Dallas Gagnon
masslive.com (TNS)
The IRS has long warned taxpayers of scams targeting them and their personal and financial data, particularly around tax season.
The IRS reminds taxpayers to stay vigilant against all the schemes scammers come up with to try and steal their money, information and data, while also warning taxpayers to be smart about filing decisions they make.
“Scammers are relentless, and they use the guise of tax season to try tricking taxpayers into falling into a variety of traps,” Terry Lemons, IRS communications senior adviser, said in a statement.
“These red flags can lead to everything from identity theft to being misled into claiming tax credits for which they’re not entitled.”
While scams are always a concern for the IRS, the agency is issuing a warning about a “growing concern,” during this tax season.
The agency warns false, misleading and overall bad advice shared on social media can lead taxpayers to file incorrectly — sometimes leading to identity theft or other tax issues which may result in filers facing criminal charges.
“Social media platforms routinely circulate inaccurate or misleading tax information, including on TikTok where people share wildly inaccurate tax advice. Some involve urging people to misuse common tax documents like Form W-2,” the IRS said.
The IRS warns people not to fall for bogus advice from people online not affiliated with the IRS, tax professionals or other reputable sources.
Taxpayers who file fraudulent tax returns can face “significant civil and criminal penalties.”
Examples of bad tax advice
A common social media scam circulating this tax season is a bogus “Self Employment Tax Credit,” the IRS warns.
Social media users claim the nonexistent credit is a way for self-employed and gig workers to score an extra payment related to the COVID-19 pandemic period.
In reality, the IRS says the credit being falsely advertised is a much more limited and technical credit called the Credits for Sick Leave and Family Leave.
Another piece of misleading tax “advice” spreading on social media relates to the Employee Retention Credit, in which some social media users falsely claim many taxpayers can qualify for up to $32,000 in credits when that’s not the case at all.
The IRS encourages filers to get more information from its website about the credits they are actually eligible to avoid filing incorrectly.
©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit masslive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Tags: Income Taxes, IRS, tax scam, Taxes
