The IRS has produced a “Dirty Dozen” list of 12 fraudulent and illegal tax schemes, representing “the worst of the worst” in tax scams, according to IRS Commissioner Doug Schulman.
Among the scams included in the list are: hiding income offshore, identity theft and phishing, return preparer fraud, filing false of misleading forms, frivolous arguments, nontaxable social security benefits with exaggerated withholding credit, abuse of charitable organizations and deductions, and abusive retirement plans.
The IRS warns that while such activities may appear to present opportunities to retain wealth illegally by defrauding the government, these scams frequently result in heavy fines, full repayment of taxes (plus interest), and often jail time.
