Taxes

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• New Grads: Employee Benefits That Help Keep You Tax-Efficient

  About.com Tax Planning: U.S.

  14 May 2012 | 11:01 pm

  New grads who are starting a new job may be eligible to receive employee benefits provided by their employer. Each employer customizes their benefits package, so the type of benefits offered will vary from employer to employer. Typical employee benefits include the opportunity to purchase coverage under a group health insurance plan, to purchase coverage under a group life insurance plan, or to receive subsidies for mass transit or college tuition. Some employers also offer a group retirement plan to foster long-term savings. Each of these benefits comes with tax incentives that help make…

• Tax Roundup, 5/14/2012

  Roth & Company, P.C

  Joe Kristan

  14 May 2012 | 8:21 am

  Calendar Year 990s and 990-PFs are due tomorrow.  The penalties for late filing can reach $100 per day ($20 per day for smaller organizations), and three years of non-filing will cost an organization its exempt status.  Three-month extensions are available onf Form 8868. Aside from avoiding U.S. compliance nightmares for the rest of his life, what are the real tax consequences to the Facebook guy for giving up his U.S. Passport? (TaxProf).  Plus a TaxProf roundup! Phil Hodgen on Why the Facebook dude expatriated.  Also: “Only an elected official would fail to predict such…

• Virginia Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday

  PRO-TAX

  11 May 2012 | 7:00 am

  Hurricane season is just around the corner and the Commonwealth of Virginia wants to help you prepare with a sales tax holiday later in May.  Lots of "everyday" items will be sales tax free! Read up on getting ready for the hurricane season at ReadyVirginia.Gov . You’ll find many special tips about the Sales Tax Holiday, as well as hurricane/storm preparedness, such as a kit of essentials to have ready, and an information link to help Virginians develop their “Readiness Quotient”. National Hurricane Preparedness week coincides with Virginia week –…

• Why is the IRS so slow to pay tax whistleblower rewards?

  Don't Mess With Taxes

  skbell1

  15 May 2012 | 2:09 pm

  Sen. Charles Grassley is blowing the whistle on the federal tax whistleblower office. The Iowa Republican, a long-time supporter of rewarding those who help track down tax cheats, thinks the Internal Revenue Service's relatively new Whistleblower Office isn't doing its job. Under revisions to the tax cheat tracking mechanism, rewards to whistleblowers are no longer discretionary. They are to receive 15 percent to 30 percent of the collected proceeds. But that's not happening, at least not to the extent that whistleblowers and Grassley, a member of the Senate Finance Committee…

• Limited Parnerships

  Our Taxing Times

  trishmc

  14 May 2012 | 2:07 pm

  They’re back, Limited Partnerships. They were popular in the 1980s but the Tax Reform Act of 1986 took away most of their benefits and I seldom saw them. But they are making resurgence and are hooking unwary investors again. First, an example. Sally and Kurt form a partnership to manufacture widgets. Each year their tax pro prepares the business’s partnership return and gives both Sally and Kurt a K-1 showing their share of the income and deductions to be included on their personal returns. Sally and Kurt are general partners since they actually run the company and are responsible for the…

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  PRO-TAX

• Virginia Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday

  11 May 2012 | 7:00 am

  Hurricane season is just around the corner and the Commonwealth of Virginia wants to help you prepare with a sales tax holiday later in May.  Lots of "everyday" items will be sales tax free! Read up on getting ready for the hurricane season at ReadyVirginia.Gov . You’ll find many special tips about the Sales Tax Holiday, as well as hurricane/storm preparedness, such as a kit of essentials to have ready, and an information link to help Virginians develop their “Readiness Quotient”. National Hurricane Preparedness week coincides with Virginia week –…

• The Tax Man Cometh

  27 Apr 2012 | 8:00 am

  Happily, the IRS accepts most tax returns as filed, especially those from PRO-TAX. Properly filed returns will keep the Tax Man away from your door. But what if you receive a notice from the IRS that they are reviewing your tax return? First, Don’t Panic! Next, call your PRO-TAX Professional Tax Preparer, tell them about the contents of the notice, and if they can give you a quick answer to your concerns over the phone, they will. If the issues are a little tricky to explain, make an appointment to go see them so they can help you prepare. Your preparer will want to know the contents of…

• Tax Filing Extension

  13 Apr 2012 | 8:00 am

  This year, taxpayers have already been given an “extension” of two days. April 17 is the filing deadline for a federal tax return. But if you need more time to get your paperwork complete, make sure you file Form 4868, Automatic Extension of Time to File, with the IRS by the end of the day on the 17th.  This gives you an automatic six-month (October 17, 2012) extension of time to file.   NOTE: Remember, an “Extension of Time to File” is not an “Extension of Time to Pay.”  The extension gives you an automatic six…

• When You Inherit an IRA

  30 Mar 2012 | 8:00 am

  Question:  My Grandfather left me one of his IRAs –I haven’t done anything with it, yet, but someone said I had to be very careful to not give in to the desire to cash it in.  Can you tell me what I should do? Answer:  The very first thing to consider when you learn that you have inherited an IRA is – don’t do anything until you have learned all you can about exactly what you have inherited. There are several different sets of rules and you need to know which rules apply to you. Above all, make sure you have received and seen formal, documented proof that YOU…

• Clergy are Blessed with (almost) Tax-Free Status

  23 Mar 2012 | 8:00 am

  The Congress officially recognizes the value of all clergy and religious workers, and provides significant income tax benefits not generally available to lay people.  There are rules to follow, but by and large clergy can fairly easily take advantage of these special concessions. Clergy receive special tax treatment for these reasons:Even though clergy are considered employees of a church or religious denomination, they can be treated as being self-employed for Social Security and Medicare tax purposes.Clergy receive an income tax-free housing allowance and/or may live in a…

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  Don't Mess With Taxes

• Why is the IRS so slow to pay tax whistleblower rewards?

  skbell1

  15 May 2012 | 2:09 pm

  Sen. Charles Grassley is blowing the whistle on the federal tax whistleblower office. The Iowa Republican, a long-time supporter of rewarding those who help track down tax cheats, thinks the Internal Revenue Service's relatively new Whistleblower Office isn't doing its job. Under revisions to the tax cheat tracking mechanism, rewards to whistleblowers are no longer discretionary. They are to receive 15 percent to 30 percent of the collected proceeds. But that's not happening, at least not to the extent that whistleblowers and Grassley, a member of the Senate Finance Committee…

• Supreme Court rules against Arizona farmers in bankruptcy capital gains tax

  skbell1

  14 May 2012 | 3:32 pm

  Family farms are among the most iconic of American symbols. That's why these patches of agrarian productivity often are invoked in tax fights, most notably by folks who want to do away with the federal estate tax. This tax is often cited, usually incorrectly, as a killer of family farms. Internal Revenue data show that only a fraction of the millions of estates left each year involve farm assets. And the New York Times reported that in 2001 the pro-repeal American Farm Bureau Foundation could not cite a single case of a family farm lost due to the estate tax. Still, the possibility of…

• Tax refunds smaller in 2012

  skbell1

  13 May 2012 | 11:07 pm

  If you got a federal tax refund the last two filing seasons, chances are that your check from Uncle Sam this year was smaller. The average tax refund amount through the end of April was $2,716. That's $106 less than the average refund amount issued at around the same time last year, according to the latest Internal Refund Service 2012 tax filing season data. It's also this week's By the Numbers figure. Taxpayers who had their refunds directly deposited averaged slightly larger checks: $2,923. [1]Results for 2011 vary from those posted last year because certain results were…

• Mother's Day generosity

  skbell1

  13 May 2012 | 9:30 am

  Happy Mother's Day! I'm spending this Sunday with my mother. Like most moms, she doesn't want anything extravagant on her special day. Just spending time together is the best gift, or so she says. I'm taking her at her word! Mother's Day gift that keeps giving photo by Katatonic28 / Flickr  Visiting with Mom is much more manageable since she moved closer to the hubby and me about a year and a half ago. Getting together is the easiest it's been since I was in college. For most of the time that Mom's been here in Central Texas, we've been getting her new…

• Last week at my other tax blog: Facebook IPO taxes; adoption tax credit ending

  skbell1

  12 May 2012 | 11:30 pm

  The taxes facing new Facebook millionaires and the impending end of the adoption tax credit were the topics last week at my other tax blog. Mother's Day is just hours away and moms soon will be getting lots of presents. But some mothers also get a tax break gift from Uncle Sam thanks to the adoption tax credit. Unless Congress acts, however, this tax break will become much less beneficial in 2013. Without the adoption tax credit, some parents will find they will need much more money to add to their families this way. Of course, everyone -- with or without kids -- wants to make lots of…

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  Our Taxing Times

• Limited Parnerships

  trishmc

  14 May 2012 | 2:07 pm

  They’re back, Limited Partnerships. They were popular in the 1980s but the Tax Reform Act of 1986 took away most of their benefits and I seldom saw them. But they are making resurgence and are hooking unwary investors again. First, an example. Sally and Kurt form a partnership to manufacture widgets. Each year their tax pro prepares the business’s partnership return and gives both Sally and Kurt a K-1 showing their share of the income and deductions to be included on their personal returns. Sally and Kurt are general partners since they actually run the company and are responsible for the…

• Learn To Say No

  trishmc

  9 May 2012 | 2:44 pm

  Over the tax season the news was filled with articles of tax preparers gone bad; individuals and businesses that prepared fraudulent returns and ripped off their clients. But for all the high profile cases, there are preparers explaining to the IRS (and clients) why they didn’t to their due diligence or allowed deductions they knew were wrong. I don’t want to preach but some recent incidents in my office have again shown that the best defense a tax pro has is the ability to say no. I was lucky when I started out; I worked for a national firm that required all returns be checked by another…

• Surviving Spouse

  trishmc

  4 May 2012 | 11:11 am

  Husbands and wives die. It’s hard on the surviving spouse who has to make countless decisions at a stressful time. Many of those decisions will affect their income taxes. However, with a little tax planning, many of these problems can be eliminated. And that’s another post. I want to focus on filing status for the surviving spouse today. How the deceased taxpayer and their spouse file will depend on 2 issues. First, has the surviving spouse remarried? Let’s say Jane passes away in February of 2012 and her husband Joe marries Kate in November. For 2012, Joe will file Married Filing…

• Social Security Statements Online

  trishmc

  2 May 2012 | 5:09 pm

  Yesterday, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that taxpayers can get their benefit statement online. This is the same statement they had mailed out for years.Taxpayers just need to go through the registration process and once their identity has been verified, they can see what their retirement benefits will be based on their recent info. They can also review their contribution history for incorrect and missing information. Setting up an account is a little more complicated than most websites since SSA is using info from Experian to verify the taxpayer’s identity. (And you do…

