IRS Warns of Tax Scams, Reminds Taxpayers That They Are Responsible for Their Returns

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released the 2025 edition of its “Dirty Dozen” list. This is an annual publication where the IRS provides “a warning for taxpayers, businesses and tax professionals to watch out for common schemes that threaten their tax and financial information.” As Texas tax fraud lawyer Lawrence Brown explains, the IRS’s “Dirty Dozen” list typically reprises some of the warnings from prior years while also including new warnings about emerging threats.

However, when the IRS publishes its “Dirty Dozen” list each year, it also makes clear that taxpayers are ultimately responsible for the contents of their returns. Even when taxpayers fall victim to social media scams, unscrupulous tax preparers and tax advisors, and other risks, they are still liable for the full amount they owe the IRS. This includes not only their federal tax liability but any interest and penalties they accrue as well.

Key Warnings from the IRS’ 2025 “Dirty Dozen” List

With this in mind, it is important for taxpayers—and high-income and high-net-worth taxpayers in particular—to be aware of the risks that can lead to unknowingly submitting false and fraudulent returns. Here are some of the key warnings from the IRS’ 2025 “Dirty Dozen” list:

Tax “Advice” from Self-Promoters and Influencers on Social Media

For the past two years, the IRS has warned taxpayers against relying on tax advice promoted on social media. As the IRS explains in its 2025 “Dirty Dozen” list:

“Social media platforms routinely circulate inaccurate or misleading tax information, including . . . TikTok[,] where people share wildly inaccurate tax advice.”

This includes tax “advice” posted by people who position themselves as experts or claim to be legitimate tax advisors or tax professionals. While some of this is truly just bad advice, the IRS also warns of scams that involve recruiting high-income and high-net-worth taxpayers through social media in order to charge them for structuring unlawful tax avoidance schemes or use their personal information to claim fraudulent tax refunds.

Fake Charities Promoted to High-Income and High-Net-Worth Taxpayers Seeking Tax Deductions

The IRS describes fake charities as a “perennial problem” in its 2025 “Dirty Dozen” list. It warns of two related but very different risks: (i) scammers using fake charities to obtain high-income and high-net-worth taxpayers’ personal information and account data; and (ii) high-income and high-net-worth taxpayers improperly claiming tax deductions for contributions to fake charities that are not tax-exempt organizations (if they exist at all).

As the IRS makes clear, “charitable donations only count [for federal tax purposes] if they go to a qualified tax-exempt organization recognized by the IRS.” As a result, if a taxpayer claims a substantial tax deduction for a charitable contribution to a non-exempt organization, the taxpayer can face scrutiny (and potentially interest and penalties) for underpaying their federal tax liability.

Improper Use of Federal Tax Credits (and Claiming Tax Credits that Don’t Exist)

Several of the IRS’s warnings on its 2025 “Dirty Dozen” list pertain to improperly claiming tax credits—and, in one case, claiming a tax credit that doesn’t actually exist. For example, the IRS advises:

• “A major concern during the past year involved taxpayers who were misled into believing they were eligible for the Fuel Tax Credit. The credit is meant for off-highway business and farming use and is not available to most taxpayers.”
• “Taxpayers [are being encouraged to] ‘invent’ fictional household employees and then file Schedule H (Form 1040), Household Employment Taxes, to claim a refund based on false sick and family medical leave wages they never paid.”
• “Social media advice continues to circulate about a non-existent ‘Self-Employment Tax Credit’ that’s misleading taxpayers into filing false claims.”

When the IRS identifies issues such as these in public statements, this generally means that revenue agents will be looking for these types of issues when examining taxpayers’ returns. While all taxpayers need to be careful, high-income and high-net-worth taxpayers must be especially careful as they are more likely to face scrutiny due to the potential for substantial underpayments.

Other Abusive Tax Schemes Involving Sophisticated Tax Planning Strategies

The IRS also warns of several other potential issues that are of particular relevance to high-income and high-net-worth taxpayers. These include “a wide array of other abusive schemes and bogus tax avoidance strategies that can mislead well-intentioned taxpayers.” For example, the IRS advises that taxpayers should be wary of proposed tax mitigation strategies such as holding assets offshore and using trusts for tax planning purposes.

While neither of these strategies are inherently unlawful, abusive use of these (and other) strategies can lead to allegations of tax evasion or tax fraud. Given the IRS’s focus in this area (among others), it is critical for high-income and high-net-worth taxpayers to ensure that they are making informed decisions about who they trust to assist them with developing their tax strategies and preparing their returns.

Resolving Substantial Tax Controversies with the IRS

Ideally, high-income and high-net-worth taxpayers will be able to work with trusted advisors to submit accurate returns to the IRS. But, what if you fall victim to an unscrupulous tax preparer or an online tax fraud scheme?

In these types of scenarios, resolving substantial tax controversies requires informed and strategic decision-making. This, in turn, requires highly experienced legal representation. While submitting fraudulent returns to the IRS can pose substantial risks, these risks can often be mitigated (if not eliminated entirely) with the right approach. If you need to resolve a substantial tax controversy with the IRS related to submitting inaccurate returns, we encourage you to contact us promptly for more information.

Contact Us to Request a Confidential Consultation with an Experienced Texas Tax Fraud Lawyer

Lawrence Brown is a highly experienced Texas tax fraud lawyer who represents high-income and high-net-worth taxpayers in substantial federal tax controversies involving the IRS and IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS CI). To request a confidential consultation with Mr. Brown, please call 888-870-0025 or tell us how we can reach you online today.