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Have you heard of the phone scam where someone calls and pretends to represent the IRS? The scammers inevitably ask for personal information, and, too often, people willingly give out their personal information, such as their social security number to these scammers. The scammers also ask for money. And, unfortunately, people pay it; or they provide their banking account numbers. It’s estimated that over ten thousand people—more everyday—have been affected by these phone scams; estimated that over fifty-four million dollars has been paid to these scammers. But you should know that there should never be a day where an IRS agent simply calls you up, unannounced, and asks personal questions.

The IRS will make initial contact via the good old USPS. If they are requesting money, they will send to you in the mail a bill, requesting payment. The bill will look like any other bill you would receive in the mail; however, it will be from the IRS. There will be directions in the bill as to how to proceed to pay the bill or how to contact the IRS with any questions you may have; it will be simple and to the point. The IRS may notify you of a possible attempt to contact you via telephone—possibly even request a face-to-face meeting—but, when they do call, they won’t request that you tell them all your personal information. Remember, the IRS already has a lot of your personal information, and they won’t ask you for your social security number over the phone; they won’t ask you to tell them your bank routing codes, or your checking account number; they won’t ask you to pay your bill over the phone, and they won’t initially demand a payment—remember that you have rights, too, and one of those rights is to appeal. And they won’t threaten to have you arrested by the local police if you don’t pay.

Call Practical Taxes for all your tax needs.

Unless you have been hiding under a rock, or you pay as little attention to the news as possible, you would have heard that our Government—in particular the Republican Party in the Senate—is attempting a massive tax reform. It’s interesting and a little unsettling—the bill passed in the Senate, late at night, just hours after the almost 500-page document—parts of which were edited in pen and scribbled on the margins (taxes are a hotly contested and divisive topic right now!)—was given out to members of the Senate But this is the politics of tax reform. And what does the tax bill, at least at it stands today, mean for the rest of us?

Ok, let’s only scrape the surface of this, focusing only on how a possible tax reform could affect the average person’s taxes. Regardless of the politics behind tax legislation—these days politics are a very, very divisive topic—remember that these numbers will likely—most definitely—change, at least somewhat, and nothing here is completely definitive (nor is it a sure thing) as this bill has only been voted on, and passed, in the Senate; but, the statistics, at least so far, are interesting to dissect. First, earners from across the board, including people who make only ten-thousand dollars every year on up to people making over a million dollars a year could see a possible tax cut in the first year that this bill gets enacted—2019. A good percentage of the people who make over forty-thousand dollars annually on up to over a million will see a tax cut—not everyone, but a good percentage. But—and here is where the legislation gets tricky—by the year 2027, those tax cuts, especially for the people earning under one-hundred-thousand dollars every year, don’t exist, and these people will be required to pay in on their taxes.

No, the current discussion of tax reform will not affect this year’s taxes, which are coming up fast. Make sure to make your appointment with Practical Taxes and forego the anxieties involved with the tax season.