Scammers and bad faith actors are always looking for ways to separate you from your hard earned money, personal information, real property, and identity. And when one scam stops working, they rarely pack up and find a new line of work.

That’s one reason that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) publishes its annual Dirty Dozen, a list of tax scams and schemes that taxpayers, businesses, nonprofits, and even tax professionals like the team here at SWC, should watch out for. The 2026 list covers familiar threats and reflects how fraud is changing, with AI-enabled scams and other increasingly sophisticated attempts to steal from you.

The IRS issued its initial Dirty Dozen alert in January of 2002 and now, as part of a partnership with state tax agencies and the tax industry, continues to warn business and individual tax filers about the ever-evolving nature of tax scams and schemes. Although such deceptions often receive more attention in the spring when we’re fully engaged in tax filing season, we encourage our clients to remain cautious throughout the year.

In this post, we bring you up to speed on the 12 scams and schemes on the IRS Dirty Dozen list for 2026, explain the warning signs, and offer practical guidance for protecting yourself and your business. We’ll start with the fraudsters who impersonate the IRS using Artificial Intelligence.

1. AI-Enabled IRS Impersonation by Phone

Artificial intelligence is giving an old scam some new tricks. Fraudsters can now use computer-generated tactics, voice mimicry, and spoofed caller ID to make a phone call sound and appear more convincing. A call may look as though it’s coming from a legitimate source and may use urgency or threats to pressure you into responding.

The IRS points out several important warning signs:

• It generally contacts taxpayers by mail first.
• It doesn’t leave urgent phone messages.
• It doesn’t leave threatening prerecorded messages.
• It doesn’t call to demand immediate payment or threaten taxpayers with arrest.

Caller ID isn’t proof of identity, as today’s technology can make a fraudulent call appear to come from a legitimate source.

What to do: If you receive a suspicious IRS-related call, hang up rather than providing information or making a payment.

Related: We here at SWC — as well as officials at the IRS — caution taxpayers against relying on AI-generated responses for complicated tax questions. Any tax information or calculations produced by AI should be verified by a CPA.

2. IRS Impersonation by Email and Text

Phishing emails have been around for years, but scammers continue to find new ways to make them convincing. They may send an email, text, or direct message (DM) through a social media platform that appears to come from the IRS and use alarming language to convince you to act quickly.

Some messages contain links or QR codes that send you to fake IRS websites, where you’re asked to Continue reading… Continue reading… Continue reading…