Posted by admin on April 1st, 2011
Every year, the IRS issues a list of tax scams. The goal is to alert taxpayers to the lack of merit of certain strategies as well as letting everyone know the IRS will not accept them.
2006 Scams
The IRS has kicked out its annual list of highly dubious tax scams for 2006. Promoters often make these strategies sound credible, but they simply aren’t. If a taxpayer attempts to use one of the scams, the IRS will audit and aggressively attack the taxpayer as well as try to identify the promoter for prosecution.
The 2006 list of scams contains most of the traditional claims. There are, however, three new areas being targeted by the IRS. They and a few others are highlighted in the following list.
Two new schemes have worked their way onto the list in 2006. In recent months IRS personnel have noted the emergence of the two scams––“zero wages” and “Form 843 tax abatement”–– in which filers use IRS forms to claim that their tax bills have been wrongly inflated.
Also high on the list in 2006 is “phishing,” a favorite ploy of identity thieves. Over the past few years, the IRS has observed criminals working through the Internet, posing even as representatives of the IRS itself, with the goal of tricking unsuspecting taxpayers into revealing private information that can be used to steal from their financial accounts.
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Posted by admin on March 12th, 2011
As we begin 2005, you’re probably not thinking about taxes at all. This is a mistake as deadlines are approaching for issuing and filing 1099s to independent contractors.
What is a 1099 MISC?
Generally speaking, the IRS requires you to report certain payments you made during the year to independent contractors. The 1099-MISC form is a single page on which you report to total amount you paid to the independent contractor during 2005.
The 1099-MISC forms must be issued to any person you paid at least $600 in rents, services or other income payments. For example, if you hired a contractor to renovate a room in your home and paid them $5,000, a 1099-MISC filing would be required. As with practically any IRS filing, there are additional situations that require a 1099 filing. Any payments to attorneys must be reported regardless of the amount. Royalties totaling over $10 also must be reported. Generally, you are not required to report payments to a corporation.
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Posted by admin on June 22nd, 2010
More than a few people are happy to learn they are due a tax refund after filling out their tax returns. If you are one of these people, here is how to check the status of your refund online.
Checking The Status of Your Tax Refund Online
Before getting into checking your refund status, I feel obligated to mention a few things about tax refunds. One involves the nature of refund and the other involves Internet scams.
If you are getting a sizeable refund, you need to give some thought to how much money you are deducting from paychecks or paying in quarterly taxes. While a tax refund may sound like a good thing, it really is not. If you overpay your taxes during the year, you are giving the government a free loan. The IRS does not pay interest on any excessive tax payments, so you are really taking it in the pants by not modifying your tax payments.
The second issue to keep in mind is you can ONLY check the status of your tax refund online by going to the IRS web site. With phishing scams starting to focus on tax issues, you may receive emails regarding any and all facets of tax refunds. These emails are scams! The IRS does not send you emails, and surely doesn’t alert you to the fact you are due a refund. If you want to check on your refund, go to the IRS web site and nowhere else. Do not turn a good thing like a tax refund into a bad thing like identity theft.
To check the status of your tax refund, go to the IRS web site by searching for it in a search engine. Next, click the Where’s My Refund link on the home page. Follow the simple steps, click enter and the status will be shown. FYI, you will need a copy of your tax return.
Once you have completed the above, the IRS software will give you a couple of responses. Summarized, they include the fact the return has been received, but not yet processed; the tax refund has been mailed or wired to your bank account on a particular date; or notice the IRS was unable to deliver the refund to you because of some mailing problem. The IRS will also let you know if the refund is delayed because it has issues with your tax return.
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Posted by admin on June 14th, 2010
In recent years, the IRS has made a concerted effort to get people back into good status by reaching deals on overdue taxes. The rules affecting this program have just changed dramatically.
Changes to IRS Tax Settlement Rules
The IRS used to be the terror in most peoples nightmares. Specifically, people who got behind on their taxes lived in dread of having the IRS catch up with them and freeze their bank account, sell off their home and so on. To promote voluntary resolutions, the IRS instituted a program known as the offer in compromise.
The offer in compromise program was designed to let taxpayers with back tax problems resolve their problems voluntarily. Instead of waiting for the IRS to catch up to them, taxpayers could come forward and essentially admit their sins. In exchange for this voluntary action, the IRS would consider a reduction of the amount past due including penalties and interest. To be frank, the program was a massive success.
Starting July 16, 2006, the offer in compromise program is undergoing changes pursuant to a new federal law. Ironically, the small government Republican majority in Congress pushed through this nasty piece of legislation known as the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005. The legislation dictates very specific changes to the offer in compromise program.
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