by Leif Jensen | Oct 3, 2011 | General |
The costs are in for the unenrolled return preparers. They will have to stick their hands in their pockets for two new user fees to the IRS; $33 for fingerprinting and $27 to take the competency exam. These levies cover only the Service’s costs and don’t include what...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 3, 2011 | General |
It seems it’s never over until it’s over with the IRS. You must ask IRS in writing to withdraw a tax lien once the tax liability is fully paid. A withdrawal of a federal tax lien is more beneficial than a release because a withdrawal expunges the lien immediately from...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 3, 2011 | General |
The IRS has broad discretion to allocate partial payments of back taxes. They will do so to its own advantage unless you state how to apply the payment. Shocking that they look at their best intrests and not yours. This court case, a firm owed income and payroll...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 3, 2011 | General |
According to the Tax Court, an asset must be ready for business use by year-end to qualify for expensing. In the court case the owner of an S corporation put the cart before the horse, buying a plane for her cargo delivery business without having anyone who could fly...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 26, 2011 | General |
As we all are aware of the people in Chicago typically pay the most for gas than everyone else in the country. Now these may not be the most recent numbers (they are probably higher today), but they are from March 2011. Besides the base price of gasoline, this now...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 24, 2011 | General |
The IRS has made a pronouncement to clarify the tax treatment of employer-provided cell phones. Cell phones have been officially removed from the definition of listed property, a category under tax law that normally requires additional recordkeeping by taxpayers. We...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 24, 2011 | General |
One of the things that seems to be a recurring issue is the need for Corporate minutes. Apparently this is something that even the IRS will be looking at/for this in certain types of audits. Basis audits being the main type. How many of you have your corporate...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 24, 2011 | General |
The IRS does not seem to like the USPS, at least all of the time. But it does seem to like DHL and FedEx a little more lately, now it says that the timely use of private services will be evidence of timely delivery of returns. This while Express Mail and Priority...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 23, 2011 | General |
The IRS has made it easier for real estate pros with rental losses to get a tax break (tough luck for the rest of us). They can now make a key tax election on an amended return without asking IRS for a private letter ruling. Individuals who spend more than one-half of...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 17, 2011 | General |
Math errors are a two-way street, according to the latest IRS statistics. The Service refunded over $6 billion to filers who made mistakes in 2010. That compares to $9.5 billion that IRS took from those who erred in their own favor, including arithmetic flubs, using...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 17, 2011 | General |
Nothing but the best and brightest! The IRS has finally given details on the registered tax preparer test, and I was correct! It is designed to test minimum standards only. The examination will be open book and three hours long. Test takers will be given copies of...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 17, 2011 | General |
The Illinois Tax Amnesty for internet sales can be considered a failure for Springfield. Apparently tax compliance had doubled, but this can be measured as 4.6% of Illinois taxpayers whom paid $10.2 million. With the honor system failing, we can look for Springfield...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 10, 2011 | General |
According to the Tax Court, IRS agents cannot abate interest on overdue taxes. This comes from a case involving an executor of an estate in Croatia who could not tap bank accounts here to pay U.S. income tax because of long delays encountered in Croatia’s probate...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 10, 2011 | General |
The word “corporation” derives from corpus, the Latin word for body, or a “body of people. The world’s oldest commercial corporation in the world is still in business. It is the Stora Kopparberg mining community in Falun Sweden. It obtained its charter from King...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 10, 2011 | General |
Below is a listing of the 10 oldest companies in the United States: King Arthur Flour Company, Founded in 1790 Norwich, Vermont 2010 Revenue: $81.1 million Flour Company Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle Founded in 1831 New York 2010 Revenue: $140 million Law...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 10, 2011 | General |
Some good news, for those whom owe the IRS money for back taxes. Interest rates will decline by a percentage point after Sept. 30, 2011. On overdue taxes, the new rate the IRS will charge is 3%. The rate will be 5% on corporations that owe over $100,000. On refunds,...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 5, 2011 | General |
Does it seem harder and harder to cover those monthly bills? Are you still looking at ways to reduce spending in spite of cutting out most excess spending a couple of years ago? You are not alone. In my analysis of clients and their budgets things are getting a bit...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 5, 2011 | General |
If you are considering a Roth conversion from a Traditional IRA for 2011, a strategy that has been employed in the past by financial advisors is to have multiple Roth’s. Each Roth will be a separate asset class. This way if there is a decrease in valuation the...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 5, 2011 | General |
October 17, 2011 is the deadline to undo a Roth conversion from a Traditional IRA executed from 2010. This is a consideration if the valuation has fallen since the initial conversion. With the decline in value and the reversal of the conversion will result in tax...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 5, 2011 | General |
The new forms are creating changes in all of the IRS business tax forms. There will be separate lines added to record 1099-K’s on Schedule C, 1065, 1102 and the 1120S. For those whom have already forgotten, the 1099-K is for reporting payments to merchants from...