• Grants for VITA and TCE Sites

  trishmc

  30 Apr 2012 | 3:18 pm

  Does your organization want to offer free tax preparation in 2013? Well, the IRS has opened the application window for grants to provide this service. From May 1 through May 31st, your organization can apply for a 3 year grant to provide tax prep assistance under the TCE (Tax Counseling for the Elderly) and VITA (Volunteers Income Tax Assistance) programs. The criterion for each program is a little different but you can easily find all the info you need in Pub 1101 for the TCE program and in Pub 4671 for VITA. Both programs are handled through www.grant.gov and you only have until the end of…

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  TAX NEWS - Google News

• Facebook IPO date has tax implications - Fortune

  16 May 2012 | 1:34 pm

  FortuneFacebook IPO date has tax implicationsFortuneOr, put another way, 228 days before capital gains tax rates are expected to rise. Why does this matter? Because Facebook has instituted a series of "lock-ups" for existing shareholders, including company employees. The vast majority of these expire Facebook investors to cash out more sharesNinemsnall 5,188 news articles »

• House approves tax increase, sends bill to O'Malley - Baltimore Sun (blog)

  16 May 2012 | 12:34 pm

  Washington TimesHouse approves tax increase, sends bill to O'MalleyBaltimore Sun (blog)by Annie Linskey The House of Delegates voted 77 to 60 this afternoon to increase income taxes on the top 14 percent of Marylanders, finishing up business left undone when lawmakers gridlocked at the end of the regular session in April.Maryland General Assembly passes tax hikeWashington Post (blog)Md. House passes tax increasesWashington TimesSenate OKs income tax hikeDelmarva Daily TimesPatch.com -The Star Democratall 207 news articles »

• Asia Is a Draw as US Weighs Higher Taxes - Wall Street Journal

  16 May 2012 | 12:18 pm

  BloombergAsia Is a Draw as US Weighs Higher TaxesWall Street JournalThe increase of Americans choosing to renounce their citizenship comes amid heated tax debates in the US Many businesses and high-income individuals are worried that the urgency to reduce the country's federal deficit will translate into tax increases Facebook's Saverin Saves $67 Million in Tax by Leaving U.S.San Francisco ChronicleFacebook's Saverin May Save $67 Million on US Tax BillBloombergPayback for a Facebook tax refugeeLos Angeles TimesPolitic365 -Ventura County Starall 176 news articles »

• Taxes lurk behind court test of Obama health law - Reuters

  16 May 2012 | 11:56 am

  WINA AM 1070Taxes lurk behind court test of Obama health lawReutersThe 2010 law includes a 3.8-percent boost in taxes on investment income and a 0.9-percent increase in the Medicare payroll tax, both hitting people who earn more than $200000 a year. Set to take effect in 2013, the two increases have been called into Factbox: Tax provisions in Obama's healthcare lawChicago Tribuneall 14 news articles »

• Obama Proposes New Tax Credit for Small Businesses That Hire - New York Times (blog)

  16 May 2012 | 10:50 am

  ABC NewsObama Proposes New Tax Credit for Small Businesses That HireNew York Times (blog)By ROBB MANDELBAUM In a bid to retake the initiative on small-business policy, President Obama Wednesday is expected to propose a 10 percent tax credit tied to new hiring. But the policy appears designed as much to draw a political distinction as to Democrats See Leverage as U.S. Congress Stares Down Budget CliffSan Francisco ChronicleNew battle over debt limit inevitable?CBS NewsBoehner vows another showdown over debt and taxesKansas City StarReuters -Washington Post (blog)all 862 news…

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  Tax-News.Com Live Tax Headlines

• Tax-News.com: Eurogroup Committed To Fiscal Consolidation

  16 May 2012 | 3:06 pm

  Tax-News.com: Following the latest Eurogroup meeting in Brussels, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister and Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker confirmed that the Eurogroup’s consolidation strategy, in accordance with provisions contained in the Stability and Growth Pact, ‘remains appropriate’ and will therefore continue to form the cornerstone of its strategy to correct fiscal and economic imbalances to overcome the crisis and to return to sustainable growth.

• Tax-News.com: Lamy Sings Praises Of IT Agreement

  16 May 2012 | 12:57 pm

  Tax-News.com: At the opening of a symposium to mark the 15th Anniversary of the Information Technology Agreement, which substantially liberalized taxes on the global trade of computer products, World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy emphasized that the success of the agreement could easily be transferred to other growth, and innovation-promoting industries.

• Tax-News.com: Hollande Eyes 'Growth Dimension' In Fiscal Compact

  16 May 2012 | 11:00 am

  Tax-News.com: During their first meeting in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Socialist President-elect François Hollande underscored the importance of Germany and France continuing to work closely together in the interests of Europe, and their responsibility and commitment to collaborating on ideas aimed at stimulating growth in Europe ahead of the European Council meeting in June.

• Tax-News.com: Vietnam's SMEs Get VAT Boost

  16 May 2012 | 9:07 am

  Tax-News.com: Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has announced an extension to value added tax payment deadlines, so as to provide financial assistance, in particular, to small and medium-sized enterprises.

• Tax-News.com: Swiss Asset Managers Slam 'Incoherent' Financial Centre Strategy

  16 May 2012 | 8:29 am

  Tax-News.com: During its general assembly in Zurich, the Swiss Association of Asset Managers criticized the government’s ‘white money strategy’, a new financial market policy geared towards the management of taxed assets, calling instead for a coherent strategy for the Swiss financial centre.

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  taxgirl

• Treasury Department Email A Hoax

  Kelly

  24 Apr 2012 | 7:44 am

  You have to give spammers and schemers credit for trying. They just won’t give up! This morning, my inbox was chock full of versions of the following email, which has been making the rounds since 2010: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, 1500 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW WASHINGTON, DC 20220 Tel: +1-(202) 622-2000 Fax: +1-(202) 622-6415 Monday, April; 23, 2012 READ INSTRUCTION This email is to notify you about the release of your outstanding payment worth USD15, 500,000.00 only. The U.S. Department of the Treasury in collaboration with the HM Treasury has scheduled a…

• Mammoth Bill Makes IRS Play Border Control

  Kelly

  23 Apr 2012 | 7:35 am

  And here I thought, in an election year, that nothing would get done. In the blink of an eye, the Senate has managed to pass a bill that does practically everything. The bill, which has the descriptive title, “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act” or “MAP-21″ is called, in shorthand, the “Highway Bill.” It’s about 1,865 pages long. The official summary alone is 2,650 words: by the time it was engrossed in the Senate, the bill was 317,182 words long – or about four times longer than the first Harry Potter book. Of course, it’s…

• IRS Targets Unscrupulous Preparers, Bogus Refunds

  Kelly

  22 Apr 2012 | 11:40 am

  Claiming bogus tax refunds can be easy. After all, nobody’s looking, right? Wrong. The IRS is cracking down on tax evasion by targeting unscrupulous tax preparers. And they might be headed for your town – they’re already making waves in mine. Last week, the United States asked federal court to bar three [entity display="Philadelphia" type="place" active="true" key="pa/philadelphia"]Philadelphia[/entity]-area tax preparers from preparing federal tax returns for others. Those preparers are Deron Joe, Edmund Dassin and James Tokpawhiea, who prepared tax returns from their…

• Stirring the Pot: Could Legalizing Marijuana Save the Economy?

  Kelly

  20 Apr 2012 | 11:52 am

  On April 2, One L. Goh allegedly went on a shooting spree inside Oikos University in Oakland, California, killing seven students. That same day, federal agents were otherwise occupied, raiding a business less than a half a mile away. That business, Oaksterdam University, is a medical marijuana training school in a location where it is considered legal for state and local purposes. There’s some sad irony here. One is, of course, not directly related to the other. But you can’t help but look at the two events – on the same day, just blocks away from each other – and…

• The Great Working Mom Debate Isn’t About Kids, It’s About Money

  Kelly

  19 Apr 2012 | 1:13 pm

  I was finishing up with a colleague at the office when I saw my cell phone light up. It wasn’t a number that I recognized so I let it go. The office phone rang a few minutes later and my assistant advised that it was the school. Of course it was. It was a dental emergency. I scrambled a little bit to get my things and headed out. I’m at the dentist now with my MacBook Air propped up on my lap, still working. I’m lucky in that I have a job that allows me to dash away for last minute emergencies and the occasional not-so-much emergency like parent teacher conferences and…

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  About.com Tax Planning: U.S.

• Tax Tips for Parents of New Graduates

  14 May 2012 | 11:34 pm

  Parents of new graduates might not be eligible to claim their children as dependents anymore. The kids are grown up now and become "independent" for tax purposes upon reaching age 19 and no longer in school full-time or upon reaching age 23. Parents may want to review their tax projections to see the impact of having one less dependent and adjust their withholding or estimated tax payments accordingly. Along the same vein, any tax deductions or tax credits for higher education go with the person who was previously your dependent. So if your new grad is eligible for the American Opportunity…

• Tax Breaks for New Graduates

  14 May 2012 | 11:23 pm

  Persons who have just graduated from high school or college may be eligible for various tax deductions or tax credits to help lower their federal income tax on their 2012 tax return....Read Full Post

• New Grads: Employee Benefits That Help Keep You Tax-Efficient

  14 May 2012 | 11:01 pm

  New grads who are starting a new job may be eligible to receive employee benefits provided by their employer. Each employer customizes their benefits package, so the type of benefits offered will vary from employer to employer. Typical employee benefits include the opportunity to purchase coverage under a group health insurance plan, to purchase coverage under a group life insurance plan, or to receive subsidies for mass transit or college tuition. Some employers also offer a group retirement plan to foster long-term savings. Each of these benefits comes with tax incentives that help make…

• Tax Planning Tips for New Graduates Starting a New Job

  14 May 2012 | 9:21 pm

  Persons graduating from high school or college may be starting to work for the first-time, or starting their first full-time job with benefits. This is a good time to learn (or to review) how wage income is taxed, what a paycheck is, how to read a paycheck, and how to set an appropriate level of tax withholding when starting a new job. The types of taxes on wage income...Read Full Post

• Documents to Retain after Filing Your Tax Return

  30 Apr 2012 | 11:34 pm

  After filing your tax return with the IRS and state tax agencies, you should keep copies of that return and any documents or data relating to that tax return. At minimum, the documents should be kept at least three years, or possibly longer depending on which states you filed in....Read Full Post

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  THE WANDERING TAX PRO

• WHAT’S THE BUZZ? TELL ME WHAT’S A HAPPENNIN’ – WEDNESDAY EDITION

  16 May 2012 | 4:00 am

  * At the invitation of blog author Peter J Reilly I provided my 2+ cents on his earlier post “Divorce Lawyers - Frequently Not the Best Tax Advisors” with a guest post titled “Wandering Tax Pro On The Tax Aspects of Divorce”.* Kay Bell reports on a recent analysis by Thumbtack.com that tells us “Friendliest States for Small Businesses? Idaho,Texas, Oklahoma and Utah” over at DON’T MESS WITH TAXES. “Small businesses are made the most welcome in Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma and Utah, according to a recent analysis by Thumbtack.com, in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman…

