Every filing season, the IRS publishes its "Dirty Dozen" — a list of the tax scams, schemes, and abusive arrangements it considers most threatening to taxpayers and to the integrity of the tax system. The list carries no legal force on its own, but for a working preparer it's one of the most practically useful documents the agency releases all year, because it names the exact fact patterns that draw examination attention, the promoter behaviors that trigger enforcement, and the client conduct that turns an ordinary return into a problem file.

This course treats the Dirty Dozen not as a list to memorize, but as a diagnostic tool to apply. Promoters rebrand constantly — the names change every year, but the underlying legal defects repeat. A preparer who understands why an arrangement lands on the list can recognize the same defect walking in the door under a different label.