To help the public recognize and avoid abusive tax schemes, the IRS offers an abundance of educational materials. Participating in an illegal scheme to avoid paying taxes can result in imprisonment and fines, as well as the repayment of taxes owed with penalties and interest. Education is the best way to avoid the pitfalls of these “too good to be true” tax scams.

Common Scheme Types

• Anti-Tax Law Schemes
  
• Abusive Home-Based Business Schemes
  
• Abusive Trust Schemes
  
• Misuse of the Disabled Access Credit
  
• Abusive Offshore Schemes
  
• Employee Plans Abusive Tax Transactions

More Information

• Listed Abusive Tax Shelters and Transactions
• IRS News Release 2003-111
  IRS and States Announce Partnership to Target Abusive Tax Avoidance Transactions
• IRS News Release 2004-19
  IRS, States Move Forward in Fight Against Abusive Tax Avoidance
• IRS News Release 2004-26
  IRS Updates the ‘Dirty Dozen’ for 2004: Agency Warns of New Scams
• IRS News Release 2004-42
  IRS Warns of “Corporation Sole” Tax Scam
• IRS News Release 2004-47
  IRS Warns Businesses, Individuals to Watch for Questionable Employment Tax Practices
• IRS News Release 2004-48
  IRS, Justice Department Note Increase in Tax Enforcement: Civil and Criminal Enforcement Against Tax Cheats on the Rise
• Tax Fraud Alerts
  Information from the IRS Criminal Investigation Division
• Department of Justice and IRS Civil and Criminal Actions
• IRS Article About Abusive Employee Plan Tax Schemes

Reporting Tax Scams

To report information on abusive tax shelters, schemes or unscrupulous tax preparers, the IRS offers several options.