With just a few business days left in 2024, some Iowans may be scrambling to shore up their tax picture before the year is out and there’s plenty of advice on the internet, though much of it is bad.
Christopher Miller, the Iowa spokesman for the Internal Revenue Service, says the agency has been tracking a significant boost in the amount of bogus tax advice that’s been appearing on social media lately.
“That information continues to dupe people into filing inaccurate tax returns,” Miller says, “and of course, that can lead to delayed refunds, penalties and interest, and sometimes even criminal charges, so be on the lookout.”
Miller says you should only be getting your tax advice from a licensed professional, and he adds, online crooks are really ramping up their game.
“They promise to magically enrich taxpayers,” Miller says, “scams on social media ranging from the fuel tax credit on federal tax returns to scams that involve investments in fake cryptocurrencies.”
Miller says social media influencers are likely offering up their tax tips for a couple of basic reasons, none of which are altruistic.
“Criminal profit motive, because they’re wanting people to follow their bad scams,” Miller says. “Others are simply trying to gain attention and clicks, but they have little regard for the risk that it poses to their followers.”
Find a variety of tax tips and a wealth of more information at IRS.gov.