Official IRS app lets you track your refund

The Internal Revenue Service app IRS2GO allows taxpayers to check on the status of their tax refund and access other features.  IRS2GO also allows payments through an ACH debit from your checking or savings account (which is known as IRS Direct Pay), by debit card with a flat rate service fee ranging from $2.50 to $3.95, or by credit card with percentage based fees.  Government Technology has some more details about the app:

Where's My Tax Refund?

IRS Mobile App Simplifies Federal Tax Refund Tracking IRS2Go proves useful to taxpayers looking for refund answers and assistance in tax filing.

The IRS is trying to take some of the sting out of tax time with a mobile app that allows for simplified payment and refund tracking services.

The official application, called IRS2Go, allows users to check the status of their refunds, make payments and access free tax preparation services from a compatible smartphone.

Mobile users are also tied into a host of other resources, like instructional videos and tax tips through the agency’s social media pages and direct contact functions.

Refund status is reportedly available to taxpayers as soon as 24 hours after filing electronically and roughly four weeks after filing a return by mail...

The app, which was originally announced in January 2011, is available through the Apple App Store, Google Play and Amazon.

IRS offers "Free File" program

The Internal Revenue Service is offering a "Free File" program to electronically prepare and file your income tax return if you make less than $62,000 a year.  I haven't tried it out, but it seems like a good option if want to do your own taxes and you're trying to save money and time rather than doing your taxes by hand or by buying software.  Here's the description of the program from the IRS website:

All Tax Forms Free with Free File

Feb. 12, 2016

WASHINGTON — Whether you draw a paycheck, are self-employed or own a small business, you can use all available tax forms you need for free with IRS Free File.

If you make $62,000 or less, you qualify for free brand-name software offered through a partnership between the IRS and 13 leading tax software providers. Some of these providers offer free federal and free state return preparation and electronic filing. If you made more than $62,000, you can use Free File Fillable Forms, electronic versions of IRS paper forms best for someone experienced in return preparation.

Free File offers all federal tax forms for free. That goes for the Form 1040, Form 1040EZ and Form 1040A. For example, all forms are free if you have mortgage interest deductions, children in college or made money in the stock market, among other things.

Also for example, all forms are free if you have a Form W-2, or a Form 1099 or an EIN for your own business. #February marks a high-point in the tax filing season when the IRS experiences many calls to its customer service line from taxpayers with questions. Free File software products can help answer many of your questions by walking you through a step-by-step process to complete your tax return.

And if you can’t find answers from your tax software product, there are many other online tools at IRS.gov that can help you find the answers you need when you need them.

To start your Free File tax return, you first need all your documents including your income statements such as Form W-2...

Tax agencies contend with soaring refund scams

Income tax agencies are developing new solutions and technologies to deal with increasing identity thefts and fraudulently claimed refunds.  Among the improvements being considered are IP address verification, stronger passwords on state tax websites, and better information sharing across states.  The IRS has also been providing PINs to taxpayers upon request which will reduce the likelihood that an identity thief could claim somebody else's refund without that PIN.  Government Technology magazine reports:

It’s Tax Season, and States Are Battling Bogus Requests for Refunds

Tax fraud costs state treasuries millions of dollars.

This tax season, states are employing new strategies to combat online tax fraud. Last year during tax season, Utah discovered that about 8,000 state income tax returns were filed with fake IDs, which could have cost the state $11 million in bogus refunds. The fraud discovery precipitated a weekslong halt to processing taxpayers’ returns and an intense investigation that stopped all but $17,000 in false refunds.

The scam sought to take advantage of the consumer-friendly service used by Utah and many other states of sending taxpayers their refunds quickly via pre-paid debit cards that could immediately — and untraceably — be used like cash.

No more, say Utah and the other 40 states and the District of Columbia that require taxpayers to file state or local income tax returns. This year, they are working together with the IRS and the largest private tax software companies to try to discover and stop the online filing fraud quickly — sometimes before it starts — by doing a better job of verifying the identity of the filers, strengthening password protocols and sharing information on filings that use stolen identities.

IRS Launches Campaign to Curb Tax Fraud

The dollar stakes are high in combating the cyber fraud. The IRS lost an estimated $5.8 billion to paying out fraudulent federal refunds in 2013 alone. And states are defrauded by an estimated $8 billion to $9 billion annually, said Haywood Talcove, CEO of Government and LexisNexis Special Services Inc., which works with many states to counter the scams.

The fight against tax fraud is a “battle that seems to grow every day,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told state, federal and private industry tax leaders in June. “The threat from fraudsters and criminals is complex and evolving.”

It Starts With Identity Theft

Crooks use various scams to file phony tax returns, but most rely on stealing a taxpayer’s identity.

They obtain a name and Social Security number from an unsuspecting taxpayer. That information can come from a doctor’s office, insurance company, school or any other entity that routinely collects names and numbers.

Then, they do a little Web searching to determine where the person worked, and approximately what their wages were. Armed with that, the scammer files a tax return, often exaggerating the number of deductions or businesses “losses” to generate a large and swift refund.

The scammers provide a phony address to send the refund and voilà! extra cash. Using algorithms and sophisticated, fast computers, the scammers can handle many phony returns in one state or many.

Often, the refund fraud is organized and highly sophisticated, says LexisNexis. #New Precautions

The Federation of Tax Administrators, a nonprofit that represents state tax administrators, began a “security summit” last spring with officials from all the states with income taxes and the IRS. From it came guidelines and recommendations for states and the IRS to help combat fraud, including extra security procedures. Among them:

• Strengthen procedures to authenticate the identities of taxpayers so that when returns are filed, the filer’s claims can be compared to the actual taxpayers. That includes verifying the Internet Protocol address from which a return was filed, and monitoring how long it takes someone to prepare and file a return — scammers do it quickly. (“The bad guys are first, and the good guys are last,” said Richard Ainsworth, director of the Graduate Tax Program at the Boston University School of Law.)
• Institute more secure online password standards for the IRS and the states, including eight characters with uppercase, lowercase, alpha, numerical and special characters; a new timed lockout feature for unsuccessful logins; and a requirement that taxpayers answer three security questions when they log in to their account.
• And simply share information between the states when fraudulent filings are spotted...