The Government Can Take Your Tax Refund

Take Your Tax Refund
Take Your Tax Refund
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Taxpayers are filing their taxes early this year to avoid having an identity thief file their return before they do. But what is surprising some is that the government keeps their tax refund and uses it to pay down their student loan debt when they are in default. Called the Treasury Offset Program, the Department of Education is able to take Social Security payments and tax refunds and apply them to outstanding debt that you have not been paying.

Experts in the field say the Department of Education is required to notify you ahead of time if they intend to apply this offset program to your funds. Within this notification are rules and what you can do to avoid this happening to your tax refund at tax time.

You can request a hearing if your loan was not in default when the funds were taken and … Read the rest about Filing Taxes

Maintain Security When Filing Taxes Electronically

How to maintain security when filing taxes electronically

Millions of U.S. taxpayers have used electronic software applications like TuboTax.com to e-file their taxes, many doing so from the home desktops. Roughly six percent more consumers are using this method of submitting tax forms, than the numbers who did so in 2012.

Though e-filing is convenient and easy, it can create a risk to the taxpayer, with the filing of fraudulent tax forms and and identity theft. These undetected thieves were able to get away with over three and a half billion dollars in 2011, according to the Inspector General.

The following tips for protecting your information and identity are offered by experts in internet security

Don’t assume all emails genuinely originated from the Internal Revenue Service!

One method of committing fraud is to send an email to the taxpayer, pretending to be the IRS. This form of gaining access, … Read the rest about Filing Taxes