B&J Bookkeeping helps all sorts of individuals and businesses with their income tax returns. It is a stressful time of year, even if you are due a refund. Scammers know all about tax time and take advantage of it. To help you get a scope of how large it is, we will share a few shocking 2022 income tax return fraud stats.
1. Victims of Tax Fraud
Hundreds of thousands of people fall victims to tax scams each year. These include anything from phishing scams to phone scams to fraudulent tax “professionals.” Each case involves the victim losing anywhere from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars – and even more in some cases.
2. Check Fraud Stats
Those of you getting a refund may enjoy the trip to the mailbox to finally receive your refund check. However, sometimes the check never comes. This is because scammers stay on top of when the Department of Treasury sends out checks. They know what the envelopes look like. Scammers then follow mail carriers at a distance to collect these checks from your mailbox and cash them as you. In fact, a whopping $5.8 billion is lost each year in stolen tax checks. You may have little to no recourse if this happens to you. We highly recommend having your refund delivered via direct deposit to avoid this.
3. Be Aware When Refunds Go Out
You may also take note of when you file your taxes and when to look for your refund, no matter which way it comes. The average wait time is 21 days after filing. However, this number can change due to a number of factors from when you file to how understaffed the IRS is. Last year, there was a large backlog of approximately 30 million returns. We expect the trend to continue for 2022.
4. Tax Evasion Statistics
It is tempting to not report income, an asset, or other form of earnings if you think you can get away with it. We cannot recommend strongly enough on going against this strategy. The U.S. alone loses approximately $190 billion in tax revenue per year due to evasion. Underreporting income is the most common cause at 84%. Individuals are most likely to underreport at 68%.
Visit the IRS site to learn more about these types of tax scams.
Get a Bookkeeper to Prevent Income Tax Return Fraud
The best way to avoid income tax return fraud and other types of scams is to get a bookkeeper to keep an eye on your books and prevent what can be extremely costly scams. Feel free to contact us if you live in Houston or the surrounding areas and want to learn more on how we can help keep your books accurate to the penny.
