Last week we told you about the three largest of the “Dirty Dozen Tax Scams”. This week we will cover the rest.

Return preparer fraud – In conjunction with Identity Theft, many temporary tax preparation offices set up shop and generate fraudulent tax returns. These folks often file a return using stolen information, create refund fraud and other scams that leave you holding the tax obligation when caught.

Offshore accounts – The IRS has taken many enforcement actions in this area after breaking the long-standing secrecy wall of Swiss bank accounts. If you have money in foreign accounts, you must understand the reporting requirements or you could be subject to substantial fines.

Fake charities – After major disasters, many charitable givers are scammed into making donations to fake charities. In addition, new IRS charitable organization reporting requirements are not being followed by many organizations. This makes donations to them non-deductible. To protect against this, make sure the charity is both legitimate and deemed a qualified charity by the IRS before you donate.

Other scams – The other six scams that round out the IRS list include: inflated refund claims, falsely padding deductions, excessive business credit claims, falsifying income to claim credits, abusive tax shelters, and frivolous tax arguments.

If you want more info, visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov and click on the News & Events tab/Tax Scams!