Protecting Yourself Against IRS Scams

Provided by J.C. Harrison, Simplified Business & Tax Service

The Internal Revenue Service receives thousands of reports each from taxpayers who receive suspicious emails, phone calls, faxes, notices claiming to be from the IRS. They fraudulently use IRS name or logo as a lure to make the communications as more authentic and enticing. The goal of these scamsknown as phishingis to trick you into revealing your personal and financial information. The scammers can then use your informationlike Social Security number, bank account or credit card numbersto commit identity theft or steal your money.
Here are five things the IRS wants you to know about phishing scams.
1.  The IRS never asks for detailed personal financial information like PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts.
2.  The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email request personal or financial information. If you receive an inquiry from someone claiming to be the IRS or directing you to another site:
  a. Do not reply to the message.
  b. Do not open any attachments. Attachments may contain malicious code that   will infect your computer.
  c. Do not click on any links. If you clicked on links in a suspicious e-mail or  phishing website and entered confidential information, visit the IRS website and  enter the search term 'identity theft' for more information and resources to help.
3.  The address of the official IRS website is www.irs.gov. Do not be confused or misled by sites claiming to be the IRS but ending in .com, .net, .org or other designations instead of .gov. If you discover a website that claims to be the IRS but you suspect it is bogus, do not provide any personal information on the suspicious site and report it to the IRS.
4.  If you receive a phone call, fax or letter in the mail from an individual claiming to be from the IRS but suspect they are not an IRS employee, contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to determine if the IRS has a legitimate need to contact you. Report any bogus correspondence. You can forward a suspicious email to phishing@irs.gov.
5.  You can help shut down these schemes and prevent others from being victimized. Details on how to report specific types of scams and what to do if you've been victimized are available at www.irs.gov. Click on “phishing” on the home page.

MV Lions Club News & 2015 Events

Submitted by Etta Gross, Meadow Vista Lions Club

A special Thank you to all who purchased See's Candies from us in front of Holiday Market and at True Value Hardware.  The proceeds will be shared equally between Sierra Reach Ministries Food Closet and Meadow Vista Friendly Neighbors Club. We also appreciate those that attended the Crab Feed on February 7th. This fundraiser helps to support many of our yearly community causes and we appreciate your help.

Mark your calendars for our up- coming events:  

• Easter Egg Hunt, April 4 at  Placer Hills School play-yard (Soccer Field) begins at 10:00 a.m. SHARP!  The hunt is over within 10 minutes, so please arrive early.

• Mothers' Day Breakfast,  Sunday, May 10 at Sierra Hills School Auditorium. More information will be posted throughout town as we approach the dates.

We welcome potential members to join in our meetings held on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday at the Grange Hall.  Meetings start at 7 p.m.  For additional information contact our Club President Ron Carmichael at 637-5805 or any Meadow Vista Area Lions member.

Add Some Tradition to Your Holidays

By Ashlei Jackson, Qlixite

The holidays are centered around tradition! Everyone has that time-honored activity or item that reminds them of childhood memories of Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanza...or however you celebrate - these traditions make this ‘Wonderful Time of the Year” special and give meaning to the holidays.    Thinking of adding a new tradition this year? Here are some various traditions that can add to your festive season!
• The Christmas Pickle - The exact country of origin for putting a pickle ornament on your tree is fairly unknown but visit any ornament section of the store and you’re bound to find a pickle ornament! The Tradition: The ornament is hidden on the tree on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning, all of the children in the house take turns looking for the pickle ornament and the child who finds the Christmas pickle receives an extra present for his or her good work.

• Caroling - Also called a noel, song or hymn - the act of groups of people singing outside in the wintertime goes back to the Middle Ages making them some of the oldest musical compositions still regularly sung. The Tradition: Whether you physically go sing in a choir or caroling group - include singing as a family (not just listening) to your regular holiday activities to add an uplifting note.

• Hang Holly - To the Irish Celtics, holly represented both life and rebirth; the evergreen leaves symbolized life during a time when all else was bare and the red berries represented the coming of Spring. The Tradition: Add Holly to your home to welcome in the New Year and remind you of hope.

