It’s not a favorite day for many taxpayers: Americans can begin filing their taxes with the IRS starting today through Apr. 18.
It’s unclear at this point whether or not the IRS will extend the deadline, but some states have already announced different deadlines for their own state individual income taxes. Maine and Massachusetts residents have until Apr. 19 to file their federal income taxes due to Patriots’ Day, a holiday in both states.
What to keep in mind for filing taxes in 2022
1. Security should be a top concern
Identity theft is a major issue, especially around tax time. Not only can someone compromise your identity by stealing your credit card info, they can also file an illicit tax return in your name — with the hopes of grabbing your return before you even realize.
The best way to avoid this situation is to file your tax return as early as possible. However, Bronnenkant suggests also using the Identity Protection Pin program offered by the IRS.
This program will give you a unique pin code to file your tax return with to verify someone isn’t using your info. The process takes a few minutes to sign-up, but its free and easy to use.
Bronnenkant told Select that “everyone should use it.”
If you want additional protection, using an identity theft monitoring service can help you catch fraud quickly. Select ranked IdentityForce® as the overall best program for its identity theft insurance up to $1 million and certified identity restoration experts who assist consumers with all of the necessary paperwork and phone calls if they discover their identity has been compromised by criminals in an IRS tax fraud scam.
