By Kayode Crown
al.com
(TNS)
The U.S. military is urging service members to beware of scammers as the April 15 tax filing deadline draws near.
“There are a lot of scams out there,” Susan E. Mitchell, executive director of the Armed Forces Tax Council, according to an army publication, which noted that scammers often target people by impersonating the IRS to try to get them to share personal information, by phone, text and email.
“It’s important to know that the IRS doesn’t initiate contact with taxpayers in these ways,” Mitchell added.
The military, the executive director said, is not leaving service members to manage the tax filing process alone.
They can get help navigating tax rule changes and there is a special tax preparation software they can use, called MilTax, she said.
According to Military OneSource, both the software and expert consultations are free for active-duty service members, eligible family members, survivors and recent veterans up to 365 days from their separation or retirement date.
“The great thing about the MilTax program, if they decide to do it on their own, is that the service members also have available to them tax consultants by phone 24/7 if they have questions when they’re completing their tax returns,” Mitchell said.
Due to deployments and other issues, service members can file their taxes later than April 15, with automatic two-month extension to June 15 for those stationed outside the United States and Puerto Rico, she said.
All service members, regardless of their station, according to Mitchell, can ask for extension to Oct. 15, but any tax due should be paid on time to avoid late filing penalties.
“And then of course, for anyone who’s deployed to a combat zone, the deadline for filing and paying taxes is generally extended for the period of their service in the combat zone, plus 180 days,” she added.
Photo credit: designer491/iStock
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