• Light a Rememberance Candle on the Winter Solstice - The Winter Solstice is the day of the year when the position of the earth in respect to the sun results in the shortest period of daylight hours. It became very important for many cultures to ‘remind’ people that the light would ‘return.’ The Tradition: On the evening of the Winter Solstice, sit in a darkened area and each person take turns lighting a candle. Whether you choose to light candles to symbolize those people who may have passed away or choose to have the candles represent goals is up to you. Leave the candles lit until bedtime, then use a lid to extinguish the flames instead of blowing them out which would blow away the good ‘luck’ or ‘memories.’

• Stocking Buttons - Children often go through minor depression the day you take down all decorations. The Tradition: On the chosen day of clean up, at dinner, a small box is set next to the dinner plate of each person. Inside is a button that relates to the person/child. After dinner each person sews the button on their stocking which then gets packed away. This special activity makes cleaning up a positive event.
Whether you choose to adopt one of these traditions or all of them - remember not to add so much to your plate that you end up adding stress. This is a wonderful time of year - let’s keep it that way!

How to Spot a Scam IRS Phone Call

By J.C. Harrison, Simplified Business & Tax Service

The IRS continues to warn the public to be alert for telephone scams and offers five tell-tale warning signs to tip you off if you get such a call. These callers claim to be with the IRS. The scammers often demand money to pay taxes. Some may try to con you by saying that you're due a refund. The refund is a fake lure so you'll give them your banking or other private financial information.

These con artists can sound convincing when they call. They may even know a lot about you. They may alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling. They use fake names and bogus IRS badge numbers. If you don't answer, they often leave an “urgent” callback request.

The IRS respects taxpayer rights when working out payment of your taxes. So, it's pretty easy to tell when a supposed IRS caller is a fake. Here are five things the scammers often do but the IRS will not do. Any one of these five things is a sign of a scam.

The IRS will never:

1. Call you about taxes you owe without first mailing you an official notice.
2. Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the chance to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
3. Require you to use a certain payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
4. Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
5. Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement to have you arrested for not paying.

If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money, here's what to do:

• If you know you owe taxes or think you might owe, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 to talk about payment options. Continued on page 11 You also may be able to set up a payment plan online at IRS.gov
• If you know you don't owe taxes or have no reason to believe that you do, report the incident to TIGTA at 1-800-366-4484 or at www.tigta.gov.
• If phone scammers target you, also contact the Federal Trade Commission at FTC.gov. Use their “FTC Complaint Assistant” to report the scam. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments of your complaint.

Remember, the IRS currently does not use unsolicited email, text messages or any social media to discuss your personal tax issues. For more information on reporting tax scams, go to www.irs.gov and type “scam” in the search box.

Meadow Vista Lions Club Update

By Ron Carmichael, Club President

The Meadow Vista Lions have been busy the last few months.   The Car Show in at Meadow Vista Park brought over eighty classics along with several interested local folks. The Lions cooked breakfast and lunch for this event. At Pioneer Day  Lions served breakfasts for all those attending. The Meadow Vista Lions wishes to thank everyone who supported us and these events.

If you are interested in information about our Lion's Club please contact us at  MeadowVistaLionsClub@gmail.com or on the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. come visit our meetings a the Grange hall. Thank you from the Meadow Vista Lions' Club!

Tax Time in Meadow Vista, CA

Trick or Treat Trail 2012 in Meadow Vista

 

The Meadow Vista Merchants Trick or Treat Trail will be held in downtown Meadow Vista on Wednesday, October 31st from 3pm to 6pm. Children & Adults can visit the participating downtown merchants displaying a pumpkin poster for a treat.

