{"id":3096,"date":"2019-04-09T15:14:39","date_gmt":"2019-04-09T19:14:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/?p=3096"},"modified":"2019-04-09T15:14:46","modified_gmt":"2019-04-09T19:14:46","slug":"free-tax-returns-prepared-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/free-tax-returns-prepared-here\/","title":{"rendered":"FREE TAX RETURNS PREPARED HERE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON POST WARNS TAXPAYERS ABOUT FREE TAX RETURN PREPARATION SERVICES <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While One Should Always be Cautious of Sharing Personal Information, “Tax Time” Always Calls for Increased Caution and Discretion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everybody loves \u201cfree stuff.\u201d Unless you are dealing with a philanthropist, are these free deals really free? According to Geoffrey Fowler in a March 7 article in the Washington Post, we are reminded that nothing is certain except death, taxes . . . and tech companies making grabs for your data.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Fowler\u2019s article discussed the various \u201cfree\u201d online tax services and why they are free. \u201cHow is somebody going to make money from this?\u201d he asks. As Fowler so astutely stated, in Silicon Valley the adage is \u201cIf the product is free, that means you\u2019re the product.\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He found that some vendors use the intimate details of the taxpayer\u2019s tax returns to:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bait you to\npurchase paid services<\/strong>. As examples, he\nmentioned that TurboTax and H&R Block offer limited free service to sell\nyou more expensive paid services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sell you\nfinancial services<\/strong>. The data in your tax return is a\ngold mine. It allows vendors to determine how much you earn and are paying for\nyour current mortgage. If you are wondering why you are being targeted by mortgage\nrefinancing ads or solicitations from investment companies, your free tax\nreturn may be the reason. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit card solicitations<\/strong>. Some companies make money by showing you tailored \u201coffers\u201d for credit cards and loans based on a profile of your financial life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PRIVACY CONCERNS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fowler stated that we\u2019ve been letting free technology blind us to a really important question: When tax prep is free, you may be paying with your privacy. <\/strong>He states there\u2019s a fine line between useful and creepy with surveillance. For some, such offers might be acceptable, even time- and money-saving. Fowler says that offers made by Credit Karma Tax are taking a business idea that hasn\u2019t worked out well with Facebook and applying it to even more sensitive information . . . your personal financial information.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To really understand what free costs, you have to follow the data. Taped on Fowler\u2019s desk are four questions he has learned to ask any business that wants his data:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. What information is being used?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Who is it being shared with?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. How secure is it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. How long are they holding on to it? <\/strong>If you use a service for a year, you tax information could be available “for sale” for several years. You need to read the fine print.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While credit bureaus and data brokers already collect\ninformation about your finances, some details are hard for that industry to\ncome by, such as your cash flow, mortgage deduction and savings yield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember that when using such free services, you are potentially putting your Social Security numbers at risk along with your address, employer\u2019s name, address and EIN, dates of birth, and dependent children\u2019s names. The IRS has gone to great lengths to redact much of this information in its transcripts system to prevent hackers from stealing your identity and preparing fraudulent income tax returns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data breach announcements by large companies appear to be becoming more common today. Using Willie Sutton\u2019s quote as to why he robbed banks, \u201cThat\u2019s where the money is.\u201d Consider the potential consequences of voluntarily putting confidential information on the web.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you would like to discuss your business or personal tax planning<\/a>, tax preparation<\/a> and other financial concerns with an experienced tax professional, we invite you to call 610-594-2601<\/a> today to make an appointment at our Exton PA CPA office<\/a> to discuss your situation. You can also schedule a consultation at Click Here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copyright \u00a9 2019 Keystone Financial Solutions, Inc.  All rights reserved.  BE SURE TO READ THE DISCLAIMER PAGE: Content in this blog is for educational purposes only and should not be considered as the rendering of tax, legal or investment advice. The publisher of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information herein, will not be liable for any errors or omissions, and shall not assume liability for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About F. Bryan Haarlander, EA, CTRS:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bryan\nHaarlander is an IRS licensed Enrolled Agent and who owns and operates a\nspecialized tax services firm serving clients in the western suburbs of\nPhiladelphia, PA, which includes the cities of Chester Springs, Coatesville,\nCollegeville, Devon, Downingtown, Exton, Frazer, King of Prussia, Paoli, Philadelphia,\nPhoenixville, Pottstown, Radnor, Reading, Wayne, West Chester in Berks,\nChester,  Delaware, Montgomery and\nPhiladelphia Counties, as well as clients in Delaware, New Jersey, New York and\nthroughout the continental USA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Certified Tax Resolution Specialist, Bryan is well-known for his IRS tax resolution expertise and his book How to Resolve Your IRS Tax Debt Problems. <\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WASHINGTON POST WARNS TAXPAYERS ABOUT FREE TAX RETURN PREPARATION SERVICES While One Should Always be Cautious of Sharing Personal Information, “Tax Time” Always Calls for Increased Caution and Discretion Everybody loves \u201cfree stuff.\u201d Unless you are dealing with a philanthropist, are these free deals really free? According to Geoffrey Fowler in a March 7 article […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[61,4,56],"tags":[132,69,73,63,33,34,21,64,71,31,72,66,23,41,65,32,40,39,67,68,38,70,201,200,202,151,37,36,35,150,42,28],"class_list":{"0":"post-3096","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-tax-news","7":"category-pennsylvania-tax-news","8":"category-state-tax-news","9":"tag-accuracy-related-penalty","10":"tag-audits","11":"tag-bankruptcy","12":"tag-bryan-haarlander","13":"tag-chester-county-cpa","14":"tag-exton-accountant","15":"tag-exton-cpa","16":"tag-f-bryan-haarlander","17":"tag-first-time-abatement","18":"tag-frank-haarlander","19":"tag-innocent-spouse","20":"tag-installment-agreements","21":"tag-irs","22":"tag-irs-tax-debts","23":"tag-irs-tax-payments","24":"tag-keystone-financial-solutions","25":"tag-offer-in-compromise","26":"tag-oic","27":"tag-partial-installment-agreements","28":"tag-penalty-abatement","29":"tag-philadelphia-cpa","30":"tag-reasonable-cause","31":"tag-reasonable-compensation","32":"tag-s-corporations","33":"tag-self-employment-taxes","34":"tag-tax-adviser-near-me","35":"tag-tax-blog","36":"tag-tax-expert","37":"tag-tax-planning","38":"tag-tax-professional-near-me","39":"tag-tax-resolution","40":"tag-west-chester-cpa","41":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9W9tf-NW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3096"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3109,"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3096\/revisions\/3109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}