Messer Bookkeeping & Services

Good Monday morning everyone!! Hope you guys are preparing for this crazy Amarillo weather they are calling for.
For your Monday morning news updates our topic is Scammers... these people are relentless and go above and beyond sneaky! The new way to get you, since I’m sure they are aware of people now know the IRS doesn’t call, is sending letters.
Please if you receive a letter, questionable or not, allow a professional to take a look at it. That’s why they are here!

Today!!!! Today is the day!!!

2020 Income Tax Season Opens as IRS Begins Accepting Returns
The deadline to file a 2019 tax return and pay any tax owed is Wednesday, April 15, 2020. More than 150 million individual tax returns for the 2019 tax year are expected to be filed, with the vast majority of those coming before the April 15 tax deadline.

Jan 27th, 2020
Tax Refund1 10916239
The Internal Revenue Service has officially opened the 2020 tax filing season as of January 27, 2020, as the agency begins accepting and processing federal tax returns for tax year 2019.

The deadline to file a 2019 tax return and pay any tax owed is Wednesday, April 15, 2020. More than 150 million individual tax returns for the 2019 tax year are expected to be filed, with the vast majority of those coming before the April 15 tax deadline.

With the start of the 2020 tax filing season near, the Internal Revenue Service is reminding taxpayers to avoid unethical "ghost" tax return preparers.

According to the IRS, a ghost preparer does not sign a tax return they prepare. Unscrupulous ghost preparers will print the return and tell the taxpayer to sign and mail it to the IRS. For e-filed returns, the ghost will prepare but refuse to digitally sign as the paid preparer.

By law, anyone who is paid to prepare or assists in preparing federal tax returns must have a valid Preparer Tax Identification Number, or PTIN. Paid preparers must sign and include their PTIN on the return. Not signing a return is a red flag that the paid preparer may be looking to make a fast buck by promising a big refund or charging fees based on the size of the refund.

Ghost tax return preparers may also:

Require payment in cash only and not provide a receipt.
Invent income to qualify their clients for tax credits.
Claim fake deductions to boost the size of the refund.
Direct refunds into their bank account, not the taxpayer's account.
The IRS urges taxpayers to choose a tax return preparer wisely. The Choosing a Tax Professional page on IRS.gov has information about tax preparer credentials and qualifications. The IRS Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications can help identify many preparers by type of credential or qualification.

This little letter should mean everything to a taxpayer who is looking for a legitimate preparer!