I can’t believe it! I just am sooo amazed at how scared most folks are of hearing the name … “IRS” Oooooh! Sends shivers down my back...NOT!
Look, our firm deals with the IRS on a regular basis on behalf of our clients, for all kinds of situations. So what I’m about to tell you is absolutely TRUE and I even asked several IRS Agents to confirm this and they did.
The IRS NEVER (did I make that clear?) NEVER initiates a contact with a taxpayer by phone or email.
Let me say this again. The IRS NEVER initiates contact with ANYBODY by phone or email. By its own rules of operation, the IRS MUST document all communication, which is done via U.S. mail.
So, let’s go over a situation many of our clients, including my own CPA dad, are currently experiencing.
The phone rings, a person (usually with a heavy Indian or Russian accent) identifies themselves as being with the IRS and claims you’re about to be arrested because you haven’t paid some back taxes. The person demands you give a credit card to pay now, or else be arrested soon.
I want to point out a few obvious problems with this.
FIRST — It’s a phone call! (What have you already learned from this column? The IRS NEVER calls you)! It ALWAYS sends a letter via U.S. mail and then, if it doesn’t hear from you, it sends another letter via U.S. mail. And then, if it still doesn’t hear from you, it sends another letter via U.S. Mail. Do you see a pattern here?
SECOND — Credit Card. Really? There’s a process on how to pay the IRS so it knows who paid it and what’s being paid. It requires only sending payment to certain addresses and must be accompanied by a special voucher the IRS provides. The IRS isn’t equipped to accept credit card payments via a phone call.
THIRD — The IRS doesn’t arrest anybody. It just seizes your property. Oh yes, it’s VERY good at doing that. Instead of calling you, it sends enough letters, via the U.S. mail and then it finally shows a certain level of frustration by notifying you (via a letter sent by U.S. mail) if it didn’t hear from you, it will start looking for assets (usually bank accounts) to seize. About the only way to get arrested is to physically interfere with the IRS while it’s seizing your property. And that will usually be done by a local police officer on behalf of the IRS.
In summary. Only evil thieves pretending to be with the IRS, make phone calls or send you emails. Their goal is to get you to panic and gullibly give them everything they need to steal your identity and/or your money. If you ever get such a phone call, laugh loudly, and then just hang up. If you ever get an email supposedly from the IRS, do NOT open any attachments. Just delete the email!
Did you hear? Prov 10:23 says, “To do evil is like sport to a fool, But a man of understanding has wisdom.”
Kelly Bullis is a Certified Public Accountant in Carson City. Contact him at 882-4459. On the web at BullisAndCo.com. Also on Facebook.