• THE GAY DIVORCEE

  15 May 2012 | 4:00 am

  Thanks to BO’s recent “endorsement” of same-sex marriage the internet is a-BUZZ with the topic.  This includes the “tax blogosphere”.   A few of my fellow tax-bloggers cover the tax aspects of same-sex marriage extensively.   Peter J Reilly, author of the blog “Passive Activities” for FORBES.COM (where I have been a frequent guest-poster), writes frequently on the topic.  Click here for his latest gay-marriage post.   Also Enrolled Agent Jason Dinesen, who writes “Dinesen Tax Times”.  Jason posts every Monday about gay marriage and taxes. …

• BULL TIT

  14 May 2012 | 4:00 am

  This past tax season has once again proven that IRS information return 1098-T, which is supposed to provide information for claiming the various education tax benefits, is as useful as tits on a bull.Box 1 of the 1098-T is for payments received “from any source” for qualified tuition and related expenses.  This is the information I need.  However in the years that this form has been in use I have only seen an entry in this box once – and it was incorrect.  It showed only the payments received directly from the student (actually the student’s parents).Box 2 is for…

• WHAT’S THE BUZZ? TELL ME WHAT’S A HAPPENNIN’

  12 May 2012 | 4:00 am

  * Trish McIntire offers some good advice to tax pros in her post “Learn to Say No” over at OUR TAXING TIMES.  * Disappointing news from REUTERS.COM in “No Tax Reform Plan Yet: Obama Aide”.  “President Barack Obama's nominee to be the top tax official at the U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday that the administration is not actively working on a plan to revamp the tax code, frustrating some of Obama's fellow Democrats.‘We'd be negligent if we weren't doing foundational work ... But at this point there is no plan that has been developed,’ Mark Mazur, Obama's nominee…

• CHECK YOUR FINISHED RETURN!

  10 May 2012 | 4:00 am

  When you receive your finished tax returns from your tax preparer don’t just sign and submit the return.  it is very, very important that you carefully review the return first, and ask the preparer about any items you do not understand. The letter that I include with all finished tax returns I have prepared includes the following statement –   “Please examine these returns carefully to be sure all items of income and deductions have been accounted for properly.  You are responsible for all the information reported on the returns.  If you find anything that is not in…

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  NEW JERSEY TAX PRACTICE BLOG

• NJ-NATP HALF-DAY SEMINAR

  26 Apr 2012 | 4:18 pm

  The NJ chapter of the National Association of Tax Professionals is offering a half-day seminar on Pennsylvania Taxation and Using Social Media to Grow Your Practice at Burlington County College in Mount Holly on Thursday, May 17th. Registration begins at 8:30 AM and the seminar runs from 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM. The cost is $90.00 for members and non-members for registrations postmarked before May 14th, or $100 if postmarked on or after 5/14 and at the door.  Breakfast and lunch is included. To download a registration form click here. TAFN

• SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, GOOD NIGHT!

  31 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am

  Joy to the world - tax season’s here.I’ll soon be flush with cash!Let every client be organized,and give me all I need, and give me all I need,and give me all I need to prepare their returns!My 41st tax season will officially begin tomorrow - let the deluge begin!As is my custom, due to the demands of the filing season I will be taking my annual “tax season hiatus” from posting to THE WANDERING TAX PRO, the NJ TAX PRACTICE BLOG, and THE TAX PROFESSIONAL. Between now and April 16th I will barely have time to relieve myself let alone blog! I will NOT be answering emails from…

• EVERYBODY WANTS TO GET INTO THE ACT!

  23 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am

  Enough already!I must register with the IRS and get a number (PTIN) if I want to continue to prepare tax returns for a fee, which is how I make my living.  I also have to take a test to prove to the IRS that I know what I have been doing for 40 years now.  And I have to maintain a minimum number of annual credits in continuing professional education in federal income taxation (I take more than the required annual CPE each year anyway – so this is not an issue).Because I do about 20 New York resident and non-resident state income tax returns I also have to register with the State…

• THE TAX PROFESSIONAL

  19 Jan 2012 | 7:49 am

  You do know that, in addition to THE WANDERING TAX PRO and this blog, I also write a blog titled THE TAX PROFESSIONAL.This blog is written for NJ tax professionals, and tax pros who prepare NJ state income tax returns.  THE TAX PROFESSIONALis for tax pros everywhere.As stated in the blogs inaugural post . . .“ . . . the purpose of this site is to provide updated advice, information, and resources for tax professionals who prepare individual federal income tax returns.  It will address individual income tax topics and issues relevant to both newcomers to the field and experienced…

• A LETTER TO THE DIRECTOR OF THE NJ DIVISION OF TAXATION

  18 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am

  As I had mentioned in my “review” of the recent NJ-NATP “Famous State Tax Seminar”, a member of the audience brought up a very serious problem with the NJ Division of Taxation.  To follow up on this I have sent the following letter to Michael Bryan, Director of the NJ Division of Taxation:Dear Mr. Bryan:Thank you for addressing the NJ chapter of the National Association of Tax Professional’s annual State Tax Seminar last Saturday, and for bringing along the state’s new Taxpayer Advocate, and speakers John Kelly and Jim Gordon.  Mr. Gordon’s annual presentation is…

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  Start Making Sense

• Casebook update

  15 May 2012 | 9:22 am

  The 16th edition of Bankman, Shaviro, and Stark, Federal Income Taxation, which I believe ranks # 2 in sales among basic income tax casebooks (but we try harder), should be available in print within a month or so.  Among other new features, it will have a website that we are hoping faculty who use the casebook will find very helpful.

• Musical note

  10 May 2012 | 11:16 am

  Lately I've been listening to two recently-released albums: the Magnetic Fields' "Love at the Bottom of the Sea," and the Shins' "Port of Morrow."  Often back-to-back, such as when I'm exercising."Love at the Bottom of the Sea" is truly brilliant, above all in its lyrics, although the music is quite enjoyable as well (and they work as a package together).  Songwriter Stephin Merritt has been called the Cole Porter of the rock era, and when he is at his best this is no overstatement.  "69 Love Songs," the 1999 triple album which pretty much is just what it sounds like from…

• Excellent new book on progressive consumption taxation

  8 May 2012 | 1:21 pm

  I've long been partial to the David Bradford X-tax, a progressive consumption tax model that basically takes the flat tax (itself not actually flat, given the zero bracket alongside a positive one), and makes it more progressive by adding higher and more graduated rates. Bradford and his successors have also done a great deal of work in figuring out how this system, or an alternative progressive consumption tax design, could best be operationalized.Early next month, but already available order for pre-order here, AEI scholar Alan Viard and Tax Foundation scholar Robert Carroll are publishing…

• Upcoming Tax Policy Center on taxing Wall Street

  8 May 2012 | 1:00 pm

  On Friday, May 18, at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., I will be among the panelists in a public session, sponsored by the Tax Policy Center that is entitled "Making Wall Street Pay: The Pros and Cons of Financial Taxes." The session will start with lunch at 11:45 am and will then run from about 12:05 through 1:30. Urban is at 2100 M Street, but you can also stream the session in the comfort of your own computer. The other participants will be Michael Keen from the International Monetary Fund, Steve Rosenthal from the Tax Policy Center, Lee Sheppard from Tax Notes, and Damon Silvers…

• Back in the game

  8 May 2012 | 12:51 pm

  Apologies for my near-radio silence in recent weeks. In addition to concluding my semester here at NYU Law School, I was involved in a confidential legal proceeding (not, however, as a party to the proceeding). This proved to be rather consuming of my time. But I am now done and have been decompressing for a week. I hope to resume posting regularly, and indeed have an immediate follow-up that I will give its own title.

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  MauledAgain

• The Failure of Tax Policy Credits: Specific Evidence

  James Edward Maule

  16 May 2012 | 7:01 am

  Recently, Sarah J. Webber, of the University of Dayton School of Business Administration, released a paper written last year that explores the effectiveness of the first-time homebuyer credit. In Don’t Burst the Bubble: An Analysis of the First-time Homebuyer Credit and Its Use as an Economic Policy Tool, Webber concludes that real estate experts advocating use of the credit to stimulate the housing market “have failed to objectively evaluate the true economic benefit of the homebuyer credits” and “have not empirically demonstrated that the homebuyer credits stabilized the real estate…

• Tax Cheating and Tax Complexity

  James Edward Maule

  14 May 2012 | 7:01 am

  Late last week I received a press release describing a new book, Tax Cheating: Illegal – But Is It Immoral?, written by Donald Morris, an associate professor of accounting at the University of Illinois Springfield, a CPA, a certified fraud examiner, and a former tax practitioner. According to the press release, the book focuses on the question, “But who is to blame for tax cheating when most partaking in the activity don’t even realize they are breaking the law and are merely victims of the complexity of the tax code which is born out of 100 years of adding special provisions and…

• Robbing Peter to Pay Paul, Tax Style

  James Edward Maule

  11 May 2012 | 7:01 am

  Philadelphia’s School District is in financial trouble. That’s not news. Tax revenues are down, spending cuts have not eliminated the budget deficit, and steeper cuts could cause the school system to collapse. The mayor has proposed increasing school district real property tax revenues by working a tax increase into the real property assessment reform, a proposal noted in The Bad Tax System That Will Not Die Might Get Another Lease on Life.Now comes a Philadelphia Inquirer story that describes efforts by some state legislators to divert gaming revenue from wage tax reduction to…

• Tax Credit = Reverse Tax

  James Edward Maule

  9 May 2012 | 7:01 am

  Almost a year ago, Pennsylvania State Representative Jesse White announced plans to introduce legislation “that would provide a tax credit for the adoption of a dog or cat.” Late last week, as reported in this article, the attempt to add the credit to the state income tax law failed by a vote of 97-96.This effort is a textbook example of why it is so difficult to clean up the tax law. Any sort of objection to this credit will bring howls of protest and derision from many of those who like animals and have pets. I say many and not all because I like animals and have had pets, but I’m no…

• Tax Incentives Gone Wild

  James Edward Maule

  7 May 2012 | 7:01 am

  Two separate developments that appeared last week provide even more warnings about the dangers of relying on tax incentives to accomplish goals that are far beyond the scope of a rational tax law. This is not the first time that I’ve addressed this concern, as evidenced by posts such as The Problem with Income Tax Vehicle Credits, Congressional Mis-delegation Endangers Tax Collections, and More Criticism of Non-Tax Tax Credits, When Tax Credits Aren’t Worth the Trouble, and The Disadvantages of Tax Incentives, and I doubt it will be the last.The first development was the introduction in…

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  AccountingWEB.com - News

• Tax Return Preparer Headed to Jail for Close to Eight Years

  16 May 2012 | 12:51 pm

  Margaret Kirksey, a resident of Montgomery, Alabama, was sentenced May 8 in the Middle District of Alabama to eighty-one months in federal prison for filing false tax returns using stolen identities, the Justice Department and the IRS announced.   On January 24, 2012, Kirksey pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud the government and aggravated identity theft. read more

• AICPA Applauds Passage of Mobile Workforce Bill by the House

  16 May 2012 | 9:00 am

  By Deanna C. White   On May 15, Barry C. Melancon, CPA, CGMA, president and CEO of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), issued a statement in support of the US House of Representatives for passing H.R. 1864: Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2011. read more

• AICPA Survey: 17 Percent of Young Adults Check Bank Accounts Daily

  15 May 2012 | 2:50 pm

  By Deanna C. White   There's little doubt most young adults are obsessed with their digital devices and the latest technology that helps them use them. read more

• AICPA's Online Calculator Estimates Yearly Taxes Paid to All Sources

  15 May 2012 | 12:35 pm

  By AccountingWEB Staff The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has launched the Total Tax Insights calculator, a comprehensive calculator that was developed as a tool to enable taxpayers to estimate the amount they pay each year for the most common federal, state, and local taxes.  "The AICPA has a long-standing commitment to helping Americans take accountabiliread more

• Job Hunting? Ten Tips for Nailing Skype Job Interviews

  15 May 2012 | 8:21 am

  By AccountingWEB Staff   Skype is a software program that allows two people to speak and see one another via the Internet. Many employers are choosing Skype to conduct job interviews, especially when candidates don't live in their area. In addition, some employers are substituting a first-round telephone interview with a Skype interview so they can see the candidates as well as speak to them. read more

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  Tax Questions and Answers

• Can I still get my refund?

