Millions of Americans are trying to be on time and not miss the deadline for the IRS tax filing. If you haven’t prepared and sent your 2024 tax return yet, it would be very surprising to find out the IRS is going to fine you 25% of your taxes — which have not been paid yet. Because of the increase of the warnings issued by the IRS, there is a new scam going on that is robbing many people off much more than just the money.
The situation with the IRS is not pleasant so if you file late, a matter of signing up for the refund is a dead-on for sure. You are losers compared to the losers of people who have fallen prey to one of the formidable scams created by someone.
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IRS steps up the battle against the overstated tax scam
The IRS warns citizens about a risky wave of fraud that has reached the unknowing filers. Con men are beguiling people with false information, luring them into filing tax return forms on which they overstate their income and fees.
These counterfeit practices are usually a result of fake W-2 or 1099 forms and is called the overstated tax withholding scam. The agency is doing everything possible to protect the taxpayers from these types of criminal activities.
As per the information provided by the IRS in a press release, these scammers’ first piece of advice is that one fabricates income and makes claims of allowances that are much higher than the actual ones. They include fake employers into the act as well as evidence for the higher income and allowances.
However, there is a sure method for the IRS to confirm whether the income and the withholding were indeed fake that the return cannot be processed. In case of non-verification, the IRS reserves the right to freeze the return for examination and impose penalties for falsely filed claims.
In violation of tax law, taxpayers who file normally include false numbers in their returns may incur $5,000 in penalties for every one of their returns. Some of them can also be met with charges and could spend time behind the bars given they are the worst scenarios. Besides the fact that fraud can lead to a 5-year imprisonment, an attorney from the Gordon Law Group gave examples of the most severe penalties for fraud.
A Safer Path: Claim the EITC Credit
If you are a U.S. citizen and are willing to enhance the amount of your tax refund legally, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) kindly notifies taxpayers about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). This significant incentive is aimed at providing assistance to low-earning families, especially those with kids.
In 2025, the IRS has definitely said a mother and father with three or more kids are even allowed to receive a maximum amount of $7,830 through the EITC. The EITC is actually reachable for more than 23 million individuals in the USA, but the problem may be that they’re not aware of it.
Your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) should be such that your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is definitely less than this amount of money to be able to participate in the EITC. For instance, this should not exceed:
- A single person without children can have a maximum AGI of $18,591.
- A husband and wife with three kids can have a MAGI of no more than $66,819.
The EITC is a tax credit that you can obtain as a refund which means even if your tax obligation is zero you can still receive the money owed to you.
How to Get More Time If You’re Not Ready
If you have missed the deadline, one easy way to react is to request an extension of time to file from the IRS. Please be reminded that you are not allowed to request more time to pay your taxes. Instruction is included in Form 4868 which is available on the IRS website. This application can provide you with an extension of an additional six months for the operations through to the 15th of October of 2025.
One of the prescribed methods by which Form 4868 and the tax payment can be sent is Online through IRS Free File tools. Also, you can still use electronic filing, but only via filing partners approved by the IRS, for example, tax companies. Yet, it’s a must to predict and settle the tax liability by April 15 to avoid penalties and interest.
If somehow you file late without any extension, it might end up costing you more than you think. The IRS is authorized to levy up to 5% for every month late, and the total punishment can be multiplied up to 25% of the tax unpaid.
Average Refunds So Far This Season
By the last day of January 2025, the average tax refund received was reported to be $1,928 by the IRS. However, people who received the refund transfers directly to their bank accounts were able to get the most due to an average of $2,069 refunds.
For more information on your refund, the IRS is offering a tool called Where’s My Refund? which will be available 24 hours after you e-file.
Final Word: Don’t Fall for the Scam
The period of submitting taxes has come and even though it’s quite tempting to inflate the amounts to get a larger refund, the risks do not justify it. The IRS is intensively monitoring and as of now, they have already detected thousands of suspicious submissions.
If you qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, take the legal path and file the correct way. Claim what is rightfully yours, yet don’t be tempted to give up your freedom for a few extra dollars.
Can’t waste any more time. You have to file today. Finally, pay what you owe. And remember that cheating is not allowed. You should be very attentive not to be deceived by your tricks.
