"Now here I am, I have to pay the Internal Revenue Service back over $4,000," Teresia Porter said to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson. Porter reached out to Wilson after she noticed many mistakes on her tax return.
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This started after a friend suggested Porter get her taxes done by D&V Taxes in Raleigh. She went to the business and liked what she was told.
"When he said that I can get you a refund, I was like, well good," Porter recalled.
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Porter said she gave D&V Taxes her W-2 forms from her two jobs, so he could do her taxes.
"I can get you a refund and this is what you get back. We'll contact you and let you know when your check comes in. It'll come here," Porter said she was told. A few weeks later, Porter got a call that her refund was in. So she went to D&V Taxes and got what appeared to be a refund check for $2,749.
"I was happy because I never get a refund," Porter said.
However, that happiness quickly faded.
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"Come to find out the information he sent to the Internal Revenue Service was not right," Porter said.
When taking a look at what was filed with the IRS on Form 1040 -- which includes Porter's income, losses and any deductions -- Porter said there are many mistakes. What was filed with the IRS, shows Porter donated $10,370 to charity.
The only problem with that ... "I never gave any money to charity," Porter said.
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Another item listed on the return states Porter has a business and had losses of $9,435. Porter said neither of those things are true.
Another mistake Porter found on the tax form is more than $4,600 in medical expenses -- Porter said she didn't have any significant medical expenses last year.
Porter said all these mistakes mean she should not have gotten a refund. So now, she owes the IRS even more money!
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Porter is now responsible since the taxpayer is responsible for what is on the tax forms submitted to the IRS.
Wilson got in touch with D&V Taxes. The company told Wilson it had been in business for 20 years and only ever filed the information that customers provides to them. Wilson asked Porter if she is the one that provided the information about charity donations, business, and medical expenses and Porter said, "No, I only gave them what I had, which was my W2 and that's all I had to give to them, because I have no proof about business papers showing that I donated to charity, because we have to have proof of that in order to file for your taxes."
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Porter went to D&V Taxes to pick up what paperwork they used to file her taxes. She said the company gave her back just her two W2 forms, one for each job she holds, and a small investment year-end report.
She said the folder D&V Taxes gave to her has no paperwork about any charity donations, medical expenses or proof of owning a business.
Porter said she's learned an expensive lesson: "Be careful who you go through."
Wilson did reach out to the IRS who said due to federal disclosure law, they could not comment. However, the agency does have ways to make a complaint against a tax return preparer. The IRS also gives these tips on examples of what to report.