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Articles by IRS Watch
Face-to-Face Conferences With IRS Appeals Should Be A Taxpayer's Right
Due to significant slashes to its budget in recent years, the IRS has been faced with difficult choices. IRS executives have apparently given up on "do more with less" and are faced with the unenviable task of doing less with less, while being tasked with greater responsibilities from Congress. IRS administration, and quite frankly, the future of federal tax law, is temporarily in a state of flux due to the election of President Trump.
What's My Tax Bracket?
The most frequent question tax advisors hear from taxpayers is 'What’s my tax bracket?' The truth is, for most of my clients I am not able to answer that question unless I respond, 'It depends.' For most of my career in tax preparation, we were able to rely on the annual Tax Rate Schedule found in IRS forms and publications.
IRS Targets Small Captive Insurance Arrangements - Disclosure Required
IRS Requires Disclosure By January 30, 2017 Of Certain 831(b) Captive Insurance Arrangements The IRS has been receiving reports of certain small captive insurance arrangements that are being offered to taxpayers with little or no regard with respect to the insurance provided, and instead, almost entirely focused on the large tax savings.
Private Tax Collectors And Taxpayers' Right To Avoid Them
The IRS has gone in for private collectors twice over the last 18 years and these programs were not successful. The law now requires-rather than just permits-the IRS to use private collectors. Many people think that having the IRS farm out collection work to private contractors is a bad idea.
Audit Technique Guides
Audit Technique Guides (ATGs) are an invaluable tool to defend a business taxpayer that is subject to an IRS examination. Upon receiving notice of an IRS audit, a prudent taxpayer or their representative should review in depth the ATG for that industry.
June 30 Deadline Approaching For Foreign Account Reporting
Taxpayers are sometimes surprised to discover their foreign insurance policies, retirement accounts, inherited assets, joint accounts with parents living outside the U. S. and even some online gambling accounts are included in those requiring reporting. A U.S. person may have a reporting obligation even though the foreign financial account does not generate any taxable income.
You Met the Tax Filing Deadline, Now What Are The Chances You Will Face An IRS Audit?
Thanks to continuing Congressional cuts in the IRS budget, fewer and fewer Americans will face an audit of their return. The IRS revenue from examinations has dropped by about 10 times the savings from the budget cuts. The cuts have resulted in a net loss of over $5 billion in 2015.
US Launches Criminal Inquiry Into 200 US Citizens Named In The Panama Papers
The Panama Papers. A massive law firm data breach of otherwise secretive financial information identifying numerous high-ranking government and public officials around the world was recently disclosed online by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The U.S. Launches Criminal Inquiry into Several of the 200 US Citizens Named in the Panama Papers.
Clinton Foundation Amended Returns
There is no requirement to amend a tax return in the Internal Revenue code or any IRS rule or regulation. Even though there is no requirement to file an amended return, why do so many taxpayers choose to file amended returns?
IRS Offshore Programs Produce Billions
The IRS recently released IR-2015-116 announcing its offshore compliance programs have generated $8 Billion. More than 54,000 taxpayers subject to U.S. worldwide income and disclosure requirements have come in from the cold to participate in IRS offshore remediation disclosure programs since 2009.
IRS Relaxes Offer In Compromise Rules
Since 2012 the IRS has been much more willing to compromise with taxpayers with overwhelming tax debt than in the prior decade. IRC §7122 permits the IRS to accept offers in compromise in settlement of tax obligations for less than the full outstanding tax liabilities. The willingness of the IRS to exercise this authority has ebbed and flowed through the years. In 2012 as part of its Fresh Start initiatives, the IRS greatly liberalized the standards that it uses for acceptable offers.
Am I Non-Willful?
Am I "Non-Willful"? Taxpayers pursuing resolution of a foreign account issue within the Streamlined Procedures are required to certify, under penalties of perjury, that their conduct was "non-willful." For purposes of the streamlined procedures, non-willful conduct is defined as conduct that is "due to negligence, inadvertence, or mistake or conduct that is the result of a good faith misunderstanding of the requirements of the law."
