For all the gas you buy, chances are good you can't claim a credit on your 1040 for the federal fuel taxes you paid.

Eligibility rules for the fuel tax credit are pretty limited: Do you run a commercial fishing boat? A farm? A school bus company?

If not, you probably don't qualify.

And yet, shady tax preparers push the idea.

"The IRS routinely finds unscrupulous preparers who have enticed sizable groups of taxpayers to erroneously claim the credit to inflate their refunds," the agency said.

Identity thieves, too, have been known to file a fraudulent return for a business or farm to claim the credit.

Related: Don't file a 'frivolous' return

You only need a log of the date and place where you bought the fuel, but you're not required to provide receipts.

The only way that lack of evidence would be discovered is if the IRS decides to audit you, said Mark Luscombe, principal analyst for Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting US.

If the IRS sniffs out a fraudulent or inflated fuel tax credit claim, the penalty is $5,000. And penalties, interest and possible criminal prosecution may be on the menu, too.