The IRS Annual Dirty Dozen List

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on March 11, 2024

Have you heard about the enormous tax savings you can reap by investing in a Maltese individual retirement arrangement or utilizing Puerto Rican captive insurance for your business? Before you invest your hard-earned money in these or other highly promoted tax schemes, you should check the IRS Dirty Dozen list.

For over 20 years, the IRS has issued an annual Dirty Dozen list identifying tax scams and avoidance schemes. This year’s list includes everything from employee retention credit claims to the use of fake charities.

Some items on the Dirty Dozen list involve fraud, such as identity theft through “spearphishing.” Other items involve tax credits or deductions, such as conservation easements, that can be legitimate but have been prone to abuse by taxpayers in the IRS’s view.

The Dirty Dozen gives you red flags that trigger IRS scrutiny and can result in aggressive enforcement action against taxpayers who claim such deductions or credits and those who promote them.

When you see a new item on the Dirty Dozen list, especially if it’s at the top, you know it’s something the IRS is particularly interested in. A case in point is the employee retention credit (ERC). It didn’t make it to the list until 2023, and then the IRS placed it on the top.

The top position tells you that combating fraudulent ERC claims is a high priority for the IRS. This doesn’t mean you should avoid claiming the ERC if you’re entitled to it. Just make sure you have all the necessary records in case of an audit.

As part of its Dirty Dozen awareness effort, the IRS encourages members of the public to report individuals who promote improper and abusive tax schemes as well as tax return preparers who deliberately prepare improper returns. The IRS also created an Office of Promoter Investigations in 2021 to identify and stop promoters and enablers of abusive tax avoidance transactions.

Employing a strategy or scheme on the Dirty Dozen list makes an audit more likely. It can also result in substantial tax penalties if an audit occurs and the IRS concludes that taxes were underpaid due to the use of the strategy. The fact that the strategy was on the Dirty Dozen list can make it difficult to avoid such penalties, which the IRS can impose on

          taxpayers

          tax preparers, and

          promoters.

Taxpayers can avoid the accuracy-related penalty if they establish that they had reasonable cause for the underpayment and acted in good faith. But it is challenging, if not impossible, for taxpayers to demonstrate that they acted in good faith when they adopt a strategy or scheme listed in the IRS’s Dirty Dozen list.

Ready to navigate the intricate world of tax planning? Partner with Coach Janelle CPA and ensure your financial strategies align with compliance and efficiency —schedule your consultation now and take charge of your tax savings journey! Visit our website to learn more how we can help you.

About Coach Janelle CPA

Sign Up To Our Weekly Newsletter

Get the latest tax planning tips content delivered straight to your inbox.

 All Your Information is Protected When You Sign Up

Check Out Some Of Our Latest Blog Post

Estimated Tax Penalties

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on March 2, 2024

The United States has a “pay as you go” tax system in which payments for income tax (and, where applicable, Social Security and Medicare taxes) must be made to the IRS throughout the year as income is earned, whether through withholding, by making estimated tax payments, or both.

New 1099-K Filing Rules Delayed Again

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on January 27, 2024

Do you sell goods or services and receive payment through a third-party settlement organization (TPSO)? If so, you must know the IRS’s new Form 1099-K reporting rules.

TPSOs include: 1, payment apps such as PayPal, CashApp, and Venmo; 2. online auction or marketplace services such as eBay and Amazon...

2023 Last-Minute Vehicle Purchases to Save on Taxes

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on December 13, 2023

Here’s an easy question: Do you need more 2023 tax deductions? If the answer is yes, continue reading. Next easy question: do you need a replacement business vehicle? If so, you can simultaneously solve or mitigate the first problem (needing more deductions) and the second problem...

Last-Minute Year-End Retirement Deductions 

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on December 8, 2023

The clock continues to tick. Your retirement is one year closer. You have time before December 31 to take steps that will help you fund the retirement you desire. Here are five things to consider. 1. Establish Your 2023 Retirement Plan. First, a question: do you have your (or your corporation’s) retirement plan in place? If not, and if you have some cash...

Last-Minute Year-End Medical Plan Strategies

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on December 6, 2023

All small-business owners with one to 49 employees should have a medical plan for their business. Sure, it’s true that with 49 or fewer employees, the tax law does not require you to have a plan, but you should. When you have 49 or fewer employees, most medical plan tax rules are straightforward...

Last-Minute Year-End General Business Income Tax Deductions

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on November 25, 2023

The purpose of this article is to reveal how you can get the IRS to owe you money.

Of course, the IRS will not likely cut you a check for this money (although in the right circumstances, that will happen), but you’ll realize the cash when you pay less in taxes...

Tax-Free Rental Income with the Augusta Rule

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on November 1, 2023

The Augusta rule gets its name from the Masters Golf Tournament, where some members and others who live in the area receive tax-free rent by renting their homes for a week or two. You don’t have to live in Augusta to benefit from this rule...

Deduct Travel by Car, Train, Plane, or Boat

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on October 25, 2023

Say you are going to travel from your home in Washington, D.C., to San Francisco. Will the tax law allow you to travel to San Francisco by car, train, plane, or boat, your choice? Answer. Yes. But special rules apply. You need to know these rules to guarantee your deductions...

Donating Clothing to Goodwill and the Salvation Army

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on October 18, 2023

As the year comes to a close, many taxpayers consider making clothing and household item donations both to give back and to optimize their tax deductions. Recent cases, like the one involving Duncan Bass, underscore the significance of understanding and adhering to IRS regulations related to these contributions...

Act Now! Get Your Safe-Harbor Expensing in Place

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on September 27, 2023

For 2024, you can elect the de minimis safe harbor to expense assets costing $2,500 or less ($5,000 with audited financial statements or similar) The term “safe harbor” means that the IRS will accept your expensing of the qualified assets if you properly abided by the safe harbor rules...

HSAs for Business Owners

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on September 2, 2023

When enacted, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) eliminated most small-business health plans that reimbursed individually purchased health insurance. Consequently, many small business owners with fewer than 50 employees chose health savings accounts (HSAs) or opted to provide no health coverage at all....

Update on State Pass-Through Entity Taxes Beating the SALT

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on September 6, 2023

Here are some critical updates on the pass-through entity tax (PTET), which has recently become the rule in most states rather than the exception. The PTET enables owners of pass-through businesses, such as S corporations and multi-member LLCs, to navigate around the $10,000 annual limit on state and local taxes (SALT).

Share Us On Social Media