(NewsNation) — As the April 15 federal tax deadline approaches, some Americans may scramble to find credits or loopholes in their filings, which could potentially be scams.

The IRS recently released its “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams for the 2025 filing season. The list includes familiar tricks — like fake charities — and newer concerns, like ill-intentioned social media advice.

Tax phishing scams

A phishing scam can affect filers when a scammer poses as a legitimate tax or finance organization over text or email. When victims respond to the messages with personal information, it can lead to identity fraud.

If you think you’ve received a phishing message, don’t reply, open any attachments or click links. Instead, block the sender and delete the message.

Bad social media tax advice

An emerging tax concern is the spread of incorrect tax information on social media.

The IRS points to TikTok specifically as a source of the advice. For instance, some users have urged others to misuse their Form W-2 or add zeroes to certain fields when filing.

Personal finance expert Lynnette Khalfani-Cox advises against listening to those who purport tax season “hacks.”

“People think they’re getting kind of a cheat sheet or a shortcut,” Khalfani-Cox said. “And it’s a cheat, all right. It’s not a legitimate step.”

Instead of taking tax advice from viral TikToks or threads on X, Khalfani-Cox said curious filers should utilize government websites or talk to folks at free tax clinics about potential payoffs.

“Verify, don’t viral. Don’t go viral for the wrong reason that, you know, you’ve been scammed,” she said.

IRS Individual Online Account scams

In this scam, bad actors pose as someone who can help set up a taxpayer’s IRS Individual Online Account, which is how you can access your previous tax records.

In reality, it takes no assistance to open an account — just your personal information, which is what the fraudsters are after.

“Third parties making these offers will try to steal a taxpayer’s personal information and try to submit fraudulent tax returns in the victim’s name to get a big refund,” the IRS warned.

Fake charity scams

Taxpayers can claim a deduction for charitable donations, but only if the money went to a qualified tax-exempt organization.

Made-up charities try to take advantage of this generosity, especially around tax season and following natural disasters. The IRS recommends using its TEOS tool to verify whether a charity is legitimate.

False qualification for fuel tax credit

Social media has helped spread misleading information about the qualifications needed to claim a credit using Form 4136, Credit for Federal Tax Paid on Fuels.

The credit, intended for off-highway business and farming use, is not applicable to the average taxpayer’s filing. Instead of filling out the paperwork based on social media advice, the IRS advises people to look into whether they actually qualify.

Expired family, sick leave tax credits

Though self-employed individuals were eligible to get credits for sick leave and family leave during the 2020 and 2021 tax years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is no longer available.

Fake self-employment tax credit

When it comes to the nonexistent “Self Employment Tax Credit,” social media is once again to blame.

Posts claim that people who are self-employed or gig workers can qualify for big payments. Instead, taxpayers are filing false claims under a credit that is not real.

“In reality, the underlying credit being referred to in social media is not called the “Self-Employment Tax Credit,” it’s a much more limited and technical credit called the Credits for Sick Leave and Family Leave,” the IRS official website said.

Khalfani-Cox understands why some are drawn in by the promise of more credits.

“People hustle hard for their money, and they’d like to get a big tax refund, but you don’t want to do it the illegitimate way,” she said. “So you got to, you know, verify these kinds of things ahead of time.”

‘Inventing’ household employees

In this scam, taxpayers make up financial household employees to claim on Schedule H (Form 1040), Household Employment Taxes, which is false and illegal.

Falsifying income and withholding info

In an overstated withholding scheme, scammers encourage filers to provide incorrect income and withholding information on common tax forms. They then ask people to file the return electronically in hopes of rerouting the fraudulent return their way.

Offers in Compromise program

The Offers in Compromise program assists people in settling federal tax debts when they aren’t able to pay in full.

In this scam, fraudsters promote the program in misleading ways, costing them thousands when they don’t actually qualify.

You can check whether you qualify with the IRS’ Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier tool.

Ghost tax return preparers

Another thing to keep in mind this tax season is who you’re paying to prep your filing.

Red flags include tax preparers who charge a fee based on the size of the refund, are unwilling to sign the return they filed or refuse to provide their IRS Prepare Tax Identification Number.

New client scams against tax pros

Conversely, ill-intentioned clients can scam tax experts and preppers all the same.

The IRS says the “new client” scam, which involves a cybercriminal impersonating clients in a sort of reverse-phishing, is on the rise in 2025.

Professionals and everyday people alike should keep an eye out for misspelled words, poor grammar, odd word choices to indicate that the email or text you receive might not be legitimate.