Cleveland Better Business Bureau

13 WTHRTaxpayers fighting preparer over faulty returns

INDIANAPOLIS - Tax season may be over, but some Hoosiers are finding out that after paying a tax preparer to file their taxes, their returns were filled out incorrectly and they may owe thousands of dollars to the IRS.

Donnelle Carver just found out that instead of getting back the big tax refund check she was promised, she actually owes the IRS about $6,000.

"I'm terrified. We don't know what may happen," Carver said.

She says she and her husband were behind on bills before all this happened.

"My husband's hours were lowered at work, so that was another reason why we needed that instant loan right now," Carver said.

She says Instant Tax Service offered an instant tax refund in the form of a refund anticipation loan. According to the tax preparer's calculations, she was getting back more than $11,000.

"The amount was so much higher than I'm used to. That's what prompted us to get a second look," Carver said.

Carver says she asked the Instant Tax preparer to re-run the numbers.

"I called a supervisor to have them re-run them again and the supervisor said, 'No, you're alright Ms. Carver. Don't be scared to spend your money. The IRS says it's yours, we've double checked it. Go shopping and have fun'," Carver said. "Well, I didn't go shopping and have fun. I paid bills."

But she couldn't shake the feeling that her tax return was not right. A few weeks later, she had another tax service look over it. That's when she found out Instant Tax Service did not report more than $14,000 of her income.

"She only used one check stub. She never used the W-2s," Carver said.

She says Instant Tax Service also claimed a $2,000 deduction - the American Opportunity Credit - which is for those who have college expenses, but the Carvers are not in college.

"On my initial sign-in sheet, we left it blank. That's my tell-tale sign that she put in something on her own," Carver said.

The Better Business Bureau says in just the last five months, 146 complaints have been filed against Instant Tax Service locations, not just in Indianapolis, but across the country, including St. Louis, Cleveland, Charlotte, Houston, Dallas, and Atlanta. They say another 190 complaints have been filed in Dayton, Ohio, where the company's corporate headquarters are located.

Lesa White says she filed a complaint after she noticed an Instant Tax preparer claimed her husband has owned his own business for ten years.

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