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23 Mar 2015

A Point To Ponder

Most of us remember the good old days of the 1990s – a seemingly decisive victory in the First Persian Gulf War, the dot-com bubble that transformed computer geeks into nouveau riche millionaires, and a string of world championships that made the New York Yankees appear seemingly unbeatable. President Bill Clinton did a good job of manning the wheel during most of the decade, although truth be told, almost anyone can sail a ship when the seas are calm and a gentle but steady breeze is filling the sails.

Mr. Clinton did have his shortcomings, most notably his interaction with a certain intern which led to. . . well, we’ll skip all the sordid details. He was certainly not the first President to behave in such a manner, and he will not be the last one, but he was the only one to be caught in such a dramatic fashion. After he appeared before a federal grand jury, Read More

Written by Michael DeBlis, III | Posted in Expatriate • FBAR • Income Tax • Tax Tips

24 Feb 2015

What To Do When You Get An IRS Audit Letter

A thick white envelope with a logo that looks like a yeti is scratching the top of a scale while a leaf floats through the scene arrives in your mailbox and frankly, you’re scared. That logo only means one thing: a letter from the IRS. And once you open the letter, you’re even more freaked out, because it’s an audit letter from the IRS that frankly, you don’t quite understand. Yikes So what do you do?

Here’s a quick checklist of how to survive your IRS audit letter:

First: Don’t Panic

Take a deep breath. Getting hysterical and angry is a rational response to upsetting news, but an audit doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong. It simply means the IRS wants to Read More

Written by Barry Fowler | Posted in Audit • IRS

28 Aug 2014

Liens and Levies: Keeping Your Clients Options Open – Part 3

When is a Levy Issued?

Technically, there is no legal difference between a levy and a seizure. The IRS uses these terms to specify who was the custody of the property that was taken, either a third party or the taxpayer himself. For the purpose of this discussion we will term property taken from a third party as a levy and property taken directly from the taxpayer as a seizure.

As with the NFTL, the IRS can not levy until the three requirements (notice, demand, and notice of intent to levy) have been issued. These notifications can occur after the NFTL process or in conjunction with it, depending on the specific circumstances.

The Letter 1058, Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing, must Read More

Written by Kathryn Morgan | Posted in IRS

26 Aug 2014

Liens and Levies: Keeping Your Clients Options Open – Part 2

The Enforcement Process

Enforced collections is a process that starts after requests for voluntary compliance to the taxpayer fail. The process is pretty simple and straightforward:

• A tax return is filed (or not)
• The tax liability is paid (or not)
• The IRS officially assesses the tax (ASED/CSED tolled)
• The tax liability is paid (or not) upon demand
• Liens is placed on the account
• Notice of Federal Tax Lien (NFTL) is issued to taxpayer Read More

Written by Kathryn Morgan | Posted in IRS

27 Dec 2013

Clearing Up Common Myths About Life Insurance Proceeds

“The foundation of life insurance is the recognition of the value of a human life & the possibility of indemnification for the loss of that value.” In translation, it means someone pays a premium to an insurance company for someone else to receive a a sum of money on his/her death. The contract can also include a terminal or critical illness. Some life insurance contracts are only for a specified term.

Many people know that having life insurance is important, however are not so sure about the proceeds that are distributed and the tax consequences of such distribution. This post seeks to clear up some of those common myths.

The question, “Are life insurance proceeds taxable?”, elicits the favorite answer of Read More

Written by Manasa Nadig | Posted in Individual

26 Feb 2013

Tax Refund Delays

There’s a massive traffic jam on the IRS website. What’s causing the delay? An overabundance of eager taxpayers asking “Where’s My Refund?” In an unusual posting, the IRS has alerted taxpayers and professional practitioners that the Where’s My Refund? feature and other related applications may not be available due to the extra‑high volume of inquiries. To avoid disruptions, the IRS is requesting that taxpayers check on their refund status only once a day.

It makes sense because IRS systems are updated on a daily basis, usually overnight, and the same information is available on the Internet, IRS2go smartphone app, or the IRS toll‑free line. So there’s nothing to be gained by trying to contact the IRS several times during the day.

The IRS provides three updates:

1. When the tax return is received

2. When the refund is approved, and

3. When the refund is sent.

It says that the best time to check on refunds is during the evening hours and on weekends. Here are some tips to help clients with their refund questions:

1. Have the right tax information ready before using any of the IRS refund tools. This includes your Social Security number, filing status, and refund amount.

2. There’s no need to check Where’s My Refund? more than once a day.

3. To avoid system delays, the best times to check on refunds are evenings and weekends,

4. Don’t bother to call the IRS about your refund. The telephone service has the same information that’s available on the IRS web site “Where’s My Refund?”

The IRS has touted the Where’s My Refund? feature as a 24/7 service. Taxpayers can check on the status of their federal income tax refunds twenty‑four hours after the return has been e‑filed. If a paper return is filed, they can check four weeks after the mailing.

Despite some complications over forms and schedules that had to be updated after the “fiscal cliff law” was signed in January, the IRS claims the tax filing season is off to a good start. Typically, nine out of ten taxpayers will receive their refund in less than twenty‑one days when the return is filed online and they arrange to have the refund deposited directly into a bank account.

The IRS is already receiving more than one million returns a day, and the volume – as well as the number of inquiries about refunds – is expected to increase during the President’s Day weekend.