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Are Tax Professionals and Taxpayers Concerned About Tax-Related Identity Theft?

In 2015, the Security Summit – a partnership between the IRS, state tax agencies, and members of the tax industry – began developing protocols to help combat the growing number of tax-related identity theft scams. While they were able to reduce the number of incidences in 2016, Security Summit partners know that this type of fraud will continue to be a concern as tax businesses increasingly transition to digital media.

Keeping this in mind, Drake Software surveyed 1,200 tax professionals and 1,200 taxpayers to learn how concerned each group was about tax-related identity theft, which filing methods they believed were the safest, and more.

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The first infographic details responses from tax professionals. Interestingly, tax professionals are equally likely to choose email, a secure portal, or some other method when transmitting sensitive data, but EAs are the most likely to choose a secure portal, like SecureFilePro. More than 60% of the surveyed CPAs and EAs did not believe taxpayers need to sign up for identity-theft protection services, but almost half of non-credentialed preparers thought taxpayers should.

Download “Tax-Related Identity Theft Survey of Taxpayers”

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Taxpayer responses found in the second infographic addressed questions like “have you ever been the victim of a phishing email?” or “have you ever been a victim of tax return fraud?” More than two thirds of surveyed taxpayers were at least somewhat concerned about tax-related identity theft. And despite growing outreach from Security Summit partners, only 11% of those surveyed had ever heard of the Taxes. Security. Together. campaign.

Getting Prepared for Filing Season

We are just two weeks away from January 23 and the frenetic, break-neck pace that inevitably accompanies tax season. If you’re looking for more tax-related resources to help you get prepared, Drake Software has released a host of reference guides: Tax Year 2016 Desk Reference Guide, Tax Year 2016 ACA Reference Guide, Tax Year 2016 ACA Quick Reference Guide, and Tax Year 2016 ACA Business Mandate Guide.

And, as always, Taxing Subjects will be continue to cover the latest in tax industry news.