Coalition Against Scam and Scheme Threats announce 2025 filing season changes aimed at preventing the spread of scams, schemes; new Fuel Tax Credit statement and increased review of “other withholding” claims among highlights
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service and partners in the Coalition of Scam and Scheme Threats (CASST) today released changes for the 2025 filing season designed to help protect taxpayers from becoming victims of a scam or scheme and prevent tax professionals from having their credentials compromised.
The changes to protect taxpayers include a new form involving the Fuel Tax Credit that’s designed to make it harder for well-meaning taxpayers to be misled into claiming the credit by promoters. This specialized credit that’s been promoted on social media is designed for off-highway business and farming use. Taxpayers need a business purpose and a qualifying business activity such as running a farm or purchasing aviation gasoline to be eligible for the credit. Most taxpayers don’t qualify for this credit.
The IRS is also stepping up review on a variety of “other withholding” claims on Form 1040 that have been targets of scammers and schemers. And the IRS is reaching out to taxpayers who have potentially been using “ghost preparers” to prepare tax returns. These preparers don’t identify themselves on the tax return, which is a red flag for taxpayers to be misled into a scam or scheme.
Convened at the request of IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel, the CASST task force of federal and state tax agencies, software and financial companies, as well as key national tax professional associations, agreed to a new public private partnership in August focused on scams and schemes.
“Since its creation, this special group across the tax community has been working to take extra steps to protect taxpayers and the tax professional community,” Werfel said. “This effort includes expanding outreach and education on emerging scams, developing innovative approaches to identify potentially fraudulent returns at the point of filing and creating infrastructure improvements to protect taxpayers as well as federal, state and industry tax systems. CASST partners have already worked together on important changes to protect taxpayers and tax professionals in the 2025 filing season, but this needs to be an ongoing effort given the continued expansion and threats from scams.”
Crime Complaint Center. The Report Phishing and Online Scams page at IRS.gov provides complete details.