Don't look now, but in three weeks a rather unwelcome sign of spring will arrive: April 15, the deadline to file your state and federal income tax returns.

And if this annual rite isn't sufficiently painful, taxpayers have some new worries this year: scammers, increased Internal Revenue Service scrutiny and less-than reputable tax preparers.

This tax season, more people are e-filing, the IRS said.

According to IRS figures, as of March 7, nearly 27.4 million people had prepared their own taxes, a 5.8 percent increase over the same period last year, when 25.9 million had filed at home.

Returns filed by professional preparers are down. Roughly 34.8 million Americans have had their taxes e-filed by a professional, a decrease of 2.2 percent from last year.

“E-filing is up about 5.8 percent this year compared to last year and my own business is off by 6 percent,” said Dewaine Gillott, manager and owner of five Jackson Hewitt Tax Service locations in Butler, Cranberry Township and Kittanning. His 10 employees will file 2,600 tax returns this year, he estimated.

“It's easier and easier to e-file,” said Gillott, who's in the middle of his 25th tax season. He added the discontinuation of tax refund anticipation loans sent a lot of people back to computing and filing their own taxes.

“I'd like to have that product back. It brought a lot of business in the door,” said Gillott, adding pressure by the federal government on banks ended the practice.

Unfortunately, at the same time more taxpayers are doing their own taxes, IRS enforcement efforts are becoming more aggressive.

“They are really cracking down hard on the earned income credit,” said Gillott of the IRS.

The earned income tax credit is for working individuals and families with an adjusted gross income in 2013 of less than $51,567.

Taxpayers must file a return to claim it, even if they are not required to file.

“They want tax preparers to use their due diligence on claims by their clients. Ask questions and if you don't like the answers, turn them away,” he said, adding a preparer can be fined $500 for every fraudulent tax return filed.

Jennifer Jenkins, IRS spokesman for Pennsylvania, when asked about a tougher IRS, said, “I'll make a guess that it has something to do, perhaps, with steps taken to screen/filter returns as they are processed.”

“In the age of growing nationwide occurrences of identity theft, we have focused efforts on preventing, detecting and resolving tax-related identity theft cases as quickly as possible.” Jenkins said.

“It usually has to do with filing a tax return using someone else's Social Security number,” said Jessica Moslander, a Certified Public Accountant with RC Holsinger Associates in Wexford.

“They get all the withholdings and refunds, and the IRS rejects the real return because to them it's already been filed. It's a pretty hot topic,” said Moslander.

Jenkins said since 2011, the IRS has stopped 15 million suspicious returns, and protected more than $50 billion in fraudulent refunds.

“We're getting better at stopping this before the money goes out the door,” she said of the IRS' efforts.

Despite ramped-up security efforts by the IRS, the chances of having your return audited are very small, said Gillott.

“In the 25 years I've been here, I've only had two full-blown audits come out of this office,” he said.

“The IRS makes it a general policy to not state audit percentages,” said Jenkins. “The agency feels that stating audit percentages can be misleading because it is a percentage of all returns, including thousands of returns that are very unlikely to be audited.”

For example, she said, it is very unlikely that the IRS will audit returns of taxpayers who have income from wages only, do not itemize deductions, and have only basic exemptions.

Any return, however, may be selected for a “random” audit.

That being said, a taxpayer's best audit defense is being prepared by keeping good records that substantiate your income, credits and deductions, according to Jenkins.

If you find yourself in hot water with the IRS, remember the burden is on you to prove the legitimacy of your deductions and credits and verify you reported all sources of income.

And while that may send people to a professional tax preparer, many may not realize that the quality of service isn't backed by any certification or training.

Only four states require testing and continuing education for the hundreds of thousands of independent tax preparers who work with the public. Pennsylvania isn't one of them.

After a federal appeals court threw out proposed IRS rules regulating tax preparers Feb. 11, the tax preparation industry will continue to be largely unregulated for this tax season.

The Institute for Justice, which successfully fought the proposed IRS regulations in court, estimates more than 350,000 small independent tax preparers would have been affected by the rules.

It's estimated nearly 1.2 million tax preparers make a living deciphering the U.S. tax code for clients. The IRS reported that 63 percent of all returns were done by professional tax preparers in 2013 and estimates are that about half of those were filed by unregulated preparers.

Gillott said Jackson Hewitt requires its tax preparers to have continuing education credits.

Despite the looming April 15 deadline, Gillott said the current period offers a bit of a lull for his office.

“At the beginning, it was everyone that qualified for refunds, and in the last weeks leading up to the deadline it will be everybody that owes money,” he said.

About three-quarters of individual taxpayers received federal tax refunds last year, according to IRS statistics. If you are among those who find that they owe taxes when April 15 comes around, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants offers recommendations on the best way to settle your bill.<b>Don’t Rush to Charge It</b>It’s always best to use available cash for your tax bill. It may seem convenient to use a credit card, but remember you will be charged interest if you don’t pay off your balance immediately, which will just add another cost to covering your taxes. You will also be charged a convenience fee by the IRS. If you find yourself owing taxes every year, adjust your withholding, if necessary.<b>Do Pay What You Can</b>If you don’t have the money to pay your bill, contact the IRS about your situation and send in as much as you can by the deadline. Consider filling out Form 9465 to request an automatic installment plan. The IRS will often work with taxpayers who are having financial troubles to help them reconcile their tax debt.<b>Don’t Fail to File</b>If you see that you will owe tax and you do not file because of it, that will cost you even more in the long run. The IRS will usually charge a penalty of 5 percent of your unpaid taxes for every month you are late in filing a return, up to 25 percent of the total unpaid taxes.So, if you owe $1,000 in taxes, you could end up paying as much as $250 in fees if your return is late. If you file a return but can’t pay your taxes, you will usually be charged a much lower amount — 0.5 percent of unpaid taxes — for each month you’re late, up to 25 percent of the unpaid taxes.So, it’s best to file even if you’ll come up short on paying your entire tax debt. The penalties may be waived if you can demonstrate reasonable cause for the failure to file. Also, be aware that you will also be charged interest on any outstanding amount in addition to the penalties.<b>Do Remember the ‘Fresh Start’ Program</b>The IRS Fresh Start program offers a number of options for taxpayers who are struggling to meet their tax obligations.It is possible, for example, to request an installment agreement in which you pay your tax bill in monthly direct debit payments for up to six years.If you believe you will be unable to pay your entire outstanding tax bill, another possibility is the IRS Offer-in-Compromise program, in which a taxpayer and the IRS agree to settle the tax bill for an amount that is less than what’s owed.The IRS generally will consider a settlement offer if it believes the taxpayer won’t be able to pay off the amount in a lump sum or in a payment plan. The taxpayer’s income and assets are among the issues the IRS examines in considering a settlement.<b>Do Consider an Extension if Necessary</b>If you simply need more time to file your return, you can ask the IRS for an extension to your deadline.Remember, though, you will still have to pay at least 90 percent of your tax bill by the original due date or face a penalty, so you have to compute a good estimate of what you owe and submit payment on time.SOURCE: The Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.