{"id":1194,"date":"2025-09-17T16:02:04","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T16:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/belbolcpa.com\/blog\/?p=1194"},"modified":"2025-09-17T19:51:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T19:51:16","slug":"how-to-know-its-the-irs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belbolcpa.com\/blog\/how-to-know-its-the-irs\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Know It&#8217;s the IRS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"724\" height=\"483\" src=\"https:\/\/belbolcpa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/10-03-2025-iStock-2212735701.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1195\" srcset=\"https:\/\/belbolcpa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/10-03-2025-iStock-2212735701.jpg 724w, https:\/\/belbolcpa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/10-03-2025-iStock-2212735701-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 724px) 100vw, 724px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With all of the scams going around these days, how do you know if it\u2019s really the IRS who contacted you? According to the IRS, these are the ways they will contact you and communicate with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Initial Contact<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Almost every initial contact from the IRS is by mail from the U.S. Postal Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Other Ways<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Email &#8211; only with your permission, with a few exceptions like criminal investigations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Text message &#8211; Only with your permission.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Phone &#8211;\u00a0 The IRS may call you to address account matters. In some cases, they use automated messages that direct you to IRS.gov to securely manage your account, make payments or resolve an issue. The messages don\u2019t share specific details.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fax \u2013 The IRS might send a fax to verify or request employment information.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In-person visit &#8211; These are rare. \u00a0They generally send a letter before they visit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The IRS Does Not Do This<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Direct message or take payment on social media.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Accept gift cards or prepaid debit cards as payment<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Call with automated messages that threaten or direct to websites that aren\u2019t IRS.gov<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Threaten to call law enforcement or immigration officials<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Take your citizenship status, driver&#8217;s license or business license<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mail tax debt resolution advertisements<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When in doubt, contact your CPA or other tax professional to make sure it\u2019s the IRS and if so, how to handle the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>And if you like what you just read, then don\u2019t hesitate to forward to your friends, and\/or click \u201cLike\u201d on LinkedIn!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Make sure to subscribe to our weekly emails to receive practical business, financial and tax strategies! <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.belbolcpa.com\/newsletter-signup.htm?\"><strong>Sign Up Now!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With all of the scams going around these days, how do you know if it\u2019s really the IRS who contacted you? According to the IRS, these are the ways they will contact you and communicate with you. Initial Contact Almost every initial contact from the IRS is by mail from the U.S. Postal Service. Other [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[287,3,90,7,8,285,12,15,18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1194","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-accounting","7":"category-business","8":"category-debt","9":"category-expenses","10":"category-financial","11":"category-irs","12":"category-irs-resolution","13":"category-new-jersey-tax","14":"category-taxes","15":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/belbolcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/belbolcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/belbolcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belbolcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belbolcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1194"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/belbolcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1197,"href":"https:\/\/belbolcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194\/revisions\/1197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/belbolcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belbolcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belbolcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}