  Richard Panick, IRS Media Relations

  11 May 2012 | 2:44 pm

  Question from Ann Marie May 8, 2012 at 2:34pm Richard, We have been separated since 2006 and have filed individual head of household returns since then. My husband is on a payment plan for taxes owed for 2006, however, my...

• Can 2009 and 2010 returns still be filed to claim a refund?

  Richard Panick, IRS Media Relations

  8 May 2012 | 2:57 pm

  Question from Martha May 6, 2012 at 2:34pm Richard, My daughter is 21 and this was her first yr to file on her own. She has always worked part time when she was still our dependent. In 2008, I claimed...

• When did the extra senior exemption stop?

  Richard Panick, IRS Media Relations

  8 May 2012 | 11:26 am

  Question from Ron May 6, 2012 at 8:05am Richard, Last filing I noticed the extra senior exemption was removed. When was it removed? Answer:  Ron - Thank you for your question. I believe you are asking about the extra personal...

• Mortgage Debt Relief Act

  Richard Panick, IRS Media Relations

  4 May 2012 | 10:30 am

  Question from Amanda May 3, 2012 at 11:00am Richard, We are doing a short sale of our primary residence in Portland OR of our condo expecting to close in July or August and wanted to know if we should qualify...

• Can I claim an education expense deduction?

  Richard Panick, IRS Media Relations

  1 May 2012 | 11:58 am

  Question from John May 1, 2012 at 9:04am Richard, My wife's and I combined income is approximately $120,000. We have no substantial deductions and I am retired government employee. Our son is 24 years old and still going to college....

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  TaxProf Blog

• Constitutionality of the 'House Tax'

  Paul Caron

  16 May 2012 | 1:29 pm

  The Volokh Conspiracy: House Tax Bleg, by Dave Kopel: In July 1798, Congress enacted a direct tax to raise revenue for national defense against France. The “House Tax” imposed taxes on land, houses, and slaves. As required by Article I, section 9, clause 4 of the Constitution, this direct tax...

• Campos: The Law Student Debt Crisis

  Paul Caron

  16 May 2012 | 12:30 pm

  Salon: Debt: Not Just for Undergrads, by Paul F. Campos (Colorado): Approximately half of the 45,000 people who will graduate this year from ABA-accredited law schools will never find jobs as lawyers. (The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that over the next decade 21,000 new jobs for lawyers will become...

• The Texas Series LLC and Federal Tax Classification

  Paul Caron

  16 May 2012 | 12:20 pm

  James Howard (J.D. 2011, Baylor), Comment, Where Do We Go From Here? A Survey of Series LLCs in Texas in Light of the Proposed Federal Tax Classification for the Organization, 63 Baylor L. Rev. 850 (2011): This comment will evaluate the operation of the series LLC in Texas and analyze...

• SSRN Tax Professor Download Rankings

  Paul Caron

  16 May 2012 | 6:00 am

  SSRN has updated its monthly rankings of 750 American and international law school faculties and 3,000 law professors by (among other things) the number of paper downloads from the SSRN database. Here is the new list (through May 1, 2012) of the Top 25 U.S. Tax Professors in two of...

• Avi-Yonah: Camp, Obama, and Territoriality Reconsidered

  Paul Caron

  16 May 2012 | 5:00 am

  Reuven Avi-Yonah (Michigan), Vive la Petite Difference: Camp, Obama, and Territoriality Reconsidered, 66 Tax Notes Int'l 617 (May 14, 2012): The recent tax reform proposals by House Ways and Means Committee Chair David Camp, R-Mich., and by President Obama seem to offer starkly contrasting visions of how to reform the...

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  Texas State & Local Tax Law Blog

• The District Court's written Final Judgment has reversed the earlier verbal ruling in the Southwest Royalties case

  Alan E. Sherman

  2 May 2012 | 4:00 pm

  On April 30, 2012, Travis County District Judge John Dietz signed a Final Judgment reversing his earlier verbal ruling in Southwest Royalties, Inc. v. Combs, et al., Cause No. D-1-GN-09-004284, in the 353rd Judicial District Court of Travis County, Texas. In the verbal ruling, discussed in a previous post on this site captioned “Texas oil and gas operators may be able to claim sales and use tax refunds on their purchases of above-ground and downhole equipment,” the District Judge felt that above-ground and below-ground oil and gas production equipment was eligible for the sales…

• The Texas Comptroller and Amazon.com have settled their sales tax dispute

  Alan E. Sherman

  27 Apr 2012 | 12:00 pm

  This morning, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts posted a press release on the agency’s web site, the Window on State Government, announcing that the Comptroller’s office and Amazon.com, Inc., have entered into an agreement under which Amazon plans to create at least 2,500 jobs and make at least $200 million in capital investments in Texas over the next four years. What’s more, Amazon will begin to collect and remit Texas sales tax on July 1, 2012. But here’s the key part of the press release: The agreement resolves all sales tax issues between Texas and Amazon.

• Contributing an aircraft to the capital of a newly-formed entity remains nontaxable in Texas

  Alan E. Sherman

  18 Apr 2012 | 1:00 pm

  A recent administrative proceeding involving a Texas sales tax assessment on an aircraft transaction resulted in a good-news-bad-news decision by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. The good news is that the taxpayer won and the assessment was dismissed, although not for the reasons that the taxpayer had asserted. The bad news is that, although not necessary for the decision, the Comptroller took the opportunity to reiterate its policy that the agency may “look beyond individual transactions and view them as a series of related events that are, in fact, taxable if there is either…

• Texas oil and gas operators may be able to claim sales and use tax refunds on their purchases of above-ground and downhole equipment

  Alan E. Sherman

  17 Apr 2012 | 1:00 pm

  There’s been a lot of recent buzz on the Internet about a Texas state trial court’s April 12th ruling from the bench in favor of an oil and gas operator in a sales and use tax refund lawsuit. The case is Southwest Royalties, Inc. v. Combs, et al., Cause No. D-1-GN-09-004284, in the 353rd Judicial District Court of Travis County, Texas. The trial court’s ruling hasn’t yet been formalized in a written judgment, so it’s a bit premature to discuss the case in depth. Still, if the Internet commentary is correct, and if the bench ruling is upheld in the inevitable…

• The Texas Comptroller has just announced a tax amnesty for businesses starting June 12th

  Alan E. Sherman

  15 Mar 2012 | 2:15 pm

  The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has just announced a tax amnesty for businesses called “Fresh Start” beginning this coming June 12th and continuing through August 17th. Here is the Comptroller's announcement on the agency’s web site, the Window on State Government. The Comptroller’s office has also set up a separate web site just for the amnesty program, www.freshstart.texas.gov, with more details (in particular, readers should review the “FAQ” page on the amnesty site). Under the amnesty, penalty and interest will be waived on unpaid state and…

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  Roth & Company, P.C

• Tax Roundup, 5/16/2012: Mobile workforce act, rich hix tax trix, London whales.

  Joe Kristan

  16 May 2012 | 8:26 am

  House Passes Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act (H.R. 1864). (AICPA) State tax administrators dislike it, which I count as an endorsement.  It probably won’t go anywhere in the Senate. More lucrative than the suicide thing:  Feds raid tax fraud suspect’s home with possible 9/11 connection (WTSP.com)  No bias here! “Firms urge delay in IRS offshore tax dodger rules” (Reuters).  It would be more accurate to say “Firms urge delay in IRS attempt to wreck U.S. firms overseas finance operations.”  Hak Ghun, will travel:  A man who…

• Reduced Iowa ESOP break sneaks through at end of session

  Joe Kristan

  15 May 2012 | 9:07 am

  If the Iowa tax law were a car, it would look like this. When the legislature went home last week, we said that the end of the session inflicted no further damage on Iowa’s tax law.  We were wrong. The last-day frenzy included a scaled-down version of the Governor’s capital gain exclusion for certain stock sales to ESOPs.  HF 2465, deceptively described as “Relating to state and local finances by making adjusting appropriations, providing for funding of property tax credits and reimbursements and for other matters pertaining to taxation,”  passed the Iowa House May…

• Tax Roundup, 5/15/2012

  Joe Kristan

  15 May 2012 | 8:40 am

  Remember to file or extend your calendar year 990 and 990-PF exempt organization returns today! Supreme Court holds post-petition taxes in farm bankruptcy not discharged.  Roger McEowen has the background, including a discussion of the new decision.  Kay Bell has more. He needs his Attorney Bernie: Wirth accountant Murry pleads guilty in tax-evasion case (reference explained here, last verse).   Huffington Post tells a story we’ve known about for a long time, but that the government seems strangely unable to move on: Tax Fraud: Thieves Steal Tax Refunds From The Dead Using…

• Buying you things with your own money

  Joe Kristan

  14 May 2012 | 8:28 am

  Supporters of the “Buffett Rule” aren’t being honest about U.S. Budget problems.  No matter how much you tax the rich, the rich just don’t have the money to pay for all the spending the politicians are doing.  Here is what an honest Buffett Rule fan would say: Every nation in the world with the kind of welfare state we want for America pays for it by taxing a large majority of its citizens far more heavily than we do. To pretend we can do otherwise is to invite our countrymen to indulge a fantasy rather than call on them to make a serious commitment. Building the…

• Tax Roundup, 5/14/2012

  Joe Kristan

  14 May 2012 | 8:21 am

  Calendar Year 990s and 990-PFs are due tomorrow.  The penalties for late filing can reach $100 per day ($20 per day for smaller organizations), and three years of non-filing will cost an organization its exempt status.  Three-month extensions are available onf Form 8868. Aside from avoiding U.S. compliance nightmares for the rest of his life, what are the real tax consequences to the Facebook guy for giving up his U.S. Passport? (TaxProf).  Plus a TaxProf roundup! Phil Hodgen on Why the Facebook dude expatriated.  Also: “Only an elected official would fail to predict such…

