Open Enrollment for Health Care

If you would like to enroll, renew or change your health insurance plan with the Marketplace for 2016, please be aware that the open enrollment period is now active and runs from November 1, 2015 through January 31, 2016.

Visit HealthCare.gov for more details.

Identity Theft: Tips for Taxpayers

Identity theft is a very real and serious issue. The 2015 tax season saw continued instances of identity theft.
 
According to the IRS: “Usually, an identity thief uses a legitimate taxpayer’s identity to fraudulently file a tax return and claim a refund. Generally, the identity thief will use a stolen SSN to file a forged tax return and attempt to get a fraudulent refund early in the filing season. You may be unaware that this has happened until you file your return later in the filing season and discover that two returns have been filed using the same SSN.”
 
It is important that you protect your personal information. The IRS advises the following actions to reduce the likelihood of identity theft: 

• Don’t carry your Social Security card or any document(s) with your SSN on it.
• Don’t give a business your SSN just because they ask. Give it only when required.
• Protect your financial information.
• Check your credit report every 12 months.
• Secure personal information in your home.
• Protect your personal computers by using firewalls, anti-spam/virus software, update security patches, and change passwords for Internet accounts.
• Don’t give personal information over the phone, through the mail or on the Internet unless you have initiated the contact or you are sure you know who you are dealing with.

In addition, high income earners may want to consider contracting with a personal management firm to provide monitoring services or inquire if your insurance company provides similar services. Identity fraud insurance coverage may also be included in homeowner insurance policies for protection in the event identity theft occurs.
 
For additional information click on the following links:
Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft
Tips for Taxpayer, Victims about Identity Theft and Tax Returns

Bogus IRS Phone Calls and Emails

From IRS Tax Tip 2015-20:
 
Tax scams take many different forms. Recently, the most common scams are phone calls and emails from thieves who pretend to be from the IRS. They use the IRS name, logo or a fake website to try to steal your money. They may try to steal your identity too. Here are several tips from the IRS to help you avoid being a victim of these tax scams:

The real IRS will not:

• Initiate contact with you by phone, email, text or social media to ask for your personal or financial information.

• Call you and demand immediate payment. The IRS will not call about taxes you owe without first mailing you a bill.

• Require that you pay your taxes a certain way. For example, telling you to pay with a prepaid debit card.

Be wary if you get a phone call from someone who claims to be from the IRS and demands that you pay immediately. Here are some steps you can take to avoid and stop these scams.

If you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to think that you do:

• Contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Use TIGTA’s “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” web page to report the incident.

• You should also report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov. Please add "IRS Telephone Scam" to the comments of your report.

If you think you may owe taxes:

• Ask for a call back number and an employee badge number.

• Call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS employees can help you.

In most cases, an IRS phishing scam is an unsolicited, bogus email that claims to come from the IRS. They often use fake refunds, phony tax bills, or threats of an audit. Some emails link to sham websites that look real.  The scammers’ goal is to lure victims to give up their personal and financial information. If they get what they’re after, they use it to steal a victim’s money and their identity.
If you get a ‘phishing’ email, the IRS offers this advice:

• Don’t reply to the message.

• Don’t give out your personal or financial information.

• Forward the email to phishing@irs.gov. Then delete it.

• Don’t open any attachments or click on any links. They may have malicious code that will infect your computer.

Stay alert to scams that use the IRS as a lure. More information on how to report phishing or phone scams is available on IRS.gov.
If you found this Tax Tip helpful, please share it through your social media platforms. A great way to get tax information is to use IRS Social Media. You can also subscribe to IRS Tax Tips or any of our e-news subscriptions.

Additional IRS Resources:

• Identity Protection Tips

• Identity Protection Home Page 

IRS YouTube Videos:

• Tax Scams – English | Spanish | ASL 

• Phishing-Malware – English | Spanish | ASL

• IRS Efforts On Identity Theft – English | Spanish | ASL

• IRS ID Theft FAQ – First Steps for Victims – English | Spanish | ASL

• IRS ID Theft FAQ – Going After the Bad Guys – English | Spanish | ASL

IRS Podcasts:

• Tax Scams – English | Spanish

• ID Theft: Protect Yourself from Identity Theft – English | Spanish

• IRS ID Theft FAQ – First Steps for Victims – English | Spanish

IRS ID Theft FAQ – Going After the Bad Guys – English | Spanish