Tax season advice for taxpayers: Don’t be victim to "ghost" tax return preparers

As the 2020 tax filing season gets underway, the IRS is reminding taxpayers to avoid unethical "ghost" tax return preparers. A ghost preparer does not sign a tax return they prepare. Unscrupulous ghost preparers will print the return and tell the taxpayer to sign and mail it to the IRS. For e-filed returns, the ghost will prepare but refuse to digitally sign as the paid preparer. By law, anyone who is paid to prepare or assists in preparing federal tax returns must have a valid Preparer Tax Identification Number, or PTIN.