HCTT-2015-17: Affordable Care Act Consumer Alert: Choose Your Tax Preparer Wisely
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sent this bulletin at 03/13/2015 03:09 PM EDT
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Issue Number: HCTT-2015-17Inside This IssueAffordable Care Act Consumer Alert: Choose Your Tax Preparer Wisely
The IRS reminds individuals who owe the payment that it should be made only with their tax return or in response to a letter from the IRS. The payment should never be made directly to an individual or return preparer. Most people don’t owe the payment at all because they have health coverage or qualify for a coverage exemption. The IRS has received several reports of this kind of unscrupulous activity. In some cases, return preparers have told taxpayers to make the payment directly to them, even though the taxpayer had Medicaid or other health coverage and doesn’t need to make the shared responsibility payment at all. In some parts of the country, unscrupulous return preparers are targeting taxpayers with limited English proficiency and, in particular, those who primarily speak Spanish. These preparers are asking for direct payment to them, but their reasons vary. Methods include:
If you believe you have been targeted by an unscrupulous preparer or you have been financially affected by a tax return preparer’s misconduct or improper tax preparation practices, you can report it to the IRS on Form 14157, Complaint: Tax Return Preparer. Taxpayers who are unsure if they must make a payment can use our Interactive Tax Assistant tool - Am I required to make an Individual Shared Responsibility Payment? - to help determine if they qualify for an exemption or owe the payment. Choose a Tax Preparer Carefully The vast majority of tax professionals provide honest, high-quality service. However, the IRS encourages taxpayers to avoid dishonest and unscrupulous preparers by choosing their preparer wisely. To help, the IRS offers a new, online, searchable public directory of tax preparers who currently hold professional credentials recognized by the IRS or certain other qualifications. For information on choosing a preparer, filing a complaint about an unscrupulous preparer, or using the new directory, see our Choosing a Tax Professional page on IRS.gov. Tips about Individual Shared Responsibility Payments
Find out more about the tax-related provisions of the health care law at IRS.gov/aca. Using tax preparation software is the easiest way to file a complete and accurate tax return. Visit the E-File Options page on IRS.gov for information. Thank you for subscribing to IRS Tax Tips, an IRS e-mail service. For more information on federal taxes please visit IRS.gov. This message was distributed automatically from the IRS Tax Tips mailing list. Please Do Not Reply To This Message. |