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  Rubin on Tax

• COURT AFFIRMS §2035 THREE YEAR RULE APPLIES TO §2519 TERMINATION OF QTIP TRUSTS

  Charles Rubin

  12 May 2012 | 6:27 am

  For those of you with a great memory, you will remember that in December 2009 we wrote about the case of Morgens v. Commissioner. For those with a more typical memory, you can read the original post on the case here. In that case, a QTIP marital trust was terminated during the lifetime of the surviving spouse’s lifetime. §2519 imposed a gift tax on the spouse, but the tax was ultimately paid by trust under §2207A apportionment of tax rules. The surviving spouse then died within three years. The issue was whether the gross estate of the surviving spouse included the amount of gift taxes…

• COMPUTER COPY OF LOST WILL WAS GOOD ENOUGH AND SOME INTERESTING “DISINTERESTED WITNESS” CONCLUSIONS[FLORIDA]

  Charles Rubin

  6 May 2012 | 11:36 pm

  If a last Will is lost or destroyed, it can still be offered for probate. Fla.Stats. §733.207 provides that the specific content must be proved by two disinterested witnesses, or if a “correct copy” is provided, by one disinterested witness. In regard to what is a “correct copy,” Florida case law suggests that the copy has to be a carbon copy or photocopy. In re Estate of Parker, 382 So. 2d 652 (Fla. 1980). However, in a recent Florida case, an unsigned word processor copy taken from the office of the preparing attorney was also found to be a correct copy. The 2nd DCA determined that…

• SOCIAL SECURITY TAXES TO RISE IN 2013

  Charles Rubin

  1 May 2012 | 10:40 am

  The Social Security wage base is projected to increase from $110,000 to $113,700 in 2013. Social security taxes are collected on wages up to this maximum - once wages go over the maximum no further taxes are imposed. Normally, those wages are subject to OASDI (social security) taxes of 6.2% imposed on the employer and the same percent imposed on the employee. However, in 2012 the rate on employees was cut to 4.2%. Self-employed persons pay 12.4% (10.4% in 2012).Therefore, higher earned income persons can expect a double hit in 2013 - an increase in the wage base (that is, more wages subject…

• COOK ISLANDS ASSET PROTECTION TRUSTEE SUBJECT TO NEW YORK COURTS JURISDICTION

  Charles Rubin

  28 Apr 2012 | 11:32 am

  Southpac is a trust company that operates in several non-U.S. jurisdictions, including the Cook Islands and Nevis. Not by coincidence, the Cook Islands and Nevis have aggressive asset protection laws that seek to attract international asset protection trusts. A basic planning tenant for a non-U.S. asset protection trust is to use a trust company that has no connection with the U.S., so that a U.S. court cannot obtain jurisdiction over them to compel them to turn over assets in their control. Thus, for example, the use of affiliates of banks and trust companies with U.S. offices is…

• FOURTH DCA: A TRUST CONTESTANT MAY NEED TO CHALLENGE THE WILL, TOO [FLORIDA]

  Charles Rubin

  26 Apr 2012 | 5:31 pm

  [This post was authored by Sean Lebowitz, Esq. of our office]In Pasquale, Jr. v. Loving, et. al.,*the Fourth District Court of Appeal determined that a trust contestant must also challenge a will if the trust is incorporated by reference into the will. This is an important lesson for probate and trust litigators.In Pasquale, the Plaintiffs were served with Notices of Administration and filed a Complaint with the Probate Court within the three month time limitation imposed by Florida Statute § 733.212. The Complaint did not specifically reference the last Will, and instead, focused on several…

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  Tax Problem Attorney Blog

• Criminal Tax: Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion vs. Failure to File Tax Returns

  14 May 2012 | 3:00 pm

  A physician in Kentucky was arrested and charged last month with four counts of Internal Revenue Code Section 7201, and two counts of failure to file tax returns in violation of blog post. Still, as tax evasion. That's what happened to Dr. Grentz. The indictments spells out that he was being charged with failure to file for two of the years, but tax evasion for four different years. In order to be convicted of tax evasion it is necessary for the IRS to show an "affirmative act", not merely an omission to do something like the failure to file a tax return. According to the indictment in…

• Tax Fraud: Criminal Tax Conviction For Failure to Pay Payroll Taxes Upheld

  8 May 2012 | 1:57 pm

  The payroll taxes to the IRS was affirmed by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 7202, and is punishable by up to five years in prison. Of course the willful failure by a responsible officer to pay trust fund taxes is also a violation of tax lawyers, and other tax professionals who see this type of underpayment on a semi-regular basis. The DeMuros tried to argue that their failure to pay wasn't willful, but to no avail. The IRS pointed to evidence that during the same time period the DeMuros spent over $5 million dollars from their personal and corporate…

• Tax Fraud: Even a Small Tax Deficiency Can Result in a Civil Tax Fraud Penalty

  2 Apr 2012 | 12:54 pm

  Our tax fraud. We explain that there are various "badges of tax fraud," and a simple omission of income may not be tax fraud. A recent civil tax fraud penalty. In the case of Porch v. Commissioner (March 2012) Porch underwent a

• Failure to File FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Report) for Offshore Funds Leads to Seizure of Over 4.6 Million Dollars From Alaska Plastic Surgeon

  23 Mar 2012 | 9:00 am

  The failure to file a Foreign Bank Account Report TD F 90-22.1 (FBAR) for an offshore bank account has led to the seizure of an Alaska plastic surgeon's $4.6 million dollar account at a Seattle branch of Bank of America. According to the complaint filed in District Court Alaska plastic surgeon Michael Brandner was involved in a contested divorce proceeding with his wife, and decided to hide around $4.6 million from her by depositing the funds in a foreign bank account in Panama held in the name of a nominee offshore company. The complaint alleges that he drove the money from Alaska to Panama…

• Tax Fraud Penalties Upheld First By Tax Court, Then by Ninth Circuit

  15 Mar 2012 | 9:00 am

  IRC Section 6663, not IRC Section 7201. The difference is that although you can wind up paying a lot of money if civil tax fraud penalties are imposed at least you won't go to jail. In some cases the IRS brings criminal tax evasion charges, and then goes after you for the taxes, plus a civil tax fraud penalty. Although Mr. Robleto probably doesn't think so he may have been lucky that the IRS didn't bring criminal tax evasion charges. The civil tax fraud penalty under IRC Section 6663 is 75% of the tax that is owed. The process of imposing the civil tax fraud penalty is a lengthy one.

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  Taxable Talk

• On the Road Again

  Russ

  11 May 2012 | 10:34 pm

  I will be traveling this week, so posting will be light to non-existent until next weekend.

• Another Survey, Another “F” for California

  Russ

  10 May 2012 | 11:37 pm

  While Governor Brown and others in the Bronze Golden State continue to debate how to increase taxes, perhaps they’ll look at yet another survey which shows that California is at the bottom for business (among US states). With thanks to the TaxProfBlog for noting this, Thumbtack.com, in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation released a survey of small business owners of which states were the best for business. Receiving “A+” grades were Idaho, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah; receiving “F” grades were California, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The…

• Hint: If You’re in Politics, Skimming Money Isn’t a Good Idea

  Russ

  10 May 2012 | 11:07 pm

  Politicians and anyone else in the public eye are far more likely than others to find themselves audited than others. Take Richard Rober and his wife Averill. Mrs. Rober owned Gator Water and Wastewater Management, Inc. The business was sold, and payments came in. The Robers skimmed money off of each payment and kept it for personal expenses. They neglected to tell their accountant about the skim. Did I mention that Mr. Richey was the mayor of Port Richey, Florida? All might have been well except that the company that bought Gator Water alleged that the Robers were skimming. The IRS launched…

• Ex-Eagle Sues Co-Defendants

  Russ

  10 May 2012 | 10:54 pm

  It seems we’re stuck in the football motif. Freddie Mitchell played for the Philadelphia Eagles and is most remembered for this play: Earlier this year, he found himself indicted for tax fraud along with two others, Jamie Russ-Walls and Richard Walls. The alleged scheme involved phony tax refunds; Mr. Mitchell is alleged to have recruited individuals to receive the fraudulent refunds. Well, Mr. Mitchell doesn’t think much of his co-defendants. He filed a lawsuit against them today alleging fraud, breach of contract and infliction of emotional distress. Mr. Mitchell’s…

• Vikings Score Late TD; New Stadium Appears Certain

  Russ

  10 May 2012 | 10:27 pm

  Pity the poor football fans in Los Angeles. They’re stuck watching the NFL on television, or watching USC at the L.A. Coliseum. The latest team that was looking at possibly heading west was the Minnesota Vikings. Earlier today, the Minnesota State Senate approved the Vikings new stadium; Governor Mark Dayton has promised to sign the measure. The Minneapolis City Council must also approve the measure within the next 30 days, but that approval is expected. The Vikings didn’t get everything they wanted. The Vikings will have to contribute about $50 million more than they wanted to…

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  IRS Tax Problem Solver Blog - IRS Help

• What the IRS Fresh Start Program does for You

  Darrin Mish

  16 May 2012 | 7:42 am

  The economic recession has made it difficult for many taxpayers to afford paying their taxes. So the IRS has done something to help. On February 24, 2011, the agency created a new program known as the Fresh Start program. To many taxpayers, this program is a godsend as it gives those who owe back taxes the opportunity to consolidate their tax debts and pay them off in a convenient and orderly manner. Under the Fresh Start program the limit of the tax lien is raised to $10,000 meaning the IRS will only impose a lien on your property once your tax debt exceeds $10,000. More significantly, the…

• IRS Statute of Limitations on Foreign Sources of Income

  Darrin Mish

  15 May 2012 | 5:05 pm

  Many people were rejoicing when the Supreme Court decided in favor of Home Concrete & Supply LLC in their dispute with the IRS over the statute of limitations on tax audits. In that landmark case, the highest court in the land judged that the IRS had up to 3 years to audit taxes, not 6 years as contended by the agency. But before you go throwing a celebration party, you should remember a few things. Firstly, the statute of limitations is still 6 years under certain circumstances. If you under-declare your taxable income by 25% or more, the IRS has 6 years, not 3, to audit you.

