How to help your clients avoid tax scams

Tax scams can hit close to home, even for tax lawyers like Kathryn Garlow of Chicago. Her sister called and said, “Kathy, someone from the IRS called and left a message. They want me to call them back. I’m worried.”

She told her sister what she tells her clients -- the call was a fake. "The IRS doesn’t contact you by telephone, only through written correspondence,” Garlow writes in the March ISBA Federal Taxation newsletter. She goes on to share advice from the IRS that you can give to your clients, to community groups -- even to siblings.

"1. The IRS will only ask for payment with a written, mailed bill. They will not ask for payment over the telephone.

2. In the written correspondence, the IRS will give you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount due.

3. The IRS does not require taxpayers to pay only by a prepaid debit card.

4. The IRS will not ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

5. The IRS will not threaten to bring in law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying the amount due."

Read her article for more about how to avoid tax scams, including what to tell a client who gave a social security number to scammers.