 

New IRS Fresh Start helps Taxpayers

By J.C. Harrison, Simplified Business & Tax

The Internal Revenue Service has expanded its “Fresh Start” initiative to help struggling taxpayers who owe taxes. The following three items explain the expanded relief for taxpayers.
 Penalty relief Part of the initiative relieves some unemployed taxpayers from failure-to-pay penalties. Penalties are one of the major factors a financially distressed taxpayer faces on a tax bill. The Fresh Start Penalty Relief Initiative gives eligible taxpayers a six month extension to fully pay 2011 taxes. Interest still applies on the 2011 taxes from April 15, 2012 until the tax is paid, but you won't face the failure-to-pay penalties if you pay your tax, interest and any other penalties in full by October 15, 2012.
1.  PENALTY RELIEF
 *Wage earners who have been unemployed at least 30 consecutive days during  2011 or in 2012 to this year April 17 deadline.
 *Self-employed individuals who experienced a 25 percent or greater reduction in  business income in 2011 due to the economy.
 TO QUALIFY for this penalty relief, your adjusted gross income may not exceed $200,000 if married filing jointly or $100,000 if filing status is single, married filing separately, head of household or qualifying widower. Your 2011 balance due can not exceed $50,000.
2.  INSTALLMENT AGREEMENTS
 An installment agreement is a payment option for those who cannot pay their entire tax bill by the due date. The Fresh Start provisions give more taxpayers the ability to use streamlined installment agreements to catch up on back taxes and also more time to pay.
3.  OFFER IN COMPROMISE
 Under the first round of Fresh Start in 2011, the IRS expanded the Offer in Compromise (OIC) program to cover a larger group of struggling taxpayers. An Offer in Compromise is an agreement between a taxpayer and the IRS that settles the taxpayer's tax liabilities for less than the full amount owed.
 Generally, an offer will not be accepted if the IRS believes that the liability can be paid in full as a lump sum or through a payment agreement. The IRS looks at the taxpayer's income and assets to make a determination regarding the taxpayer's ability to pay.

Protect Yourself from Cyber Criminals

Provided by J.C. Harrison, Simplified Business & Tax Service

The Internal Revenue Service receives thousands of reports each from taxpayers who receive suspicious emails, phone calls, faxes, notices claiming to be from the IRS. They fraudulently use IRS name or logo as a lure to make the communications as more authentic and enticing. The goal of these scamsknown as phishingis to trick you into revealing your personal and financial information. The scammers can then use your informationlike Social Security number, bank account or credit card numbersto commit identity theft or steal your money.

Here are five things the IRS wants you to know about phishing scams.

1.  The IRS never asks for detailed personal financial information like PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts.

2.  The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email request personal or financial information. If you receive an inquiry from someone claiming to be the IRS or directing you to another site:
 a. Do not reply to the message.
 b. Do not open any attachments. Attachments may contain malicious code that   will infect your computer.
 c. Do not click on any links. If you clicked on links in a suspicious e-mail or  phishing website and entered confidential information, visit the IRS website and  enter the search term 'identity theft' for more information and resources to help.

3.  The address of the official IRS website is www.irs.gov. Do not be confused or misled by sites claiming to be the IRS but ending in .com, .net, .org or other designations instead of .gov. If you discover a website that claims to be the IRS but you suspect it is bogus, do not provide any personal information on the suspicious site and report it to the IRS.

4.  If you receive a phone call, fax or letter in the mail from an individual claiming to be from the IRS but suspect they are not an IRS employee, contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to determine if the IRS has a legitimate need to contact you. Report any bogus correspondence. You can forward a suspicious email to phishing@irs.gov.

5.  You can help shut down these schemes and prevent others from being victimized. Details on how to report specific types of scams and what to do if you've been victimized are available at www.irs.gov. Click on “phishing” on the home page.

Tax Man News

By J.C. Harrison, Simplified Business & Tax

Be sure to fine-tune your estimated tax payments and withholding for 2011 if you owed a lot of tax for 2010 or you expect you'll be short for this year. You need to adjust estimated tax payments now. But you can wait until year-end to boost withholding, because withheld tax is treated as if paid evenly over the year. Additional income tax can be withheld from a Dec. IRA payout, for example. You needn't prepay all the tax you might owe for 2011, just an amount equal to 90% of it, or 100% of your 2010 tax bill (110% if your AGI exceeded $150,000 in 2010). Doing so avoids the underpayment penalty, even if you end up owing IRS a lot of tax.
 Self-employeds can amend prior year returns to deduct Medicare premiums as part of their income tax deduction for health insurance on Form 1040, IRS says in Pub. 535. Many didn't write off the premiums in pre-2010 years because the instructions for those prior years said the amounts were not deductible. Pub. 535 and the 1040 instructions for 2010 now expressly allow this write-off.