• Many Renouncing Citizenship because of IRS Action on Foreign Assets

  Darrin Mish

  14 May 2012 | 12:12 am

  Due to the IRS action of taxing foreign assets owned by US citizens, a number of Americans have decided to relinquish their citizenship to avoid paying taxes. Among the more prominent ones is Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook. Last year, 1,780 Americans gave up their citizenship while the year before only 1,485 did so. In 2009, number was 731 and the year before that, only 226. Since 2009, the IRS has intensified its efforts of tracking down American-owned taxable assets lodged overseas. This action has resulted in thousands of taxpayers being caught and prosecuted for tax evasion…

• IRS Queried on Tax Info Leak

  Darrin Mish

  11 May 2012 | 6:58 pm

  The IRS has been asked to investigate allegations of someone from the inside leaking confidential tax files of an anti-gay marriage group. Both the Huffington Post and gay rights group The Human Rights Campaign published a list of donors in 2008 to the National Organization for Marriage (the anti-gay marriage group). Among the donors listed was Mitt Romney. The National Organization for Marriage alleges that someone from the IRS divulged the list to the Human Rights Campaign. Senator Orrin Hatch (R – Utah) wrote a letter to IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman expressing his dissatisfaction on the…

• Tax Refund Scammers may get away with $26 billion

  Darrin Mish

  10 May 2012 | 7:05 am

  Over the next 5 years, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Russell George estimates that scammers who masquerade as other people to steal their tax refunds could get away with $26 billion in the next 5 years as the IRS fights a losing battle against identity theft and tax refund theft. In a statement before the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight and Social Security, George said, “Our analysis found that, although the IRS detects and prevents a large number of fraudulent refunds based on false income documents, there is much fraud that it does not…

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  California Tax Attorney Blog

• Backlog Of Offers In Compromise

  25 Apr 2012 | 6:57 am

  The IRS faces a 28% increase in the number of requests for Offers In Compromise. The requests by Californians and others behind in their tax payments to pay "pennies on the dollar" has reached almost 60,000 for 2011 when the data was last analyzed. Why are Offers up? In part the struggling U.S. economy is responsible, and in part it’s the IRS’ own doing. Since the National Taxpayer Advocate labeled the offers in compromise program as one of the most serious problems facing taxpayers from 2001 through 2009, the IRS has been trying to improve and promote the program. It made the OIC form…

• Power of Attorney

  20 Apr 2012 | 6:16 am

  When Is a Power of Attorney Not Required? A power of attorney is not required in some situations when dealing with the IRS. The following situations do not require a power of attorney. Representing a taxpayer through a nonwritten consent. Allowing the IRS to discuss return information with a third party designee. Allowing a tax matters partner or person (TMP) to perform acts for the partnership. Providing information to the IRS. Allowing the IRS to discuss return information with a fiduciary. Authorizing the disclosure of tax return information through Form 8821. Providing information to the…

• The Tax Court

  9 Apr 2012 | 3:22 pm

  The United States Tax Court is a court established by Congress under the Constitution. When the Internal Revenue Service has determined a tax deficiency and has sent the notorious 90-day letter, the so-called Notice of Deficiency, you may dispute the deficiency in the Tax Court before paying any disputed amount. The Tax Court’s jurisdiction also includes the authority to order abatement of interest, award administrative and litigation costs, review certain collection actions, determine relief from joint and several liability on a joint return, redetermine worker classification, adjust…

• Standards Clarifying When Federal Employment Taxes Are Paid By Employee Leasing Companies Or By The Employer

  9 Mar 2012 | 5:44 am

  California’s employers as well as employers throughout the U.S. are required to withhold and pay Federal employment taxes (consisting of Federal Insurance Contribution Act –FICA- taxes and Federal Unemployment Tax Act –FUTA- taxes with respect to wages paid to their employees. The one determined to be the employer under a multi-factor common law test or under specific statutory provisions generally has the obligation for Federal employment taxes. For example, a third party that is not the common law employer can be a statutory employer if the third party has control over the payment of…

• Classifying Workers: Independent Contractors Or Employees?

  21 Feb 2012 | 5:21 am

  The Government Proposes To Increase Certainty With Respect To Worker Classification Current Law For both tax and nontax purposes, workers must be classified into one of two mutually exclusive categories: employees or self-employed (sometimes referred to as independent contractors). Worker classification generally is based on a common-law test for determining whether an employment relationship exists. The main determinant is whether the service recipient (employer) has the right to control not only the result of the worker’s services but also the means by which the worker accomplishes that…

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  IRS Hitman

• Hobby vs. Business: Proving Your Intentions

  7 May 2012 | 4:09 pm

  Let's face it, if you're selling kitchenware as an excuse to have parties with your friends, you are not operating a business. That's a hobby. However, let's say that you have decided you really want to make a decent living at selling that kitchenware. Let's say you work diligently to expand your selling base outside of your usual acquaintances and onto home and garden shows. Then, you deserve all of the deductions and losses allowed to a business.Ordinarily, this means showing that you are turning a real profit. According to the IRS, if your activity shows profit three out of the last five…

• This Week's Top Back Taxes Google Alerts

  4 May 2012 | 3:23 pm

  Four different stories keep popping up for me on my google alerts. Anna Nicole Smith owes $300,000 to the IRS...five years after her death. This means her daughter, Dannielynn, probably won't be seeing a penny of the estate left to her. Fortunately, it seems that Dannielynn's father is committed to raising her with or without a large inheritance. Former NFL quarterback, Neil Smith, owes more than $500,000 in back taxes. He made stacks of fat cash when he played, spent it all very unwisely, and didn't pay the tax man what he was supposed to. Speaking of NFL players, mismanaged money, and…

• Thinking of Fleeing the IRS? Think Again.

  1 May 2012 | 3:07 pm

  I talk to taxpayers all the time who are just desperate enough to flee the country to avoid IRS levies and harassment. To them, I've always said "You can run, but you can't hide." If you owe a serious liability to the IRS, there are actually international IRS offices operating solely to nab people with huge tax bills. Of course, this isn't necessarily true of someone who doesn't owe at least hundreds of thousands of dollars. The IRS doesn't have the resources to chase after everyone who owes them all over the globe. The IRS may not need to anymore though. If the highway bill goes through, the…

• Supreme Court Says 6 Years Too Long to Collect $1B

  25 Apr 2012 | 2:13 pm

  The Supreme Court ruled today that the IRS took too long to get back taxes from Home Concrete & Supply LLC in the company's tax shelter case. Home Concrete & Supply LLC was company formed in order to create the infamous Son of Boss abusive tax shelter scheme. Obviously, they eventually got caught and were slammed with a $1 Billion tax bill. So, how long is too long? Well, in this case, the Supreme Court ruled that the statute of limitations to collect this hefty (...and might I add U.S. deficit lowering) tax debt clearly brought on by shady activity...was three years. The IRS wanted…

• Richard Hatch Ad Says the IRS Will Send You to Jail

  24 Apr 2012 | 12:38 pm

  Recently, the MMAC Group has put out a commercial starring Richard Hatch (that guy from Survivor who claims he was told he wouldn't have to pay taxes on the $1 Million he won). In it, they say their 123-4567 number about 80,000 times...perhaps because they don't think the average person who owes the IRS can remember how to count to 7.Then, Richard Hatch goes on and on about how the IRS sent him to jail and they'll definitely send you to jail. Then, some actors (really bad actors...I guess they blew their talent budget on Richard Hatch) pretend to be very afraid of going to jail. First of all,…

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  Tax Law Forum

• Friday's Tax Quote - May 11, 2012

  Rob Teuber

  11 May 2012 | 3:30 pm

  “When it comes to finances, remember that there are no withholding taxes on the wages of sin.”-Mae West

• Friday's Tax Quote - May 4, 2012

  Rob Teuber

  4 May 2012 | 3:12 pm

  “[I]n most situations, the changes that taxes induce are symptoms of economic waste or, using economic jargon, inefficiency.  In the absence of taxes, people and businesses react to prices that approximately reflect the true social costs and benefits of what they buy and sell, and taxes can turn prices from being pretty good signals of social cost and benefit into very bad ones.”-Joel Slemrod

• Friday's Tax Quote - April 27, 2012

  Rob Teuber

  27 Apr 2012 | 3:11 pm

  “The physical power to get the money does not seem to me a test of the right to tax.  Might does not make right even in taxation.”Robert H. Jackson

• Friday's Tax Quote - April 20, 2012

  Rob Teuber

  20 Apr 2012 | 3:09 pm

  “Taxes are the lifeblood of government and no taxpayer should be permitted to escape the payment of his just share of the burden of contributing thereto.”-Arthur T. Vanderbilt

• Friday's Tax Quote - April 13, 2012

  Rob Teuber

  13 Apr 2012 | 3:08 pm

  “Because of the income tax, a penny saved is more than a penny earned.”-Jeffery L. Yablon

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  L & R Tax Preparation RSS Feed

• How to Avoid Penalties on Your Household Helpers

  1 May 2012 | 9:00 am

  When you hire someone to work around the house or baby-sit your children, do you need to pay tax for them? Keep reading to find out.

• What to Do If You Haven't Filed an Income Tax Return

  1 May 2012 | 9:00 am

  If you're cringing because you haven't filed a 2011 tax return yet, don't worry. It's not too late, and it's not as hard as you may think.

• Turn Your Vacation Into a Tax Deduction

  1 May 2012 | 9:00 am

  Would you like to legally deduct every dime you spend on vacation this year? The five strategies outlined in this article will show you how.

• Employee or Independent Contractor - Which Is It?

  1 May 2012 | 9:00 am

• 

  JD Supra Taxation

• UK Procedure on Unique Taxpayer Reference Numbers (UTRs) for Investment Partnerships Finalised

  Proskauer Rose LLP

  16 May 2012 | 12:28 pm

  Contributor: Proskauer Rose LLP [View: Profile | Documents]

• What the IRS Fresh Start Program does for You

  Darrin Mish, Tampa Tax Attorney

  16 May 2012 | 11:09 am

  Contributor: Darrin Mish, Tampa Tax Attorney [View: Profile | Documents]

• IRS to Focus on Housing Counseling Agencies

  Venable LLP

  16 May 2012 | 11:08 am

  Contributor: Venable LLP [View: Profile | Documents]

• IRS Statute of Limitations on Foreign Sources of Income

  Darrin Mish, Tampa Tax Attorney

  16 May 2012 | 10:43 am

  Contributor: Darrin Mish, Tampa Tax Attorney [View: Profile | Documents]

• Maryland Legislature Revisits IDOT Debate Today

  Ballard Spahr LLP

  15 May 2012 | 5:56 pm

  Contributor: Ballard Spahr LLP [View: Profile | Documents]

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  The Missouri TaxguyThe Missouri Taxguy

• Blog Guide for new small business owners

  Bruce Mc

  11 May 2012 | 6:27 am

  Starting out in your first small business can be an exciting and rewarding journey. As many seasoned small business operators know, the multi-faceted role of a small business owner requires skills from many disciplines. In addition to performing tasks associated with your core business, many small business owners also perform tasks normally covered by specialists [...]

• Will Credit Card Rewards Soon Be Taxable?

  Bruce Mc

  27 Apr 2012 | 6:35 am

  This is a guest article written by Michael Dolen, the president of Credit Card Forum. During this time every year, I always get asked by a good number of visitors on my site about the taxability of credit card rewards. First of all, let me say upfront that I’m just an average Joe (not a [...]

