Wang Solutions

Rapper Ja Rule was convicted of tax evasion in March 2011.

We’ve all heard stories about rich and famous people running afoul of the law — not because of drug use or anything particularly glamorous, but for simple tax evasion. It might seem silly to the rest of the world, but some of these celebrities make a lot of money, and that means that the taxes they pay are significantly higher.

But celebs aren’t the only people tempted by tax scams. Middle class Americans can get sucked into these scams, too.

The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) has compiled a list of 2011’s top tax scams. If any of these “Dirty Dozen” sound familiar to you, be sure to avoid them and the people who suggested them to you!

• Hiding income offshore
• Identity theft and phishing
• Tax return preparer fraud
• Filing false or misleading forms
• Frivolous legal positions or arguments
• Nontaxable Social Security benefits with exaggerated withholding credit
• Abuse of charitable organizations and deductions
• Abusive retirement plans
• Disguised corporate ownership
• Filing phony wage- or income-related returns to reduce wages to zero
• Misuse of trusts
• Fuel tax credit scams

If you’re engaged in any of these, you should know that the IRS is probably onto you, and that you’ll likely be getting audited sometime in the near future.

But if you’ve never heard of any of them and would like to avoid them in 2012, you can get full descriptions of each of these scams from the IRS.

On the Money,
Sufen Wang
Wang Solutions