The Kitchen Table

There are a lot of reasons to file your taxes early, the most obvious is the earlier you file, the sooner you will receive any refund. But there is another really important reason to file your taxes sooner rather than later, and that is to avoid the possibility of identity theft with fraudulent tax returns.

Tax time generally coincides with increased transactions that require sharing confidential information online and off line. This gives criminals lots of opportunities to steal personal data and capitalize off of those of us who procrastinate filing our tax returns. Fraudulent tax returns are more common than you may think. According to a report in CNN Money, the IRS paid out $3.6 billion in fraudulent tax refunds in 2013, and caught 12.6 million suspicious returns over the past two years. * The bad news is that most victims of tax return fraud don’t discover that their identity has been stolen until after the criminal has filed for your return and rerouted your refund into their own bank account. It takes the IRS months to investigate the fraud and get the matter resolved.

So, the best line of defense is to file early and then if a second return were to be submitted with your name on it, the IRS will flag that return and catch the criminal without delaying your refund. LPI Loans does offer competitive tax return service with identity theft protection. You can file your taxes with us and keep more money in your pocket. We offer no upfront fee options** and hassle-free service. Call your local office for more details, and keep your refund safe this tax season.

*Source:http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/07/pf/taxes/irs-fraud/ 

**Bank product services are provided by River City Bank, Member of the FDIC. Fees will apply, including possible tax preparation fees, and will be deducted from the tax refund.

*Employees of LPI Loans and our affiliates are not attorneys and LPI Loans DOES NOT provide any legal advice and users of this web site should consult with their own attorney for legal advice.