Knowing how the IRS contacts taxpayers can help protect you from scammers.
It is important that you understand how the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) contacts people. This will help you to not fall victim to identity thieves. Here is how the IRS operates:
HOW THE IRS CONTACTS TAXPAYERS
To contact taxpayers, the IRS proceeds chronologically:
The IRS will generally mail a notice or letter to you
If you receive a notice or letter, you may check your secured online account or contact the IRS to confirm its legitimacy. This is because:
- Scammers may tell you that they’ve already notified you by mail or reference an IRS notice to make their scam seem legitimate.
- Debt relief firms often send unsolicited tax debt relief offers through the mail.
The IRS may call you after mailing a notice or letter
Several people may contact you directly by phone:
- IRS civil enforcement employees who work cases that involve an amount that you owe, or a delinquent tax return may call you. They should first mail you a notice to confirm an appointment or to discuss items for a scheduled audit.
- Private debt collectors that the IRS contracted with can call you to collect certain outstanding inactive tax liabilities. The IRS should have notified you. Private debt collectors are not debt relief firms who will call you, send notices or emails with debt relief offers.
An IRS revenue officer and agent may make in-person visits:
If someone comes to your home, there are several preventive practices to be aware of:
- You should always ask for credentials. IRS representatives can always provide two forms of official credentials: a pocket commission and a Personal Identity Verification Credential.
- You should always make tax payments to the U.S. Treasury when an IRS officer request payment of taxes that you owe. IRS revenue officers and agents routinely make unannounced visits to a taxpayer’s home or place of business to discuss taxes owed, delinquent tax returns or a business falling behind on payroll tax deposits.
WHAT THE IRS DOESN’T DO
The IRS doesn’t use some contact methods. If you receive a message through these channels, you can ignore it:
- Contact by email to request personal or financial information;
- Contact by text messages or through social media.
Scammers have stolen millions of dollars from thousands of people as well as their personal information. The IRS would like you to not be just another statistic.