Reminder: FBAR Electronic Filing Due By June 30, 2015
U.S. persons having a financial interest in or signature authority over one or more foreign financial accounts – including a bank account, brokerage account, mutual fund, trust, estate, pension, cash-value life insurance or other type of foreign financial account – having an aggregate value exceeding $10,000 at any time during 2014 are generally required by the Bank Secrecy Act to report their interest in the account by electronically filing by June 30, 2015 using FinCEN Form 114, ”Report of...
New IRS Guidance Limits FBAR Penalties
U.S. persons having a financial interest in or signature authority over one or more foreign financial accounts, having an aggregate value exceeding $10,000 at any time during 2014 are generally required by the Bank Secrecy Act to report their interest in the account by electronically filing by June 30, 2015, a “Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts” (FBAR).[i] Such accounts include bank accounts, brokerage accounts, direct ownership of foreign mutual funds, foreign-issued cash-value...
Clinton Foundation To File Amended Returns, Should You?
The Clinton Foundation recently announced that it will be amending various previously filed annual information returns to, at least in part, reflect donations on a specific, rather than consolidated, basis.[1] IRS Form 990, “Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax,” is an annual information return filed by organizations exempt from income tax under Internal Revenue Code section 501(a) and 501(c)(3).
If You Owe Under $1 Million, The IRS May Not Visit You
For the past few years it has been in vogue for some segments of the population to bash the IRS and call for decreased funding if not outright abolishment. The IRS, like many large organizations, has fought to control its small sliver of problematic employees and increase efficiency. The problem is that the IRS, unlike other large organizations, is responsible for collecting the revenue that runs the country. When Congress “guts” the IRS like it has over the recent past, what is the likely result?
Tax Preparation Alert For Those With Stock-Based Compensation
Warning: A recent change in Form 1099-B basis reporting rules for employee stock options, employee stock purchase plan shares and restricted stock grants can result in duplicate reporting of the income. A hot topic in my office this filing season is the importance of reconciling W-2’s to determine what categories of compensation is included in wages and Forms 1099-B to determine if the basis being reported is correct when employee stock is sold.
IRS Expected To Issue Hundreds Of Deficiency Notices TO USVI Residents
The purpose of a Statutory Notice of Deficiency (SND or 90-Day Notice) is to ensure the taxpayer is formally notified of the IRS’s intention to assess a tax deficiency. The SND is a legal determination that is presumptively correct and informs the taxpayer of the opportunity and right to petition the Tax Court to dispute the proposed adjustments. IRS is expected to issue SNDs to United States Virgin Island residents in the next few months – Will the Estate of Sanders opinion stop the IRS?
National Taxpayer Advocate Reports Folly in Cutting IRS Budget
IRS National Taxpayer Advocate Issues Scathing Report on the Folly of Cutting the IRS Budget. Nina Olson, the IRS National Taxpayer Advocate, recently released her 2014 Annual Report to Congress. It is clear from that report that many in Congress are hell bent to destroy the Internal Revenue Service. By dramatically cutting the IRS budget, Congress is systematically destroying what was once the most efficient tax agency in the world.
Filing Season 2015: Observations and Predictions
While most people are celebrating the New Year, tax accountants and return preparers across the land are anxiously preparing for the coming filing season. Here are my observations and predictions about what’s in store for taxpayers and their paid preparers as they deal with the IRS this coming year. The December 19 arrival of “tax extender legislation” challenges IRS to begin filing season on time. IRS Commissioner Koskinen announces January 20 as the “start date” for beginning to process returns.
IRS Approach To Taxation of Bitcoin
The IRS approach to the taxation of crypto currencies like Bitcoin may turn into an accounting nightmare for all but the most casual of users. Virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, are becoming useful tools in the digital age. In essence, a virtual currency is a currency that exists only in cyberspace and is not backed by any government. The value often fluctuates by the hour and there is no coin or certificate to touch.
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