FREE Yourself from IRS Problems

CALL 212-490-0704

Pushing It To The Limit: Odd, Unusual And Crazy Tax Deductions

Leave a comment Audit, Business Expense, Business Expenses, Charitable Contributions, Civil Liabilities, Civil Penalties, Criminal Liabilities, Deductions, Fraudulent Return, Frivolous Return Program, Home Office, Income Tax, Medical Expenses, Ordinary and Necessary Expenses, Representation, Tax Fraud

Working at the IRS or representing clients before the IRS has its perks and advantages. Having the opportunity to observe all of the outlandish and bizarre attempts by taxpayers to assert legitimate,valid tax deductions is rare. On one hand, it certainly may involve the observance of a unique form of comedy. Here are some odd, crazy, unusual, and please note, unsuccessful tax deductions:

*Crazy Home Office Deductions
A woman that ran a home business tried to deduct what was basically her home refrigerator. She explained to her tax professional that she kept drinks in the refrigerator for customers and other business associates that came to the home office for meetings. According to the owner, this occurred four or five times a year while the refrigerator was in her kitchen and served her family.

This is a preview of Pushing It To The Limit: Odd, Unusual And Crazy Tax Deductions. Read the full post (500 words, 1 image, estimated 2:00 mins reading time)

You Can’t Pay Your Tax Bill In Full? You Have Options…

Leave a comment Civil Penalties, Collection Activities, Installment Agreement, Offer-In-Compromise

Taxpayers that have tax liabilities they are currently unable to pay, have options. A knowledgeable and experienced tax attorney can assist and inform taxpayers of all of the options available to settle tax debt. First and foremost, taxpayers should take action as soon as possible, and still file their tax return even if they cannot pay their tax bill in full. The IRS charges penalties and daily interest on unpaid tax bills, thus waiting only increases overall tax liability. After determining and estimating what, if anything, they can pay to settle their tax liability, taxpayers have the following options:

This is a preview of You Can’t Pay Your Tax Bill In Full? You Have Options…. Read the full post (486 words, 1 image, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)

Fail to Turn Over Payroll Taxes To The IRS? You Could Be Looking At Jail Time

Leave a comment Audit, Civil Liabilities, Civil Penalties, Criminal Liabilities, Employment Taxes, Representation, Trust Fund Recovery Penalty

An employer is required to withhold federal income and payroll taxes from its employees’ wages for payment to the IRS. Payroll taxes such as federal income taxes and FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) taxes, both withheld by an employer, are held in trust until the employer makes a federal deposit of these amounts. The IRS applies a term, “Trust Fund Recovery Penalty” or TFRP, well-known by employers, to describe the fine for employer’s willful failure to remit payroll taxes.

This is a preview of Fail to Turn Over Payroll Taxes To The IRS? You Could Be Looking At Jail Time. Read the full post (584 words, 1 image, estimated 2:20 mins reading time)

Qualifying for IRS Innocent Spouse Relief

Leave a comment Civil Liabilities, Civil Penalties, Criminal Liabilities, Damages, Filing Status, Income Tax, Innocent Spouse Relief, Punitive Damages, Representation, Tax Evasion, Tax Fraud

When married taxpayers file jointly, which is often done because of certain benefits available to couples filing jointly, both taxpayers are jointly and severally liable for the tax and any additions to tax, interest, or penalties that arise from the joint return, even if their marriage is later dissolved. Joint and several liability means that each taxpayer is legally responsible for the entire liability.

Thus, both spouses on a married filing jointly return are generally held responsible for all the tax due even if one spouse earned all the income or erroneously claimed deductions. This is true notwithstanding the provisions of a divorce decree regarding a former spouse’s responsibility for any taxes due on previously filed joint returns. However, in rare cases, a spouse may obtain relief from joint and several liability.

This is a preview of Qualifying for IRS Innocent Spouse Relief. Read the full post (941 words, 1 image, estimated 3:46 mins reading time)

Frivolous Tax Arguments And Their Perils

Leave a comment Appeals, Audit, Civil Liabilities, Civil Penalties, Collection Activities, Criminal Liabilities, Deductions, Form 1040, Fraudulent Return, Frivolous Return Program, Income Tax, Punitive Damages, Representation, Tax Evasion, Tax Fraud

“Like moths to a flame, some people find themselves irresistibly drawn to the tax protester movement’s illusory claim that there is no legal requirement to pay federal income tax. And, like moths, these people sometimes get burned.” United States v. Sloan, 939 F.2d 499, 499-500 (7th Cir. 1991).

