Telephone Tax Refund

[Larmil]

Quoting from IR-2007-016: "The Internal Revenue Service said today that early filings show some individual taxpayers have requested large and apparently improper amounts for the special telephone tax refund. The IRS is investigating potential abuses in this area and will take prompt action against taxpayers who claim improper refund amounts and the return preparers who help them.

“While the vast majority of taxpayers are claiming the telephone tax refund correctly, we are seeing some clear abuse involving overstated refund requests,” said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. “People requesting an inflated amount will likely see their refund frozen, may have their entire tax return audited and even face criminal prosecution where warranted.”

It goes on to say that some people are requesting refunds that would indicate their phone bill was in excess of their income and that some tax preparers are helping their clients file apparently improper requests.

Standard amount looks good to me.

[thomtax]

I wonder if these are just lack of knowledge as to how to figure things. If they are truly scams, I hope they do have problems. After all, it is the people that try to do things correctly that they are stealing from.

LT

[Larmil]

I wonder if these are just lack of knowledge as to how to figure things. If they are truly scams, I hope they do have problems. After all, it is the people that try to do things correctly that they are stealing from.

LT

From the IR

"The IRS checked a sample of returns filed through mid-January and found that some individual taxpayers requested telephone tax refunds that appear to be excessive:

* In some cases, taxpayers appear to be requesting a refund of the entire amount of their phone bills, rather than just the three-percent tax on long-distance and bundled service that they are entitled to.

* Some individuals are making requests for thousands of dollars, indicating that they had phone bills topping $100,000 – an amount exceeding their income.

* Some tax preparers are helping their clients file apparently improper requests"

Apparantly they are looking at scams. Note the third item. I predict something similar on the Energy Tax Credit.

[thomtax]

Sometimes when money is tight, I feel like my bills could add up to $100,000. :-)

LT

[dsi]

Most likely, the **** instructions are tooooooo complicated, and therefore causing errors on tax returns.

[dsi]

... by those who are preparing their own returns.