Last Minute Tax Tips
Tuesday April 17th BEFORE Midnight:
We may have a little extra time for this years' IRS deadline to file our 2011 Tax Returns.
But there's still plenty of taxpayers with last minute questions.
The IRS's service center in Plantation's been busy for the past few weeks as Tuesdays' midnight deadline approaches.
It turns out one of the biggest problems this year facing taxpayers is Refund I-D fraud: Taxpayers finding out somebody else has already filed for their tax refunds and ripped off their id.
Tax Refund theft is a national epidemic that's expected to exceed last years' $6 Billion dollars losses.
Harvey tried filing his tax return a few days ago and found out somebody else used his I-D to fill-out a bogus return and steal his refund. He says "It's kinda scary, you hear about this stuff all the time but when it happens to you you're like wow..this stuff really works".
The IRS says it's trying to crack down on identity thieves and has already changed the way it processes tax returns.
Mike Dobzinski of the IRS explains "We've implemented new i-d theft filters when the returns come in, we've enhanced our staff and additional personnel for responses to get the information they need and last but not least, prosecuted the individuals responsible for refund fraud".
If you think your tax ID's been stolen, contact the IRS immediately to file an identity theft affidavit: Form 140-39. And contact your bank and credit card companies and double check all your bank and credit card statements for any possible unauthorized charges.
Some local victims complain it's impossible to get the IRS to say when it'll send out their legitimate refunds.
Miramar's Margarita Quire thinks she's been scammed and adds " They just don't want to put out the money. They don't want to spend the time to investigate, it all comes back to us the consumer and that's wrong because when we owe them we have to pay up..or we go to jail".
Despite al the last-minute problems, if you still can't make this years' April 17th Midnight deadline, you'll need a form 4868 for an extension. But the IRS says that's just for an extension to file your return and you still have to include any estimated payments to avoid extra interest charges or penalties.
IRS Tax ID Fraud Affidavit: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f14039.pdf
IRS Tax Extension to File Form: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf
More Information on Fighting ID Theft: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/