• Ten Tax Tips for Mortgage Forgiveness

  Bruce Mc

  20 Apr 2012 | 6:26 am

  The Subprime Mortgage Crisis that brought the global economy to the brink of disaster in the fall of 2008 has led to millions of foreclosures over the last 3 years.  Due to the intense nature of the housing market crisis, the U.S. government passed the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, with the primary aim of [...]

• Keeping Track Of What You Owe with Loan Manager

  Bruce Mc

  13 Apr 2012 | 6:20 am

  QuickBooks Tip: Unless and until your business is swimming in cash, there will come a time that you have to make a big purchase and *gasp* get a loan.  The horror. So now that you’ve done what you had to do by getting a loan for that big purchase, you have to keep track of [...]

• How To Handle Bounced Checks

  Bruce Mc

  30 Mar 2012 | 5:35 am

  QuickBooks Tip: Admit it.  Bouncing a check is annoying and embarrassing.  The bank charges a fee for every bounce, you rack up the fees and you have to tell people when to re-deposit the check or write them a new one. When you get a rubber check from a customer, it’s just as annoying… if [...]

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  Canadian Tax Resource Blog

• Income Splitting For Business Owners

  Tax Guy

  10 May 2012 | 3:20 pm

  Income splitting can produce some pretty dramatic results. Consider the case of a married, self-employed individual whose taxable income is in excess of $250,000. Assuming the spouse does not work, the tax bill would be $94,700 (in Ontario). If this couple were to split their income equally, their combined tax bill would drop to $77,700, a savings of $17,000. Now if income splitting were as simple as moving income from one family member to another everyone would be doing it. However, the Income Tax Act contains some rules that prevent most of simple income splitting. Business Income Splitting…

• What is Income Splitting?

  Tax Guy

  10 May 2012 | 7:00 am

  The income tax you pay is based on a set of progressive tax rates. This means that the amount of income tax you pay increases as your taxable income increases. For example, in 2012 you would pay federal income tax of: 15% on the first $42,707 of income you earn, 22% on the next $42,707, 26% on the next $46,992, and 29% on any taxable income over $132,406. In addition to the federal income tax, each province in Canada charges progressive tax rates. Therefore, Canadians are motivated to lower their overall income tax payable by splitting income with family members. Income splitting is a…

• Avoid Probate & Split Income Using Trusts

  Tax Guy

  8 May 2012 | 2:00 pm

  Income splitting and avoiding probate on death are possibly two to the most popular financial planning strategies in Canada. However, did you know that when you are planning your estate, that it is possible to avoid probate and provide your heirs a flexible income splitting opportunity using trusts? What Is A Trust? A trust is a structure that is established to separate the legal and beneficial ownership of assets although this is not required (as we shall see shortly). For more information, please see my articles entitled What Is A Trust? and Types of Trusts. Trusts & Income Tax When a…

• Estate Planning 101 – Getting Organized

  Tax Guy

  8 May 2012 | 11:15 am

  Developing an estate plan involves more than just a will and planning for income taxes at death. It is important to take an inventory of your personal assets and affairs before you prepare your will. The Estate Planning Team Depending on the complexity of your estate, you may need to engage a number of professionals to help you plan your estate. In addition to a lawyer, you may also require the services of an accountant, financial advisor, insurance specialist, or a trust company. Gather Your Information Before taking the first steps in estate planning, it is important to take stock of your…

• Getting Ready For Your Taxes

  Tax Guy

  19 Mar 2012 | 12:43 pm

  Tax season is here and it’s time to start gathering all of your important documents to take to your tax accountant. As you begin gathering all of your tax slips, don’t forget to bring your receipts for these, often overlooked expenses: Income Splitting Although income splitting has been severely limited, there are a number of income splitting opportunities available. For seniors, pension income splitting can reduce your tax bill, but those splitting pension income should be mindful that they may trigger the OAS clawback or affect other tax credits For other individuals, you may split with…

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  Tax Resolution Blog

• How to Get Tax Relief for Inherited Property

  Dean Alexander

  15 May 2012 | 1:30 pm

  There are two issues that one has to deal with when we receive inheritance. The first is an estate tax issue and the second an income tax issue and they are not one. You may be exempt form one but subject to another. The two usually work against each other. When one provides a tax relief, the other may set a tax trap. Maybe the mechanics of the events will illustrate the point. Rich Uncle dies and leaves you a piece of land worth three hundred thousand dollars. The first question that people usually ask, or hopefully they will ask is: Am I going to pay estate tax on this money? Clients that I…

• Tax Help Offered By Retirement Plans

  Dean Alexander

  11 May 2012 | 5:56 pm

  The most important eye on future plans is the Social Security project mandated by the government. The system I believe is the best thing that has happened to citizens with regards to securing a minimum decent life at an older age. You are no longer under the mercy of your discipline.  Every time you get wages the taxes are deducted and matched toward your retirement. The social security is merely a deduction from wages without any tax help other than the retirement help. There are other vehicles of retirement that provide both retirement benefits and tax relief at the same time. Most…

• The Difference between Tax Lien and IRS Levy

  Dean Alexander

  10 May 2012 | 1:21 pm

  The reason for a tax lien or an IRS levy is basically the same. It is back taxes that you owe the IRS. Back taxes usually arise from underpayment of filed tax returns. They can also be caused by unfiled tax returns for which the IRS prepared the taxes for you (SFRs) or they may result from IRS audits that generated tax debt even after audit appeal. The IRS will send you notices as the first step of IRS collection actions. They start as computerized notices, then personalized and culminate in a revenue officer appointment. Any time you owe above one hundred thousand dollars you can…

• Tax Help Afforded By Amended Tax Return Form 1040X

  Dean Alexander

  9 May 2012 | 5:49 pm

  We continue our discussion of amended returns. We mentioned previously that the ability to file an amended return can be an excellent tax help in some situations and may cause additional taxes and create tax debt in other instances. No matter why you are filing the return there is always the possibility of the tax return being subjected to an IRS audit with the agonizing ramifications and possible tax problems. You can amend the filing status from filing separate to filing jointly. Remember that when you file jointly you and your spouse will be jointly and severally liable for the tax debt.

• Do's and Don'ts of Tax Resolution of Amended Returns 1040X

  Dean Alexander

  8 May 2012 | 10:46 am

  The instructions for form 1040X provide good tax help to prepare your amended tax return. An amended return is one that aims at correcting previously filed tax returns producing either a new tax debt or a refund. When you file a 1040X make sure that the amended return includes any adjustments the IRS had previously made to your return as if they are your original filing. For example, if the IRS in previous correspondence increased your adjusted gross income from ten thousand dollars to fifteen thousand, your corrected basis will be the fifteen thousand dollars. So adjusted gross income will…

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  Value Added Tax Blog

• The Dutch “poldermodel”

  mark

  15 May 2012 | 8:34 am

  For reasons that I still don’t completely understand, the Dutch have always been on the forefront of tax management. Where Google, Apple and other global companies are trying to minimize their tax burden, at some point the Dutch get involved. It is not any different in VAT. The first dedicated VAT specialists popped up in [...]

• More on indirect tax reform in China

  mark

  14 May 2012 | 1:14 pm

  David Cheng and Frankie Qin from Nixon Peabody write about the VAT and business tax reform in Shanghai. This is an interesting article, particularly given that this reform will be rolled out across China, starting with Beijing on July 1. Also see my earlier post here.

• François Hollande is the new président de la République

  mark

  6 May 2012 | 2:02 pm

  ... so if Mr. Hollande keeps to his campaign promises, it's unlikely that France will see a VAT increase anytime soon.

• Back to the US: A Matter of Time for a VAT Tax

  mark

  1 May 2012 | 11:09 am

  I don't agree at all with the language and intent of this article, but there is a nice explanation of VAT in the embedded video.

• Spain is next – VAT rate to 20% in 2013

  mark

  30 Apr 2012 | 10:48 am

  Spain announced that in 2013 it will be the next country to increase its VAT rate.

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  Tax Attorney and Tax Resolution Services: IRS Help Blog

• Tax Relief-Bankruptcy and Tax Debt

  TRS

  15 May 2012 | 8:24 pm

  With the recession in its fourth year, financially distressed consumers are turning to bankruptcy as a means to wipe their financial slate clean including getting rid of their tax debt. However, what many do not realize is that not all tax issues are discharged in bankruptcy. A Bloomberg BusinessWeek article entitled Court says farmers must pay bankruptcy tax reported on a recent Supreme Court ruling that firmly stipulated there be no discharge of taxes for an Arizona couple in their bankruptcy tax case. The case involved a 320-acre family farm in Wilcox, Arizona belonging to Lynwood and…

• To Avoid Tax Issues-Americans Give Up Passports

  TRS

  14 May 2012 | 8:20 pm

  There is little doubt that wealthy Americans are under scrutiny for tax collection. Nowhere is this more obvious than for those who have offshore bank accounts. More U.S. citizens living abroad are deciding to renounce their U.S. citizenship instead of facing IRS tax problems concerning new U.S. tax regulations namely the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) aimed at curbing tax evasion. The subject of renouncing citizenship made front page headlines just last Friday when 30 year old Facebook co-Founder, Eduardo Saverin announced he was giving up his. Since then, the news media has been…

• Tax Relief Weekly News Round-Up

  TRS

  11 May 2012 | 9:05 pm

  This week’s tax relief news has been quite exciting especially for Tax Resolution Services. Here are some of the highlights: Tax Resolution Services-2012 Stevie Award Finalists for Business I am extremely proud to announce that both Brian Compton and I have been selected as 2012 finalists for the 10th Annual Stevie Awards. Brian was selected for Executive of the Year for Accounting, Banking, & Financial Services and I am a finalist for Maverick of the Year. Considering the recent turmoil felt throughout the tax resolution industry (from unscrupulous players who hurt customers with their…

• Tax Resolution Services-Finalists for 2012 Stevie Awards for Business

  TRS

  10 May 2012 | 6:13 pm

  It’s a great day at Tax Resolution Services. I am honored to announce that both Brian Compton and I have been selected as 2012 finalists for the 10th Annual American Business Awards, otherwise known as the Stevies.  I was a nominee in 2009 and 2011 -while it’s great to be recognized again by the ABA, I’m especially happy to Brian receiving recognition for his outstanding leadership. Brian was selected as afinalist for Executive of the Year – Accounting, Banking, & Financial Services category and I am a finalist forMaverick of the Year an award that recognizes individuals…

• Tax Help Tips-Amending Your Tax Return

  TRS

  9 May 2012 | 4:21 pm

  If you recently discovered errors on your recent tax return, you don’t have to wait another year, just amend it. I just read two separate (but related) articles on how common it is to find errors after filing that address how taxpayers can amend their returns.  Combined tips inspired by articles from the Orange County Register’s How to Fix Your Messed-Up Tax Return and Wall Street Journal’s How to Amend Your Tax Return follow. It’s pretty common to amend a tax return and given the complicated tax code, it’s no surprise mistakes are made. The Wall Street Journal points…

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  Diane Kennedy's USATaxAid

• IRS Quietly Issues New Instructions for Reporting When You Dump Bad Real Estate

  Diane Kennedy

  15 May 2012 | 3:03 pm

  In December 2011 and again in April 2012, the IRS has issued additional information about Form 982s, Form 1099-As and Form 1099-Cs. The way it’s supposed to work: If you have property that you lose in foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, you are supposed to get a Form 1099-A. The form is supposed to indicate the total debt amount, which may or may not be right, the fair market value of the property, which is almost certainly wrong and whether the debt is recourse. In other words, whether the lender can come after you for any remaining debt after the property is sold. Then when…

• Cross-Border Tax Grabs Target Smaller Businesses

  Diane Kennedy

  19 Apr 2012 | 2:00 am

  States aren’t just targeting the big companies like KFC, Amazon and MNBC for their cross border tax grabs. Plenty of regular businesses are getting hit too. A New Hampshire tire retailer was fined $109,000 by the state of Massachusetts. The reason? The retailer was selling tires to Massachusetts residents, who were crossing state lines to buy tires in sales tax-free New Hampshire. This one wound up in court. It also resulted in a new NH law prohibiting outside state tax departments from trying to force NH retailers into collecting taxes on sales to non-New Hampshire residents. In New York…

• What Happens If Another State Tries To Grab Your Money?

