Tax season is high season for scammers, and older adults are a frequent target. The good news: once you know how the real IRS actually behaves, the fakes become surprisingly easy to spot. Here are the red flags worth memorizing. The real IRS contacts you by mail first Legitimate tax matters start with a letter, not a surprise phone call. If someone calls out of the blue claiming to be the IRS and pressuring you to act immediately, that pressure itself is the warning sign. The

Few pieces of mail make the heart sink like an envelope from the IRS. But take a breath: the great majority of notices are routine, and most can be resolved with a single, simple response — sometimes none at all. Here’s how to read one without the dread. Step 1: Find the notice number Look in the upper-right or lower-right corner for a short code, usually starting with “CP” or “LTR” followed by numbers. That code is the key to everything — it tells you precisely what the lett

Life happens. A health scare, a loss in the family, a stretch of hard months — and suddenly a tax year slips by, then another. If you’ve fallen behind on filing, you’re far from alone, and the situation is almost always more fixable than it feels. Here’s how to get back on track, one calm step at a time. You’re not in trouble for asking The biggest myth about back taxes is that reaching out will get you in trouble. The opposite is true. Coming forward to file is always viewed