OneSource Business Center

01/31/2024

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/30/child-tax-credit-could-change-but-dont-wait-to-file-taxes-irs-says.html

01/27/2024

Please be aware, warning from Texas State Comptroller:

Criminals Impersonating State, Threatening to Seize Assets

Some taxpayers have received fraudulent letters claiming the state of Texas will seize their assets and property for unpaid taxes unless payment is made within seven days. These illegitimate letters did not originate from the Comptroller’s office.

For years, criminals have used aggressive and threatening scam faxes, letters and phone calls impersonating state agencies. The criminals demand immediate payment, often via a specific payment method, and threaten to seize assets and property or significantly increase the liability if you fail to pay or provide sensitive personal information.

Be incredibly wary whenever you receive unexpected messages like these, as they can be a trap. The criminals’ threats are designed to get you to react by calling the criminals’ phone number or clicking on a fake link to solve the problem. The consequences can be catastrophic. Not only can you lose your money, but if you click on links in scam emails or texts, you also could become a victim of identity theft or have malware installed on your phone or computer.

If you receive an unexpected message of this type, do not call the phone number or use the website or link provided in the letter, email or text. Most importantly, do not give the sender personal information or money. Instead, please email us or call the Comptroller’s Collection Team at 800-252-8880.

Learn more about protecting yourself from tax fraud.

05/25/2023

IR-2023-105: IRS alerts businesses, tax-exempt groups of warning signs for misleading Employee Retention scams; simple steps can avoid improperly filing claims Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sent this bulletin at 05/25/2023 01:13 PM EDT News Essentials The Newsroom Topics IRS Resources Issue Number:...

04/19/2023

State Comptroller Webfile Outage
We are experiencing an outage with our Webfile eSystem. Users are currently unable to access Webfile. We are working to resolve this issue and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. As a result of the outage we are experiencing extremely high call volumes and some callers may receive a busy signal.

03/03/2023

IRS warns of new filing season scams involving Form W-2 wages
The IRS issued a consumer alert to warn taxpayers of new scams that urge people to use wage information on a tax return to claim false credits in hopes of getting a big refund. One scheme, which is circulating on social media, encourages people to use tax software to manually fill out Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, and include false income information. Two variations of this scheme are also being seen by the IRS; both involve misusing Form W-2 wage information in hopes of generating a larger refund. The IRS reminds people who file fake returns face a wide range of penalties. For anyone who has participated in one of these schemes, they can amend a previous tax return or consult with a trusted tax professional.

01/13/2023

EFiling start on Jan 23, 2023

11/26/2022

“The data, sent through widely used code called the Meta Pixel, includes not only information like names and email addresses but often even more detailed information, including data on users’ income, filing status, refund amounts, and dependents’ college scholarship amounts.”

The Markup found that tax preparation services including TaxAct, TaxSlayer, and H&R Block have sent users’ personal financial information to Facebook through the Meta Pixel.

11/23/2022

Sending such information violates Meta's policies and a spokesperson said its system is designed to filter out potentially sensitive data.

11/10/2022

“When the IRS needs to contact a taxpayer, the first contact is normally by letter delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. Debt relief firms send unsolicited tax debt relief offers through the mail. Fraudsters will often claim they already notified the taxpayer by U.S. Mail.”

Tax Tip 2022-173, November 10, 2022 — Knowledge is a taxpayer’s first line of defense against scammers who pretend to be from the IRS with the goal of stealing personal information.

06/04/2021

News from the Justice Department’s Tax Division
A Florida couple was sentenced to prison for their participation in a scheme to file four fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $1.1 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

According to court documents and statements, Thomas Smith, of Pewaukee, WI, fraudulently sought over $1.2 million in PPP loans through applications to a federally insured financial institution on behalf of eight different companies. According to his plea agreement, Smith caused to be submitted fraudulent loan applications containing numerous false and misleading statements about the companies’ respective payroll expenses. Based on these representations, the financial institution approved and funded over $1 million in loans. Smith then directed his co-conspirators to send him portions of the PPP funds. In addition to the prison sentence, Smith was ordered to pay $960,000 in restitution.

The United States filed a complaint against Wendell Devallon, Berald Dominique, and Tax Time Group Inc. seeking to enjoin them from preparing returns for others. The complaint alleges that Devallon and Dominique co-own Tax Time Group Inc., which has its principal place of business in North Lauderdale, Florida, and additional offices in Charlotte, North Carolina; Niagara Falls, New York; Buffalo, New York; and Evansville, Indiana. According to the complaint, defendants prepared tax returns for customers that claimed fraudulent self-employment expenses, fictitious education credits, and fake charitable contributions, among other schemes. The complaint also alleged that Devallon and Dominique acted as “ghost” preparers, meaning that they acted as paid tax return preparers but did not sign the returns they prepared, as required by law.

01/15/2021

IR-2021-16: 2021 tax filing season begins Feb. 12

01/09/2021

News from the Justice Department’s Tax Division
A Newport News, Va., tax return preparer was sentenced to 27 months in prison for preparing false tax returns.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Angela Harper owned At Ease Tax Services, a tax preparation business that she operated in her home and hotel rooms in the Newport News area. Between 2014 and 2018, Harper prepared tax returns that claimed fraudulent credits and deductions to inflate her clients’ refunds. Harper did not sign the returns in order to make it appear that the returns were self-prepared by her clients. In total, Harper filed over 400 false tax returns and caused a tax loss of over $700,000 to the IRS.

A Newport News, Virginia, tax return preparer was sentenced to 27 months in prison for preparing false tax returns, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger for the Eastern District ...