SPEC released the following information about Closeout/Backup Procedures;

TaxSlayer Online Closeout Procedures:

1. Do not delete or inactivate any returns if carryforward tax return data is desired for the next filing season

2. The TaxSlayer server will secure all data…..

Click here to download PDF

Stay the Course!

With just a little more than two weeks before April 17^th, we are steadily moving towards our 4.0 goal, as reflected in our numbers for the week ending 3/25/2018.  We will stay the course until the job is done!

Kudos to everyone for helping prepare 293,008 returns! Yes, we are a little short of our weekly projection, but compared to last year, this represents a 2.3% increase. As you can see below, we are quickly approaching the 2.5M cumulative mark. Hats off for achieving a 0.1% increase above last year!

Even with the continued weather challenges in some areas, we continue to see increases in our FSA and prior year return preparation numbers, 5.9% and 53.3% respectively.  We’ve also seen a 1.9% increase in our state tax return preparation. Keep it up!

Update 1

Halfway There!

Keep up the good work!

~~~  Original Message ~~~

First, we want to thank each of you for your dedication and commitment to make this a banner year for return production.  SPEC’s goal is not only to reach 4 million returns for Filing Season 2018, but also serve more taxpayers and touch more lives by offering as many free tax preparation options as possible.  We are confident and poised to accomplish great things this filing season with your assistance.

To help track our progress, we have developed weekly projections to determine where we should be in relation to our 4.0 goal.  Each week this message will be updated with our progress and promote SPEC’s theme: SPEC 4.0, Watch us Grow!

For the week ending 3/4/2018, 356,317 returns were projected to be completed.  We reached an actual count of 313,542 and are almost at the 1.5 million mark. Our cumulative return count is 1,468,961.

While the actual count is below the SPEC projection, there is still time to narrow the gap!

If you have any ideas on ways to help this initiative, we would love to hear from you! Some of you may consider extended hours or days.  Every little bit helps!

Thanks for your engagement and all you are doing to provide free tax assistance to the taxpayers in your community!

SPEC Headquarters

Form 13614-C, Intake/Interview & Quality Review Sheet, is required for every tax return prepared. Certified volunteer preparers are required to complete the entire Intake/Interview Process when preparing tax returns. To promote accuracy, this process must include an interview with the taxpayer while reviewing Form 13614-C and all supporting documents.

Click here to download PDF

Halfway There!

Keep up the good work!

~~~  Original Message ~~~

First, we want to thank each of you for your dedication and commitment to make this a banner year for return production.  SPEC’s goal is not only to reach 4 million returns for Filing Season 2018, but also serve more taxpayers and touch more lives by offering as many free tax preparation options as possible.  We are confident and poised to accomplish great things this filing season with your assistance.

To help track our progress, we have developed weekly projections to determine where we should be in relation to our 4.0 goal.  Each week this message will be updated with our progress and promote SPEC’s theme: SPEC 4.0, Watch us Grow!

For the week ending 3/4/2018, 356,317 returns were projected to be completed.  We reached an actual count of 313,542 and are almost at the 1.5 million mark. Our cumulative return count is 1,468,961.

While the actual count is below the SPEC projection, there is still time to narrow the gap!

If you have any ideas on ways to help this initiative, we would love to hear from you! Some of you may consider extended hours or days.  Every little bit helps!

Thanks for your engagement and all you are doing to provide free tax assistance to the taxpayers in your community!

SPEC Headquarters

Background:  We received a report of a possible scam involving taxpayers claiming Elder Care Wages to receive a larger refund that includes refundable credits such as Earned Income Tax Credit.  The taxpayers visiting the site provided a handwritten document claiming to be from an individual stating they paid the taxpayer for elder care.

Message for Relationship Managers:

• Share the possible scam with partners.
• Advise partners that the Site Coordinator has the discretion to decline tax preparation services if sufficient documentation is not provided by the taxpayer.

Message for Partners:

• Be vigilant in identifying possible scams.
• Report possible scams to your local SPEC representative.
• Use the below reference documents to assist with reporting possible scams.

Reference Tools:

• Refer to https://www.irs.gov/individuals/how-do-you-report-suspected-tax-fraud-activity if you suspect an individuals or a business is not complying with the tax laws.

The following VTA contains updated information on the extender provisions

Click here to download PDF

First, we want to thank each of you for your dedication and commitment to make this a banner year for return production.  SPEC’s goal is not only to reach 4 million returns for Filing Season 2018, but also serve more taxpayers and touch more lives by offering as many free tax preparation options as possible.  We are confident and poised to accomplish great things this filing season with your assistance.

To help track our progress, we have developed weekly projections to determine where we should be in relation to our 4.0 goal.  Each week this message will be updated with our progress and promote SPEC’s theme: SPEC 4.0, Watch us Grow!

For the week ending 3/4/2018, 356,317 returns were projected to be completed.  We reached an actual count of 313,542 and are almost at the 1.5 million mark. Our cumulative return count is 1,468,961.

While the actual count is below the SPEC projection, there is still time to narrow the gap!

If you have any ideas on ways to help this initiative, we would love to hear from you! Some of you may consider extended hours or days.  Every little bit helps!

Thanks for your engagement and all you are doing to provide free tax assistance to the taxpayers in your community!

SPEC Headquarters

Phishing

Scammers often try to steal their victims’ identities by sending them phony e-mails which claim to come from trusted sources, such as well-known financial institutions or government agencies (including the IRS), and ask them for detailed personal and financial information. This practice is known as “phishing.” The information requested is used by the scammers to gain access to the victims’ bank accounts, open new credit cards in their victims’ names and get cash advances, and more.

While we have not heard this from our VITA/TCE community, we wanted to share this as an informational awareness alert:

TaxSlayer Pro has been made aware of an email phishing scam where the sender claims to be from TaxSlayer Pro.  The subject line may read “Urgent Warning” or “Action Required”.  The body of the email is asking you to “take action or lose access to your account within 24 hours” or “we’ve updated our servers and some of your information is missing”.  This email contains a link to a site intended for you to update your information.  Do not click the link or provide any requested information.  These emails were sent from an unknown party not affiliated with TaxSlayer Pro.  Please note, official email from TaxSlayer Pro will always be sent from a TaxSlayerPro.com email address, or in the case of VITA/TCE a [email protected] email address.

The IRS has noticed an increase in the number of phishing attempts targeting professional tax preparers over the past year.  Phishing emails may use differing language in an attempt to trick an individual in to disclosing sensitive data.  Should you ever have concerns about the legitimacy of an email claiming to be from TaxSlayer Pro, please do not hesitate to contact our Support team by phone at 800-421-6346 or by email at [email protected] prior to taking any action.

How to Spot a Scam

Many e-mail scams are fairly sophisticated and hard to detect. However, there are signs to watch for, such as an e-mail that:

• Requests detailed or an unusual amount of personal and/or financial information, such as name, SSN, bank or credit card account numbers or security-related information, such as mother’s maiden name, either in the e-mail itself or on another site to which a link in the e-mail sends the recipient.
• Dangles bait to get the recipient to respond to the e-mail.
• Threatens a consequence for not responding to the e-mail.
• Gets the company or other federal agency names wrong.
• Uses incorrect grammar or odd phrasing.
• Uses a really long address in any link contained in the e-mail message or one that does not start with the actual company email address. To see the actual link address, or url, move the mouse over the link included in the text of the e-mail.