by Leif Jensen | Jun 23, 2011 | General |
The IRS has issued information on disclosure of uncertain tax positions: The agency isn’t planning on extending the regime to pass-through entities, an IRS official says. So partnerships, limited liability companies and S corporations don’t have to worry about filing...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 23, 2011 | General |
Owners of unreported foreign accounts can get a disclosure extension, according to the IRS. Under the agency’s most recent voluntary disclosure program, taxpayers generally have until Aug. 31 to fess up about their offshore accounts to qualify for lesser penalties...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 14, 2011 | General |
I had lunch the other day with a couple of bankers. It was a lively discussion and one of the topics was the benefits of investing in a traditional IRA or a 401K plan verses a Roth IRA or just non qualified savings. We were discussing the current and future tax...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 14, 2011 | General |
The IRS is issuing new rules are coming for preparers of returns with the earned income credit. Preparers are going to have to file a due diligence checklist along with the returns,according to a key IRS official. The checklist will detail the procedures the preparer...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 14, 2011 | General |
The IRS is reaching out to assist unemployed workers. The new IRS Publication 4128 covers the basics on common tax issues, such as retirement plan payouts, unemployment compensation, severance pay and deducting job hunting expenses. But there is a problem tapping an...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 14, 2011 | General |
WASHINGTON – A federal court has permanently barred a Chicago tax preparer from preparing any additional federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced. The civil injunction order, to which consented without admitting the allegations against...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 14, 2011 | General |
“The Dirty Dozen represents the worst of the worst tax scams,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. “Don’t fall prey to these tax scams. They may look tempting, but these fraudulent deals end up hurting people who participate in them.” The IRS works with the Justice...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 14, 2011 | General |
According to the Tax Court, a student loan settlement leads to taxable income. After his college graduation, a taxpayer fell behind on his student loan. After trying to collect, the lender let him pay off the debt at a $28,000 discount. This amount is discharge of...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 14, 2011 | General |
The hammer has fallen and the IRS has revoked the tax-exempt status of 275,000 charities that didn’t file their tax returns for three consecutive years. A list of these unfortunate organizations are published on the IRS website. Small groups with annual gross...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 14, 2011 | General |
An independent contractor who is reclassified as an employee runs into difficulties. The contributions he made to his SEP account are declared nondeductible and has been hit with a penalty, by the Tax Court. As an employee, he cannot contribute to a SEP (he would be...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 14, 2011 | General |
The Internal Revenue Service, continues to move aggressively to collect more taxes from small businesses. They are telling companies being audited to turn over exact copies of the electronic records (QuickBooks, Peachtree, etc. files) kept in their business-software...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 14, 2011 | General |
The IRS is getting ready for competency testing of unlicensed tax preparers. These are preparers of individual returns who aren’t lawyers, CPAs or enrolled agents. According to new IRS regulations unlicensed preparers who’ve already registered with IRS have until the...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 14, 2011 | General |
There is a new backup withholding easing for payment networks such as PayPal. If a payee doesn’t give a valid tax ID number, 28% backup withholding will be required after 2011, but only if the payee has more than 200 transactions. The rules for 1099s are different. ...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 6, 2011 | General |
The first person to collect Social Security benefits was Ernest Ackerman. He received a whopping payment of 17 cents in January 1937. Social Security began collecting money January 14, 1937. This was a one-time, lump-sum pay-out—which was the only form of benefits...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 6, 2011 | General |
In Brazil the cost of a bikini wax is going up. This is a cause of concern for many; mainly because in Brazil a bikini wax is part of the gauges that measures inflation in Brazil. So as the costs rise, the leading indicators of inflation are also triggered. As...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 3, 2011 | General |
I was looking up something and I found this article on the SSA website. I thought is was amusing so I thought I would share it. The most misused SSN of all time was (078-05-1120). In 1938, wallet manufacturer the E. H. Ferree company in Lockport, New York decided to...
by Leif Jensen | May 14, 2011 | General |
It appears that the Internal Revenue Service plans to scrutinize 1042-S forms. The 1042-S is used to report payments made to nonresident aliens, along with any tax withheld. The crackdown is in response to a report issued by Treasury inspectors last year criticizing...
by Leif Jensen | May 14, 2011 | General |
A foundation doesn’t qualify as a public charity, an Appeals Court states. When its operating documents don’t identify the charities it plans to support. The foundation in the case was set up to aid charities that promote and perform public health or Christian...
by Leif Jensen | May 14, 2011 | General |
The Internal Revenue Service is looking to address two issues involving tax-exempt organizations: Payment of fringe benefits and treatment of unrelated business income. The agency is concerned that charities aren’t including the value of fringe benefits when figuring...
by Leif Jensen | May 14, 2011 | General |
Taxes shown on IRS-prepared late returns (returns prepared with only the second party information sent to the IRS; 1099’s,, 1098’s W-2’s) will not be discharged in bankruptcy, a court says. When a couple fails to file tax returns, the Service audited them and assessed...
