Tax

The IRS winds up its annual list of 12 scams and schemes by covering two broad categories: bogus tax-avoidance strategies and schemes with an international element.

The IRS opened its annual Dirty Dozen list with scams that trick recipients into clicking a suspicious link, filling out personal and financial information, or downloading malware onto their computer.

The appropriations act enacted over the weekend that kept the federal government from shutting down included $12.3 billion for the IRS, but also codified an agreed-upon $20 billion cut in money allocated by the Inflation Reduction Act.

The IRS would reduce the notice of third-party contact with respect to the determination or collection of the taxpayer’s tax liability to 10 days from 45 days in several circumstances involving statutory periods for assessments and collections that expire in one year or less.

Allowing taxpayers to communicate with the IRS almost entirely online will free the agency’s workers to handle other tasks, Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a speech Monday.