DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — Tax season is upon us, and the Internal Revenue Service is reminding taxpayers to remain wary when filing their taxes this season. They released their annual Dirty Dozen list of tax scams for 2025 as a warning, as they peak during filing season.

The IRS has complied 12 different scams that taxpayers should watch out for. They are listed below:

Phishing and smishing scams: Phishing scams are emails sent by scammers claiming to represent the IRS. Usually, they will provide a fake tax refund, or with threaten the recipient with false legal or criminal charges. Smishing scams are similar, but are received through text or smartphone SMS messaging. Key phrases to look out for in smishing scams are "Your account has been put on hold" or "Unusual Activity Report."

Tricia Harmon, the Manager at Liberty Tax in Decatur, says the IRS will never contact you electronically. "One thing to remember is the IRS will never call you on the phone. They will never text you. They will mail you a piece of paper in the mail to your address that says Internal Revenue Service." Harmon explained. 

Bad social media advice: Social media platforms have been circulating misleading tax information. The IRS recommends following trusted social media advice from the IRS or other reputable tax professionals.

IRS Individual Online Account help: The IRS says scammers have offered to help create a taxpayer's IRS Individual Online Account. This account holds taxpayers personal tax information, which scammers can use to file fraudulent tax returns to get a big refund.

Fake charities: The IRS explained that fake charities become a more prevalent scam after natural disasters. Scammers use taxpayer's money and personal information, which they then use to exploit victims through identity theft.

False Fuel Tax Credit claims: The IRS says during the past year, taxpayers were led to believe that they were eligible for the Fuel Tax Credit. Scammers tell taxpayers to inflate their refunds by incorrectly claiming the credit. 

Credits for Sick Leave and Family Leave: This credit was created for the 2020 and 2021 tax season during the pandemic for individuals who were self employed. However, the credit s not available for later years, even though taxpayers are incorrectly claiming a credit based on income earned as an employee. 

Fake self-employment tax credit: Social media accounts are circulating claims about a "Self-Employment Tax Credit" that does not exist. Promoters mislead taxpayers into filing false claims, as a way for self-employed and gig workers to get large payments from the tax pandemic period.

Incorrect household employment taxes: Taxpayers will create fake household employees and try to claim a tax refund based on falsified sick and family medical leave wages that were never paid. 

Overstated withholding scam: Scammers in this social media scheme will tell taxpayers to make up large income and withholding amounts, in addition to a fictional employer who supplies the money. Scam artists then tell taxpayers to file the tax return electronically, so they can get a large refund. 

Misleading Offers in Compromise: Scammers mislead taxpayers about the Offers in Compromise program, which costs them thousands of dollars when they do not meet the qualifications. 

Ghost tax return preparers: Adversarial tax professionals might take advantage of clients. They may try to charge a fee based on the size of a tax refund. they may also try to avoid signing the return or include their IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number. 

Harmon said to always remain wary when filing your tax return through a third party. "Any time you have somebody else do your tax return for you, insist on at that time getting copies of your tax return. Don't sign anything that has any blank spaces. Make sure that you it makes sense to you of what you're getting." she said.

New client scams and spear phishing: Cybercriminals pretend to be potential clients to tax professionals over email. Once the tax professional responds, the scammer sends malware to the preparer's computer to hack their computer system and access private client information. A successful spear phishing activity allows scammers to access client data, and the tax preparer's identity.

Although scams are always present, Harmon says that taxpayers can always reach out to local tax preparers or companies for assistance or guidance in weeding out potential scams. "If it sounds kind of off reach out to somebody. They can always call any tax preparer tax office in the neighbor in the area. They'll definitely be able to help you and set your mind at ease that 99% of the time, these [scams] are not true."

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