where tax fraud and corruption is the rule rather than the exception. The fact that the IRS has a warning notice to them about these exact problems is probably of little consolation, given that if they don’t speak English, Spanish or understand sign language, it’s unintelligible.
IRS Notice IR-2017-86
In its most recent attempt to assist taxpayers to clarify the players, the Internal Revenue Service today issued another notice, IR-2017-86, entitled How to know it’s really the IRS calling or knocking on your door. In it, the IRS clarifies that those of its employees involved with IRS collections fall into one of three categories: IRS revenue officers, who may make unannounced visits to a taxpayer’s home or business; IRS criminal investigators, who may also make unannounced visits to a taxpayer’s home or business; and IRS revenue agents, who may sometimes visit a taxpayer being audited, but only after first mailing the taxpayer written notice of the audit.
Get The Help You Need
If you owe back taxes, and have been visited by an IRS revenue officer, IRS criminal investigator, or IRS revenue agents, call one of our Upstate New York tax attorneys or New York City tax attorneys today. With over 30 years’ experience and with offices in Albany, New York City, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica and Watertown,we have a New York tax that can help you too.
by Joseph M. Callahan, Esq.
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