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Taxpayers and tax professionals alike are also warned of fake IRS tax bills related to the Affordable Care Act.
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The IRS has received numerous reports of scammers sending a fraudulent version of a notice labeled CP2000 for tax year 2015.
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This scam may arrive by email, as an attachment, or by mail. It has many signs of being a fake:
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- The CP2000 notices appear to be issued from an Austin, Texas, address;
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- The letter says the issue is related to the Affordable Care Act and requests information regarding 2014 coverage;
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- The payment voucher lists the letter number as 105C;
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- Requests checks made out to I.R.S. and sent to the “Austin Processing Center” at a post office box.
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| An authentic CP2000 notice is used when income reported from third-party sources such as an employer does not match the income reported on the tax return. Unlike the fake, it provides extensive instructions to taxpayers about what to do if they agree or disagree that additional tax is owed. A real notice requests that checks be made out to “United States Treasury.” |
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Taxpayers or tax professionals who receive this scam email should forward it to phishing@irs.gov and then delete it from their email account.
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Taxpayers and tax professionals generally can do a keyword search on IRS.gov for any notice they receive. Taxpayers who receive a notice or letter can view explanations and images of common correspondence on IRS.gov at Understanding Your IRS Notice or Letter.
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IRS impersonation scams take many forms: threatening phone calls, phishing emails and demanding letters. You can find out more at Reporting Phishing and Online Scams. Always remember that the IRS does not initiate unsolicited email contact or contact by social media.
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Our advice is to keep in touch with your tax professional whenever you are contacted regarding your taxes, and check our newsletters regularly to keep up with all the news and pertinent information on your taxes and IRS procedures and regulations.
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