• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise
  • Contact our Team
  • In the News
  • For NYC Residents
    • NYC Free Parking Calendar 2020
    • ID NYC Card for Free Museum Admission
    • Where to Donate Goods or Volunteer

NYC on the Cheap

Get More New York City for Less Money

  • Aways
    Free
    • Best FREE Things to Do in New York City
    • FREE Museum Admission by Borough
    • FREE Museum Admission by Day of Week
    • NYC Museums With No Admission Fee Ever
    • FREE Tickets to Late Night TV Shows
    • FREE Tickets to Daytime TV Shows
  • Entertainment
    & the Arts
    • Family Fun
    • NYC Discount Tickets
    • Philadelphia Ticket Deals
    • Movies
    • NYC Free: Museum Admission by Day of Week
    • NYC Theater
  • Food & Drink
    Deals
    • Where to Eat in Times Square
    • Best Jewish delis for overstuffed sandwiches
    • All-You-Can-Eat Sushi Deals
    • Best NYC Lobster Restaurants
    • Best Happy Hours
    • Birthday Freebies: Restaurants
    • Daily Deals
  • Shopping
    in NYC
    • Ten Things for $1 in NYC
    • Scam Alert
    • Discounts for Seniors
    • Birthday Freebies: Retail Stores
    • Best Resale Shops
    • Cheapest Gas
  • Things
    to Do
    • Seasonal Events
    • Free & Cheap Weekend Events
    • NYC Historic Homes now Museums
    • Where to See Hamilton in NYC
    • NYC Theater
    • Carousels in All 5 Boros
    • 9/11 Memorial & Museum
    • Events in NYC Parks
    • Get Free Tickets to Late Night TV Shows
    • NYC Festivals
    • Getting Around
  • Family
    Fun
    • Best Musems for Kids in Manhattan
    • Carousels in all 5 Boroughs
  • Crisis
    Resources
  • Scam
    Alert
  • Getaways
    & Travel Deals
  • Free & Cheap
    Events
  • Best FREE Things to Do in NYC
  • NYC Sightseeing and Tours Discounts
  • Ticket Deals
  • Cheapest Gas Prices
  • For NYC Residents
You are here: Home / Scam Alert / How to avoid tax preparation fraud
← Free lectures on NYC history at NYPL
NYC free: college fair →

How to avoid tax preparation fraud

POSTED BY
Evelyn Kanter

tax prep fraudKnow your rights when working with a tax preparer in NYC, to avoid being ripped off. Here’s what you are entitled to before, during and after somebody helps you with your Federal, State and City filings:

NYC Consumer protection laws require tax preparers to sign every return with their true business names, provide you with a copy of each return, give you an itemized bill, return all personal papers and documents, and provide representation at any audit if that service has been promised.

Also important, a tax preparer must tell you up front whether he or she is NOT an attorney or CPA specially trained in tax law.

Also, NYC tax preparers may not reveal any details of your return to anybody you do not authorize, or alter any entries, after you have signed the tax forms.

Plus, tax preparers are required by law to give you a current legible copy of the Consumer Bill of Rights Regarding Tax Preparers for free before they begin discussing tax preparations. If you aren’t offered the document, or if the tax preparer says there’s a charge for the document, take your business elsewhere.

Download the NYC Dept. of Consumer Affairs Bill of Rights here.

Note that NYC tax prep consumer rights documents are available in Spanish, Chinese, Haitian Creole and other languages.

One of the top complaints about tax preparers is misleading filers about a Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL).  This is NOT a tax refund, but rather a high-interest loan against an anticipated tax refund. By law, any advertisement for a RAL must state that it is a loan, that the lender will charge a fee or interest, and it must identify the lender. Contact the NYC Dept. of Consumer Affairs with any complaints about tax preparers, including over-charging for services, mis-repesenting themselves as tax experts, or not disclosing legally required information about RALs.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Posted by Evelyn Kanter on February 11, 2015 | Updated April 26, 2016 Filed Under: Scam Alert Tagged With: nyc311· tax fraud

Reader Interactions

What do you think about this? We welcome your comments. Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Get Free Email Updates

Be the first to know about NYC free and cheap events, discounts and deals by signing up for our FREE enewsletter.

Latest News Trending Now

  • Van Gogh Immersive 360-Degree Exhibit Experience Tickets Now on Sale
    Van Gogh Immersive 360-Degree Exhibit Experience Tickets Now on Sale
  • McDonald's Throwback Thursdays: 15-35 Cent Items
    McDonald's Throwback Thursdays: 15-35 Cent Items
  • 101 FREE & Cheap Things to Do This Week Feb. 22-28
    101 FREE & Cheap Things to Do This Week Feb. 22-28
  • How to Make Property Insurance More Affordable
    How to Make Property Insurance More Affordable
  • NYC Restaurant Week to Go Extended to Feb. 28
    NYC Restaurant Week to Go Extended to Feb. 28
  • Free and Cheap Events Calendar
    Free and Cheap Events Calendar
  • Frick Madison Opens March 18; Tickets on sale Feb. 19
    Frick Madison Opens March 18; Tickets on sale Feb. 19
  • How to Apply for SNAP Food Stamps
    How to Apply for SNAP Food Stamps
  • Birthday Freebies: Restaurants
    Birthday Freebies: Restaurants
  • NYC Free Parking Calendar 2021
    NYC Free Parking Calendar 2021

Search by Category

Footer

About NYC on the Cheap

NYC does not have to be expensive when you know where the deals and freebies are.

We’re here to help you save money on NYC restaurants, theater, museums, shopping, events and more, as we have been doing since 2010.

Get more NYC for less money with NYCOTC. That’s our motto and we’re sticking to it.

Contact us: info@nyconthecheap.com

Who We Are

Your chief guide is Evelyn Kanter, a lifelong New Yorker and award-winning professional journalist.

Evelyn Kanter is a former consumer reporter for WABC-TV Eyewitness News and WCBS Radio Newsradio 88, the author of several NYC travel guidebooks and mobile apps, and zillions of newspaper and magazine articles, including for the NY Times, NY Post, NY Daily News and New York Magazine. Nobody  can match those NYC credentials.

Disclosure

NYC on the Cheap has an affiliate relationship with several companies which offer discounts and deals on this site.  When you purchase from one of these advertiser links, we earn a small commission.

If you’d like to help keep NYCOTC in the business of helping you save money, this is a great way to do it. It’s a win-win because the direct links save you both time searching for great deals and money.

Best Seller: NYC Guidebook by Evelyn Kanter

100 Things to do in NYC Before You Die

© 2021 NYC on the Cheap. Living On The Cheap® and On the Cheap® are registered trademarks owned by Living On The Cheap Inc. Site design by Five J's Design.
All the stories on our site are protected by copyright and any unauthorized copying is strictly prohibited. Plus, it is just not nice.

Email subscription form header
Subscribe for free to NYC on the Cheap and never miss a free event or discount deal.
Our daily newsletter is the FREE. fast. and easy way to find out about New York City deals, discounts, free events, and more.
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.