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Joel Katz

Social Media Not a Good Place for Tax Advice

Author Joel Katz
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 1040 Individual Income Tax form with a W-2 tax statement

It’s tax day, and over the past few weeks, I’ve seen some interesting tax advice on TikTok, Facebook, and other platforms that looked inaccurate. Needless to say, social media is never a place to seek tax advice, tips, or hacks.

Some of the crazy tax advice includes telling us to follow various schemes to increase our refund or avoid having to pay what we owe. Experts say this will do nothing but get you in trouble with the IRS, and nobody wants that.

IRS Commissioner Warns About Bad Tax Advice and Scams

The IRS warns people not to fall for these scams. Taxpayers who knowingly file fraudulent tax returns will face significant penalties. IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel says, “Social media is an easy way for scammers and others to try encouraging people to pursue some really bad ideas, and that includes ways to magically increase your tax refund. There are many ways to get good tax information, including @irsnews on social media and from trusted tax professionals. But people should be careful with who they follow on social media for tax advice. Unlike hacks to fix a leaky kitchen sink or creative makeup tips, people shouldn’t rely on made-up ways on social media to patch up their tax return and boost their refund.”

IRS is Aware of Bad Social Media Tax Advice Hashtags

The IRS knows about filing season hashtags and social media topics that lead to bad tax advice. A couple of these include people trying to use legitimate tax forms for the wrong reason.

Fraudulent Tax Advice on Form W-2

There’s a scheme circulating on social media that encourages people to use tax software to fill out Form W-2, Wage, and Tax Statements manually and include false income information. The scam artist suggests people make up large income and withholding figures, and the employer it’s coming from.

Scam artists then instruct people to file the tax return electronically in hopes of getting a big refund because of the large amount of withholding. This may sound like an obvious mistake to most of us, but some people have no idea until it’s too late.

There are two other types of the W-2 scheme.

  • Fraudulent Form 7202: This involves encouraging people to use Form 7202, Credits for Sick Leave and Family Leave for Certain Self-Employed Individuals, to claim a credit based on income earned as an employee and not self-employed. These credits were available for 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic, but are not available for 2023 tax returns.
  • Fraudulent Schedule H: This tells people to invent fictional household employees and then file Schedule H or Form 1040, Household Employment Taxes, to claim a refund based on false sick and family medical leave wages they never paid.

The IRS looks for these scams and works with payroll companies, employers, and the Social Security Administration to verify tax information.

How You Can Verify Tax Information

The best place for taxpayers to learn how to use tax forms correctly on social media is to go to IRS.gov for the official IRS social media accounts.

Tax Deductions and Credits That Could Save You Big

Tax season is truly in full swing. Tax deductions and credits are there to help people, so why not take the help? It might seem like a headache having to go through a long list of possible deductions, but it’s really not so bad. I’ve gathered some information directly from the IRS to help you save this tax season. So, let’s get into the dollars and cents.

Before we get into the savings, let’s look at how credits and deductions work. According to the IRS, “You can claim credits and deductions when you file your tax return to lower your tax. Make sure you get all the credits and deductions you qualify for.”

The definition of a credit, according to the IRS, is “an amount you subtract from the tax you owe. This can lower your tax payment or increase your refund.” They note that some credits are refundable. That means “they can give you money back even if you don’t owe any tax.” If you want to claim credits, you must answer questions in your tax filing software. Or, if you’re doing taxes the old-fashioned way, you’ll have to fill out a form and attach it.

The definition of a deduction, according to the IRS, is “an amount you subtract from your income when you file so you don’t pay tax on it. By lowering your income, deductions lower your tax.” In order to do this, you have to have documents to show expenses or losses you want to deduct. You can do this via tax software or, if you’re filing a paper return, your deductions go on Form 1040 and you may need to attach extra forms.

Now, the fun part. Read on for tax deductions and credits that could save you cash this season. Here’s hoping that Uncle Sam treats you well.

  • Standard deduction amounts

    The standard deduction for 2023 is $13,850 for single or married filing separately; $27,700 for married couples filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse; and $20,800 for head of household. “If you’re married filing separately, you can’t take the standard deduction if your spouse itemizes. You must both choose the same method,” the IRS says.

    To find the standard deduction if you’re over 65 or blind, go here. To find the standard deduction if you’re a dependent on someone else’s tax return, go here.

    Investors are calculating profits and costs with calculators, growth and investment chart analysis, business planning and strategies to maximize sales profits. Long term business plan.

    Getty Images / Thapana Onphalai

  • Deductible expenses whether you take the standard deduction or itemize

    According to the IRS, you can deduct these expenses whether you take the standard deduction or itemize:

    Alimony payments
    Business use of your car
    Business use of your home
    Money you put in an IRA
    Money you put in health savings accounts
    Penalties on early withdrawals from savings
    Student loan interest
    Teacher expenses
    For some military, government, self-employed and people with disabilities: work-related education expenses
    For military servicemembers: moving expenses

    Tax deduction planning concept. Businessman calculating business balance prepare tax reduction. taxes paid by individuals and corporations such as VAT, income tax and property tax.

    Getty Images / Shutthiphong Chandaeng

  • Deductible expenses if you itemize

    According to the IRS, you can deduct these expenses if you itemize:

    Bad debts
    Canceled debt on home
    Capital losses
    Donations to charity
    Gains from sale of your home
    Gambling losses
    Home mortgage interest
    Income, sales, real estate and personal property taxes
    Losses from disasters and theft
    Medical and dental expenses over 7.5% of your adjusted gross income
    Miscellaneous itemized deductions
    Opportunity zone investment

    Amount you owe line on income tax return forms, cash money and calculator. Federal tax return, income tax, tax refund and payment concept.

    Getty Images / JJ Gouin

  • Frequently asked questions

    Tax season can be a confusing time. There are lots of bits and piece that you have to put together. That said, the IRS has a very helpful page with frequently asked questions. Find the list of questions and answers here. As always, it’s also a good idea to get a professional to help with any questions.

    Young woman working with tax form.

    Getty Images / alfexe

Joel Katz is the Morning Show Personality, Assistant Program Director, Podcast Host, Voiceover artist, audio producer, and Digital Content Writer for Magic 98.3. Joel has been working in New Jersey radio since college and started at Magic in 2002 as the Morning Show Host, “I can’t think of another place where I’d fit more perfectly; it’s just a great company with awesome people.” Joel is married to Kathleen, his elementary school sweetheart (they were each other’s first dates at age 9), shares a birthday with his oldest son, Ty, and has twins, Kiera and Liam. Joel runs at least 3.1 miles every day and enjoys playing basketball, doing laundry, saving his turn signal for when he really needs it, kissing dogs through a fence, using coasters, making that cool noise by rubbing his fingers on balloons, and chasing after ping pong balls on a windy cruise ship.

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