The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have issued statements reminding taxpayers of the July 15 filing and payment deadline and warned against an increase in tax and COVID-19 scams.
Due to COVID-19, the original filing deadline and tax payment due date for 2019 was postponed from April 15 to July 15. Taxpayers filing Form 1040 series returns must file Form 4868 by July 15 to obtain the automatic extension to Oct. 15.
“Although the extension provides additional time to file the tax return – it is not an extension to pay any taxes due”, said Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation division in New England. “For people facing hardships who cannot pay in full, including those affected by COVID-19, the IRS has several options available to help. The IRS encourages taxpayers to visit IRS.gov as soon as possible to explore these options and avoid accruing interest and penalties after the July 15 deadline.”
“With the extended tax filing deadline now just days away, scammers are working overtime to steal your identity and your personal financial information,” noted United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman. “Be vigilant. The IRS will not call you, email you, text you, or contact you on social media.”
In the last few months, the IRS Criminal Investigation division (CI) has continued to see a tremendous increase in a variety of Economic Impact Payment scams and other financial schemes. CI continues to work with its law enforcement partners to put a stop to these schemes and bring criminals to justice.
Taxpayers can report COVID-19 scams to the National Center for Disaster Fraud. Taxpayers can also report fraud or theft of their Economic Impact Payments to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Unsolicited (phishing) e-mails that appear to be from the IRS should be forwarded to phishing@irs.gov.
