Form 5471 Email Is Bogus

Yes, it’s another spammy email purporting to be from the IRS. This one has, as its subject, “IRS-SUBJ1” and claims to be from the IRS Tax Notification Department (support@irs.gov) though the IP address appears to actually be located in the Republic of Korea.

The email says:

Dear Taxpayer!

You are encouraged to pay a penalty for the failure to file income tax returns prior to January 31, 2011.

Note, IRC [Section 6038(b)(1)]

provides for a monetary penalty of $10,000 for each [Form 5471]

that is filed after the due date of the income tax return or does not include the complete and accurate information described in [Section 6038(a)].

No penalty will be imposed if the company shows that the late filing was due to reasonable cause.

For more information please refer to attached file.

Thanks,

Internal Revenue Service United States Department of the Treasury.

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:45:01 +0900

For the record, the form 5471 is a real tax form; it’s a reporting form for taxpayers who have an interest in foreign corporations which means that most taxpayers aren’t required to file one.

The email comes with an attachment in a zip file. Don’t click on the attachment. Delete it or forward it to phishing@irs.gov for investigation.

As always, remember that the IRS will never initiate contact with you via email.

Kelly Phillips Erb

Kelly Phillips Erb, known as Taxgirl, is a tax attorney, writer, and speaker who explains tax news, IRS updates, scams, financial crime, and money in plain English.

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