Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week in the US

Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week in the US begins January 25. This national awareness campaign encourages Americans to take action to prevent criminals defrauding the government and delaying legitimate tax refunds to honest taxpayers. The big shift towards electronic filing of income tax returns in America over the last 10 years has enabled tax identity theft to thrive, a relatively easy way for criminals to steal money from the government.

The most common type of tax identity fraud is possible because income tax is deducted from employee paychecks at an estimated rate. Although the percentage that is withheld can be adjusted by the wage earner, many Americans use a default rate which results in overpayment of taxes. Thus there is a need to claim a refund from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at the end of the tax year (for most workers this the calendar year, with the filing of returns and refund requests beginning at some point in the following year, January 19 for 2016).

Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week in the US