New Highway Bill Gives IRS New Collection Tools

March 8, 2016 Shamsey Oloko 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). 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.

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Tax Benefits Of MyRAs and ABLEs

March 7, 2016 Shamsey Oloko Leave a comment Education 529 Plans, myRAs and ABLEs, Qualified Disability Expenses, Roth Thrift Savings Plan

In 2015, taxpayers were introduced to two new tax-friendly savings accounts that are designed for individuals who don’t earn an abundance of income, including low-income families which have members that are both young and disabled. ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience), and myRA (my Retirement Account) savings accounts were made available in January and November 2015, respectively. Let’s look at the benefits of the myRA first.

myRA

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Proving Education Tax Break Eligibility In 2016

March 4, 2016 Shamsey Oloko Leave a comment Education Tax Credit, Form 1098-T, Hope Credit, Lifetime Learning Tax Credit, Qualified Education Expenses, Tax Credit, The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 extended the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) through December 31, 2017. This tax credit assists with the cost of higher education expenses such as tuition, course materials and other certain eligible fees for four years, which differs from the Hope scholarship credit because the credit may be claimed for four years instead of the two allowed under the Hope credit.

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Congress’ Extension Of Expired Deductions

March 3, 2016 Shamsey Oloko Leave a comment Charitable Contributions, Deductions, Expenses Deductions, Local Income Tax, Mortgage Insurance Premiums, State Sales Tax, Tax Cuts for America Act of 2015, The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, The Tax Relief Extension Act of 2015

As 2016 starts to move forward, Congress seems especially less likely to agree on legislation extending all the tax breaks that have currently expired. S. 1946, Tax Relief Extension Act of 2015, generally provides for a two-year extension while the Tax Cuts for America Act of 2015, H.R. 1808, has only seven tax provisions, and the bill would extend those benefits for only 2015 retroactively.

In recent tax years, taxpayers have faced a great deal of uncertainty in determining whether they can continually and regularly depend on tax incentives to help them lower their taxes. At the beginning of 2013, Congress enacted the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which extended 51 provisions for two years retroactively through the beginning of 2012 and through 2013.

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Should Donald J. Trump Release His Tax Returns?

February 29, 2016 Shamsey Oloko Leave a comment Audit, Charitable Contributions, Donald J. Trump, Income Tax, News, Representation

In this most interesting presidential election primary season, many different issues have dominated the news. Perhaps no candidate has dominated the airwaves more than Donald J. Trump, the leading candidate in the Republican primaries. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Trump has made a number of controversial statements, antagonizing a variety of groups and countries alike. It is no surprise then that Trump is again in the center of the latest controversy – the release of his tax returns.

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Relating to the allocation of partnership liabilities and the tax implication of a foreclosure

February 23, 2016 Shamsey Oloko Leave a comment Civil Liabilities, Debt Cancellation, Deductions, Income, Taxable Income

Issue

What is the allocation of partnership liabilities and the tax implication of a foreclosure?

Related Tax Rule or Regulation

Internal Revenue Code Section 465

Internal Revenue Code Section 704

Internal Revenue Code Section 731

Internal Revenue Code Section 752

Internal Revenue Code Section 1001

Tax Regulation § 1.1001-2(c),

Case Study

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SOCIAL SECURITY TAXES DEDUCTIONS

January 18, 2016 Shamsey Oloko Leave a comment Charitable Contributions, Civil Penalties, Deductions, Expenses Deductions, FICA, Form 1040, Frivolous Return Program, Social Security Benefits, Social Security Taxes, Tax fraud & evasion

Is There A Right To A Refund Of, Or A Deduction For, Social Security Taxes Paid Based On The Fact That A Taxpayer Has Waived The Right To Receive Social Security Benefits Or Has Donated Social Security Taxes Or Benefits To The Government?

As long as they are taxes, there will be taxpayers that consider any and all arguments, schemes, and angles to avoid paying them. The 21st century has seen a rise in situations where some taxpayers are filing claims for refund of their Social Security taxes using meritless arguments which have consistently failed in the past and which will consistently fail in the future.

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TAX IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS MAY OBTAIN COPIES OF FRAUDULENT RETURNS

January 14, 2016 Shamsey Oloko Leave a comment Damages, Emotional Distress, Fraudulent Return, Identity Theft, Refund Theft, Representation

A victim of identity theft or a person authorized to obtain the identity theft victim’s tax information may request a redacted copy (one with some information blacked-out) of a fraudulent return that was filed and accepted by the IRS using the identity theft victim’s name and Social Security Number.

Due to federal privacy laws, the victim’s name and SSN must be listed as either the primary or secondary taxpayer on the fraudulent return or otherwise the IRS cannot disclose the return information. For this same reason, the IRS cannot disclose information about any tax return to any person listed only as a dependent. Partial or full redaction will protect additional possible victims on the return. However, there will be enough data provided for the taxpayer to determine how his or her personal information was fraudulently used.

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IS THE IRS TRACKING YOUR CELL PHONE CALLS? IT LOOKS LIKE IT…

January 13, 2016 Shamsey Oloko Leave a comment Damages, Punitive Damages, Tax fraud & evasion

This past fall, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen admitted to the Finance Committee of the United States Senate that the IRS is tracking cell-phones. Apparently the IRS is using “stingrays”, also known as IMSI catchers or cell-site simulators, to sweep up the cell-phone signals of unsuspecting taxpayers. Recently, the IRS spent $71,000 to upgrade their cell-phone tracking equipment. Senators Charles Grassley of Iowa and Patrick Leahy of Connecticut demanded an explanation for the use of such equipment expressing their privacy concerns with such surveillance in a letter to Treasury Secretary, Jacob Lew. “The devices indiscriminately gather information about the cell phones of innocent people who are simply in the vicinity of the device,” the letter stated.

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I HAVENT FILED A RETURN IN LAST 6 YEARS. HOW CAN I CATCH UP?

January 12, 2016 Shamsey Oloko Leave a comment Civil Penalties, Delinquent Taxes

It is estimated that 7 million taxpayers fail to file their tax returns each year, which is approximately 5% of all filers. The Internal Revenue Service released results of a study that indicated that the federal government loses $28 billion annually. Unfortunately (for the IRS, perhaps not for the non-filers), the IRS has never had the resources to adequately track and keep record of these non-filings.

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