Financial News, Tips & More!
Has the IRS Disallowed Your Housing Allowance?
IRS Housing Expense Standard The IRS has developed expense standards for housing and utilities. It is recognized by all that the housing expense standards used by the IRS are simply not realistic. They are based on BLS averages, which by definition, cannot take into account a...
Can I use Fed Ex or UPS with the IRS
How to ship your tax return The Post Office has become increasingly frustrating to deal with: long lines, the 13 ounce rule, lack of convenient postal drop boxes, lost mail and the aggravation of dealing with obnoxious government postal clerks. Having the peace of mind of...
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau And the Tax Representation Industry
Impending enforcement from the Consumer Financial Protection Board could potentially devastate tax representation firms; the real victims of these regulatory changes are the people that the Regulators are trying to protect the most – Taxpayers! Any legitimate tax...
Liberalization of Offer in IRS Compromise Program
Enforcement action by the IRS is a pendulum…going from tough to easy to tough to easy again; at this time it appears they may be easing. Nowhere is this better shown than the IRS has expanded its “Fresh Start” initiative by offering more flexible terms in its Offer in...
Offer Mills Belly Up
Here is an update on the two major tax representation firms, Tax Masters and JK Harris – companies who spent millions of dollars on advertising for tax representation clients. TaxMaster's Fate In Texas a jury has returned a $195 million verdict against Houston-based TaxMasters,...
Can A High Income Taxpayer Bankrupt Income Taxes?
If a taxpayer has income of 100 to 500 thousand dollars a year or even higher and owes tax debts he or she cannot pay, can a chapter seven bankruptcy be filed to discharge the taxes? Secrets exposed – Yes! There are some hoops you have to go through: the taxes must be income...
Be Happy
The IRS is probably the worst collection agency on the earth; the state tax agencies have to run a close second, however. Tax Agencies are sometimes corrupt, often arbitrary; they will lie, mislead and bluff. The administrative and judicial appeals processes express or imply a...
The Ubiquitous IRS – Is Big Brother here?
The IRS is attempting to develop a real time system for tax reporting – the goal of the IRS is to put itself on the front-end of the returns preparation and submission chain, not the back end. Commissioner Doug Shulman refers to his vision as an “up-front tax system.” The...
Appeals and Audit Determinations
Decisions of tax auditors are never final. The right of administrative appeal always exists; the right applies to correspondence and face-to-face audits. The IRS cannot unilaterally assess additional taxes...it must follow deficiency procedures and a Notice of Deficiency is...
Recovering Tax Defense and Costs
When you decide to fight the IRS or a state tax agency, the cost of fighting must be considered. It is sometimes cheaper to lose than it is to win. It is a business decision to challenge the agency. Two Internal Revenue Code provisions allow for the recovery of fees and...