Annapolis, MD – Feb. 9th.,  Moving aggressively to protect Maryland taxpayers, Comptroller Peter Franchot today announced that his office has immediately suspended processing electronic tax returns from 20 paid tax preparers due to a high volume of questionable returns received.

“Protecting Maryland taxpayers and detecting fraudulent returns are our top priorities,” said Comptroller Franchot. “We are resolute in our efforts to ensure that the tax refunds we send out are legitimate and go to the people who have earned them.  I want to thank my Questionable Return Detection Team who works tirelessly to root out the returns that try to cheat our state and steal from all Marylanders.”

The businesses, which have been sent written notice of the action, were identified by the Comptroller’s nationally recognized fraud unit using state-of-the-art technology that allows the Comptroller’s Office to detect fraud while processing returns. These 20 preparers join the 68 businesses blocked last year.  Although, the agency’s review process provides an opportunity for the blocked preparers to restore their filing privileges, to date, none of the previously suspended tax preparers has had these privileges restored. 

Comptroller Franchot, pursuant to the recently signed IRS Security Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”), has shared this information with other tax agencies. The Comptroller’s Office also has advised the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation of the decision, so that they can take any additional appropriate actions.

“Guarding against tax fraud schemes and fraudulent returns are the biggest challenges facing tax administrators across the country,” added Comptroller Franchot. “My office will continue to use every tool at our disposal to ensure the safety and accuracy of Maryland’s tax filing systems.”

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The tax preparers blocked from filing returns by today’s actions are:

Vasquez Tax Services, 2340 University Ave., Hyattsville, MD 20783

OSE Tax Services, 5006 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD 21214

ALR Tax and Financial Services LLC, 76 Ritchie Road, Capitol Heights, MD 20743

OFAB LLC, 3938 Minnesota Ave., Washington, DC 20019

Monique’s Taxprep Services LLC, 4342 Tucker Circle, Halethorpe, MD 21227

Express Tax Inc., 5501 York, Road, Baltimore, MD 21212

KLS Tax Services, 18431 Shanna Drive, Accokeek, MD 20607

Liberty Tax Service, 5436 Marlboro Pike, District Heights, MD 20747

Quick Tax Service, 1809 1/2 Pennsylvania Ave., Baltimore, MD 21217

PROTAXEM, 3104 N. Greenmount SVE, Baltimore, MD 21218

HRQT LLC, 2136 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD 21218

Quick Tax, 2401 Liberty Heights Road, Baltimore, MD 21215

Quick Money Tax Service, 6628 Harford Road, 2nd floor Baltimore, MD 21214

JAE Establishments LLC, 3803 Gettysburg Road, Camp Hill, PA 17011

One Vision First (OVF) Consulting LLC, 8120 Fenton St., Suite 301b, Silver Spring, MD

Tax Maid, 2558 Pratt St., Baltimore, MD 21223

Eltonia Tax & Contract Service LLC, 8058 Philadelphia Road, Baltimore, MD 21237

Tax Plus, 727 Northrop Lane, Middle River, MD 21220

Quality Tax Service, 6 Woodstream Court, Owings Mills, MD 21117

Patricia’s Bookkeeping and Accounting, 227 Mysticwood Road, Reisterstown, MD 21136

A complete list of all tax preparers blocked from filing returns is available at www.marylandtaxes.com. Taxpayers should carefully review their returns for these issues and should be suspicious if a preparer:

• Deducts fees from the taxpayer’s refund to be deposited into the tax preparer’s account,

• Does not sign the tax return, or,

• Fails to include the Preparer Taxpayer Identification number “P-TIN” on the return.

If taxpayers suspect fraud, they are asked to immediately report the issue to the Comptroller’s Office by calling 1-800-MD-TAXES (1-800-638-2937) or 410-260-7980 in Central Maryland or by emailing TAXHELP@comp.state.md.us.