As long as the federal income tax has been with us, taxpayers have tried to argue that income taxes don’t legally apply to them. The reasons and bases for these arguments usually include the voluntary nature of the federal income tax system, the meaning of income, and the meaning of certain terms contained in the Interenal Revenue Code. Taxpayers hanging their hats on frivolous positions risk a variety of civil and criminal penalties for tax evasion and tax fraud . And taxpayers that adopt these frivolous positions may face more severe consequences than those who only promote them.

This is a preview of Frivolous Tax Arguments And Their Perils. Read the full post (727 words, 1 image, estimated 2:54 mins reading time)

The IRS Offer-In-Compromise Program – How Does It Really Work?

3 Comments Appeals, Civil Liabilities, Civil Penalties, Collection Activities, Criminal Liabilities, Federal Tax Liens & Levies, Income Tax, Offer-In-Compromise

The IRS Offer-In-Compromise Program – How Does It Really Work?An offer in compromise (OIC) is an agreement between a taxpayer and the Internal Revenue Service that settles the taxpayer’s tax liabilities for less than the full amount owed. If the tax liabilities can be fully paid through an installment agreement or other means, the taxpayer, in most cases, will not be eligible for an OIC.

In order to be eligible for an OIC the taxpayer must have:

  1. filed all tax returns;
  2. made all required estimated tax payments for the current year; and
  3. made all required federal tax deposits for the current quarter if the taxpayer is a business owner with employees.
This is a preview of The IRS Offer-In-Compromise Program – How Does It Really Work?. Read the full post (886 words, 1 image, estimated 3:33 mins reading time)

IRS Audits – What Are My Chances?

Leave a comment Audit, Business Expenses, Charitable Contributions, Civil Liabilities, Civil Penalties, Collection Activities, Criminal Liabilities, Deductions, Expenses Deductions, Federal Tax Liens & Levies, Filing Status, Form 1040, Fraudulent Return, Home Office, Income Exclusions, Income Tax, Innocent Spouse Relief, Job Search Expenses, Ordinary and Necessary Expenses, Representation, Schedule A, Tax Evasion, Tax Fraud, Taxable Income

IRS Audits – What Are My Chances?It’s considered by many taxpayers to be one of the most frightening events that could happen related to their everyday business affairs. What is this frightening event? An IRS audit, of course. But is a tax audit really that scary in real life? The numbers reveal that only 1% of all taxpayers experience an audit, and of this one percent, about one in five result in a meeting with the IRS.

Presently, the IRS audits half as many taxpayers as it did five years ago. However, the amount of tax recovered per audit has increased. The IRS uses an elaborate computer selection process, auditing only those returns which will almost certainly yield some adjustment.

This is a preview of IRS Audits – What Are My Chances?. Read the full post (830 words, 1 image, estimated 3:19 mins reading time)

You’ve filed your tax return, how long does the IRS have to audit you?

Leave a comment Audit, Business Expenses, Capital Gains, Capital Losses, Charitable Contributions, Civil Liabilities, Civil Penalties, Criminal Liabilities, Deductions, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Expenses Deductions, Federal Tax Liens & Levies, Filing Status, Form 1040, Fraudulent Return, Home Office, Income Tax, Tax Evasion, Tax Fraud

You’ve filed your tax return, how long does the IRS have to audit you?You’ve filed all of your tax returns, and because of your level of income you find yourself in the class of taxpayers whose return is more likely to trigger an IRS audit. So you wonder, how long does the IRS now have to audit you?

Due to disclosure requirements, the IRS makes contact with a taxpayer selected for an audit by telephone or mail only.  When returns are filed, they are compared against norms for similar returns. These norms are developed from audits of a statistically valid random sample of returns, selected as part of the National Research Program conducted by the IRS to update return selection information.

This is a preview of You’ve filed your tax return, how long does the IRS have to audit you?. Read the full post (843 words, 1 image, estimated 3:22 mins reading time)

New Highway Bill Gives IRS New Collection Tools

Leave a comment Civil Liabilities, Civil Penalties, Collection Activities, Criminal Liabilities, Innocent Spouse Relief, News, Settlement, Tax Evasion, Tax Fraud

In December 2015, Congress passed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST).

In December 2015, Congress passed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST). Provisions included in this bill authorize the State Department to deny or revoke passports for individuals with delinquent tax debt of more than $50,000. The bill also resurrects the IRS private debt collection program and requires the IRS to use third-party entities to collect tax debt under limited circumstances. The IRS contracted with private debt collection agencies from 2006 to 2009, but then at the end of this period insisted it could more efficiently collect the debt itself, thus ending the private program. 

This is a preview of New Highway Bill Gives IRS New Collection Tools. Read the full post (798 words, 1 image, estimated 3:12 mins reading time)
- Sitemap