  Diane Kennedy

  17 Apr 2012 | 2:00 am

  We’ve been talking a lot about the big Cross-Border Tax Grab that is going on between states. The battle is heating up and the only ones who can solve it – Congress and the US Supreme Court – don’t want to get involved. Make no mistake, states want your money and they are using every opportunity they can to assess taxes on you, especially if you don’t live in their state. You might ask, though, “Even if they find me, how can they get anything anyway? I don’t live in that state or have any assets in that state.” Here’s how: Lawsuits. Generally…

• When Does a C Corporation Make Sense For You?

  Diane Kennedy

  17 Apr 2012 | 2:00 am

  We talk a lot about the good, the bad and the ugly of business structures. But it’s not just about avoiding the bad and ugly (Sole Proprietorships and General Partnerships), it’s also about picking the right business structure for your circumstances. Most business structures are considered flow-through. That means that the income and losses from the business ultimately end up on your tax return. There is no federal income tax paid at the structure level. Theoretically most states (exception Tennessee) went along with that. But we’re seeing more and more ‘non-tax’…

• IRS vs Real Estate Professional

  Diane Kennedy

  12 Apr 2012 | 2:00 am

  If you have real estate and have been taking advantage of all the great tax advantages available through phantom expenses like depreciation, then you likely have run into a snag. As your income goes up, your ability to take that loss against your other income goes down. There is an exception, if you qualify. That’s by taking the Real Estate Professional deduction. If you haven’t heard of this before, please search on this site for “real estate professional” and you’ll find a lot of information on how to legally qualify. Today, I want to talk about taking and…

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  IRS Tax Center - Free Online Tax Preparation, Tax Extension

• Get a Free Credit Report Today

  admin

  3 May 2012 | 5:49 pm

  You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each of the three national consumer reporting companies every 12 months. Fair Credit Reporting Act United States federal law requires that consumer reporting agencies provide you with your credit report for free. This is your right as a consumer as it helps you to protect yourself from fraudulent practices and crime such as identity theft. Why You Should Check Your Credit Report Credit reports contain information that agencies and companies use to evaluate creditworthiness. Banks use them to know if they can trust you with a home…

• Government Grants

  admin

  3 May 2012 | 5:48 pm

  The U.S. Government is attempting to raise taxpayer awareness of the many free government grants available to them and made possible by their tax dollars.  Most government grants never have to be repaid and are available for a wide variety of uses. For example, taxpayers may be eligible for a grant of up to $50,000 to make repairs on their home. Grants of up to $250,000 are available to start or expand a business and the federal government has budgeted $100 billion dollars for education related grants. Minority Grants Minority grants are available to Women, African Americans, Native…

• Get a Free Credit Report Today

  admin

  2 May 2012 | 2:57 pm

  You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each of the three national consumer reporting companies every 12 months. Fair Credit Reporting Act United States federal law requires that consumer reporting agencies provide you with your credit report for free. This is your right as a consumer as it helps you to protect yourself from fraudulent practices and crime such as identity theft. Why You Should Check Your Credit Report Credit reports contain information that agencies and companies use to evaluate creditworthiness. Banks use them to know if they can trust you with a home…

• New HARP Program for Your Mortgage

  erosen

  4 Feb 2012 | 6:57 pm

  Recently, President Obama has been talking about another mortgage help program for struggling homeowners. Now he has released his proposal, which is an expansion on the already existing HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program). Outlined below are the main points of the new HARP plan (based on The White House’s Fact Sheet). Broad-Based Refinancing Plan • Provides non-GSE borrowers access to simple, low-cost refinancing -     You must be current on your mortgage and meet a minimum credit score -     Your loan must be no larger than the current FHA conforming loan limits in your area…

• Get a 6 Month Tax Extension at FileLater.com

  admin

  25 Jan 2012 | 3:36 am

  The IRS grants tax extensions by submitting Form 4868. FileLater.com offers an simple online application for submitting this form electronically. FileLater.com features: E-file Form 4868 - Personal Tax Return Extensions E-file Form 7004 – Corporate Tax Return Extensions How It Works: Step 1 The IRS requires that you provide some personal information in order to request a tax extension online. This includes your name, address, Social Security Number (or ITIN) ― and the same information for your spouse if you are married filing jointly. Tax forms (including W-2s, 1099s, and prior year…

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  Ashworth College Community : Blog List - Tax Preparation Group

• Gay Marriage and Tax Breaks

  11 May 2012 | 11:37 am

  After President Obama's announcement supporting gay marriage this week, it seems that's all everyone is talking about.  Besides the moral, ethical, religious, and legal arguments for either side, those involved in tax careers are looking at this from a basic taxation issue.  What does gay marriage mean for tax payers and what would the marriage mean for gay couples in respect for their taxes?  Here are some of their thoughts. The truth is, marriage offers many types of tax breaks and benefits for the couple regardless of gender.  If you are married, there is no limit…

• Funny Tax Evasion Ideas

  27 Apr 2012 | 1:46 pm

  Just like when children try to get out of chores or adults just want to take a day off work, people try to get out of filing their taxes too.  Because simply not doing your taxes is not an option, people have gotten creative with their excuses as to why they can't complete their tax returns.  Here are some of the more creative, and funny, excuses as discovered by CNN. Residents of Texas continue to argue that Texas is not a technical state of the United States and therefore, they should be exempt from paying taxes.  These claims, however, are always rejected by the IRS and…

• There's Still Time To File

  13 Apr 2012 | 1:29 pm

  Tax day is approaching but there is still time to file if you haven't already.  For people lagging behind this year you happen to get an extension.  Taxes, as a general rule, are always due on April 15, however, because that is a Sunday this year no mail can go out.  Monday is Emancipation Day which is a recognized holiday in Washington DC to commemmorate the freeing of slaves in that area.  So due to the weekend and the holiday, taxes won't be due until Tuesday, April 17.   This isn't to say you need to leave your taxes until the very last possible minute. …

• Mega Millions Tax News

  30 Mar 2012 | 1:13 pm

  Currently mega millions is at it's highest winning payout ever and people all over the country are dying to win.  The jackpot is up to $640 million and growing with having no winners yet.  While the odds of winning are highly improbbable and the odds of being the sole winner are even less than that, lines have been forming at gas stations, supermarkets, and convenience stores all over.  On the off chance you are extremely lucky and you are the only winner of the country's biggest payout, you know some of that money needs to go to taxes.  But how much? The amount you…

• What Are You Doing With Your Tax Refund?

  16 Mar 2012 | 11:20 am

  Taxes may be annoying and challenging to fill out, but no one can deny the satisfaction of getting money back from the government.  A new report from CNN says approximately 44% of Americans plan to put at least some of their refund in their savings.  That's up from 42% last year.  The website says that nearly 40% said they will use some of the money to pay down debt and 28.7% will spend it on everyday expenses. Just 12% said their refund would go toward a major splurge like a new television, down from 13% last year. Only 11% plan to spend the money on a vacation, which was also…

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  Igor's Tax Blog

• Income Tax On Surrender Of Life Insurance Policies – Part 2

  Igor Krishtul

  13 May 2012 | 10:53 pm

  Many cases involving surrender of cash value life insurance policies catch attention of the IRS. This should not be surprising. The information received from insurance companies is matched with what’s reported on tax returns. The surprising part is why so many taxpayers, tax practitioners and other advisors incorrectly apply the rules related to these transactions. When people surrender, or cash-in, the life insurance policies they own, the rules seem to be pretty straightforward. Let’s try to simplify them a little. Upon surrender, the amount included in income is the difference between:…

• Income Tax On Surrender Of Life Insurance Policies – Part 1

  Igor Krishtul

  11 May 2012 | 7:53 am

  Frequently, replacement of life insurance policies is bad news. Here, a person drops, i.e. cancels, his existing life insurance policy. Then, he buys a new coverage to replace the old. In many cases, it benefits the brokers at the expense of the insureds. Most (if not all) states have insurance laws intended to deal with potential abuses in this area. But, not all brokers respect and/or follow the rules. To make the matter even worse, honest and ethical brokers do not always have the knowledge to explain the adverse tax consequences. Pointer 1. Always think twice before replacing your…

• Life Insurance And Taxes

  Igor Krishtul

  29 Apr 2012 | 10:49 am

  Many people who sell life insurance don’t know taxes. Many people who do taxes for a living don’t know life insurance. Other financial and estate planning professionals frequently get in the middle. For instance, an attorney may be involved in drafting some paperwork. Such other professionals do not necessarily possess the knowledge in the areas of taxes, insurance or both. Life insurance is a unique product. It is a powerful financial and estate planning tool that can benefit the rich, poor and those in between. It can provide financial rewards while you are alive. It can also serve your…

• United States v. Home Concrete & Supply LLC

  Igor Krishtul

  27 Apr 2012 | 10:55 am

  This is another federal tax related case that made it all the way up to the US Supreme Court this year. Click here if you have the patience to read the CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT. Hey, don’t get alarmed, the term “certiorari” simply means “to be informed” (or something like that). Besides, it’s not so bad – just 30 pages. Anyway, it was decided on April 25, 2012. The case that started the whole mess is known as Son Of Boss. To make the story short, it was an abusive tax shelter scheme. More often than not, those selling and promoting…

• Can The IRS Audit A Synagogue?

  Igor Krishtul

  21 Apr 2012 | 10:57 am

  Recently, I was invited to an event at a local synagogue. There, I met two of my former colleagues who used to work as Revenue Agents. One of them introduced me to the rabbi. So, there we stood, a rabbi surrounded by former IRS field agents. This reminded me of one real life story. A person was telling a joke where a sharp-witted rabbi made a total fool out of a poor IRS agent. The joke itself didn’t interest me, as I heard it many times before. What was interesting, though, was the debate generated by the joke. One of the questions raised was whether or not the IRS can audit a synagogue. I…