Negotiate your debts with the IRS
Choosing a tax professional to formally negotiate your debts with the IRS
As the tough new rules on bankruptcy laws hit the debt industry, debt settlement is often chosen as a more palatable option for all the debtors in the US. Debt settlement is an agreement with the debtor and the creditor to settle an outstanding balance for an amount that is lower than what you actually owe. However, there’s a huge difference between owing debt to a private organization and the government. The government can take any step to recuperate the money from you and therefore, you need to be careful about the steps that you take in order to clear your dues. Just like you settle your credit card debts, have you thought about settling your IRS tax debt? Do you know whether or not it’s possible? If answered no, read on.
What is Offer in Compromise (OIC)?
The IRS or the Internal Revenue Service has recently revised all the instructions for their OIC in 2006 in response to all the changes in the tax law under the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act. When you’re drowning in a sea of IRS tax debt, the OIC is the only worthy way out of the tax debt cycle as you can settle your debt for an amount that is less than what you actually owe. Though there are many ways in which you can get out of debt, most debtors choose Offer in Compromise as they can get the opportunity of repaying a lesser amount.
How to choose a tax professional for completing your IRS OIC
An Offer in Compromise is a time-consuming process and most people take at least 12 to 24 months to achieve complete resolution of their tax woes. Despite waiting for the long period of time, the chances of succeeding are pretty slim. Research reveals that only 17% applicants succeed in reducing their IRS tax debt through debt settlement or OIC. Since the entire process is complex enough, there are many debtors who prefer seeking help of the tax professionals to protect themselves from unnecessary scams.
The debtors often hire a tax professional who helps them with hiring a tax professional to prepare the documentation of the entire process and also to negotiate with the IRS. The tax professionals may charge you hefty fees of about $1,500 to $3,000 for the accuracy that they’ll provide you with the Offer in Compromise documentation. The tax professional should be well-versed with negotiating with the IRS consultants as without this skill, it would become tough to manage.
How to stay aware of the scams associated with settling your IRS tax debt
There are many unscrupulous tax professionals who will quote some unaffordable price for the offer. Such professionals may prepare the form but will not assist you throughout the documentation and will also avoid negotiating on your behalf. You should look for someone who is experienced in dealing with the revenue officers along with a pleasing personality.
Therefore, when you’re knee deep in IRS tax debt, make sure you take the best step forward to opt for debt settlement. Follow the advice mentioned above so that you can successfully complete the entire process and secure a debt free life.
This is a Guest Post by Shawn Ambrose who is a financial writer. He loves to contribute articles to financial websites, blogs and communities. Some topics covered by him are debt consolidation basics, settling your credit card debt, pros and cons of IRS tax debt settlement and so on.
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- What Tax Debt Relief Solutions Are Available to You
Six Ways to Turn Uninteresting Topics into Really Interesting Posts
Some topics that are really, really important may seem dull and uninteresting to the average web surfer. You can probably think of a few of these topics on your own. Income tax law is often one of these “unpopular” topics.
Aside from tax professionals, if you were to put 100 people in a room and ask them what topic they’d like to read about online, I’ll bet that very few would willingly choose income tax law.
However, tax law issues are important. Changes to tax law can change the amount of income we get to keep and ultimately affect our quality of life. That’s why it’s important to share information as you learn it and important that people read what you share.
So what can be done to get folks with no background in accounting to read about important topics like changes to the tax laws?
If the information that you are writing about might turn off some readers, here are six techniques to make your writing more exciting for your readers:
1. Pay attention to the headline and first few lines. The headline and first sentences are what your reader will see first so it’s important to pull out all stops to make these attention grabbers. If you don’t grab their attention with the headline or first few lines of your post or online article, your readers won’t go any further and you won’t convey the material that you’re trying to share.
2. Tell a story. In general, readers love to read about real people. Share a story about how a tax law change has actually affected someone (be sure to ask permission before telling the story) or even about how it has affected you. Talking about real people brings the tax law changes home and shows the reader that they too could be affected by tax changes.
3. Make it personal. Another good way to make income tax law more interesting to your readers is to use statistics to make it more personal. For example, many statistics state that the average income in the U.S. around $45,000. So, use that dollar figure as a baseline and discuss what might happen under the tax laws to someone earning that amount. A lot of “average” people will be able to relate.
4. Use compelling images. Images are powerful, so make sure yours are good. Images are important for all online writing, but they are especially important for technical and detailed material. Don’t stop at one image either. Use photos to illustrate a concept and charts and graphs to add visual impact to relevant statistics.
5. Avoid “legalese.” When writing about a complex subject, such as tax law, it’s important not to get caught up in the specialized language of your field. Terms that you use every day may be unclear to someone without an accounting background. Conversational English is the way to go. Write your online material as though you are explaining the concept to someone with no accounting background at all.
6. Don’t forgot to promote your material. Last, but not least, it’s important to promote your material through social media and among your clients and acquaintances. Even the best online material will not get read if no one knows it is out there. Build social media accounts and learn how to use them. Also, reference your online materials in your written correspondence with your clients and on your business cards.
With the right writing style and the right methods to grab attention, you’ll soon find there’s no really such thing as a “dull” topic online.
Do you write about tax or accounting topics? What methods do you use to capture the attention of your audience?
About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 19 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts.
Misconceptions Business Owners Have About Their Returns
Regardless of how life changes, one of the biggest hurdles you’ll face in running your own business is to stay on top of your numerous obligations to federal, state, and local tax agencies. A tax headache is only one mistake away, be it a missed payment or filing deadline, an improperly claimed deduction, or incomplete records.
You can safely assume that a tax auditor presenting an assessment of additional taxes, penalties, and interest will not look kindly on an “I didn’t know I was required to do that” claim. The old legal saying that “ignorance of the law is no excuse” is perhaps most often applied in tax settings. On the other hand, it is surprising how many small businesses actually overpay their taxes. They often neglect to take deductions they’re legally entitled to, or just don’t know about certain breaks that can help them lower their tax bill.
Adding to the mayhem, we have tax codes that seem to be in a constant state of flux. Creating exceptions for special groups has resulted in a steady stream of new and revised tax laws, which have lengthened the Internal Revenue Code to over 4,500 pages and rendered it barely understandable to even the most experienced tax professionals. Often one section can run up to several hundred pages. A special tax service used by tax professionals explains the meaning and application of each part of the code. It is contained in another 12 volumes! The harder Congress tries to simplify the code, the more complex it becomes.
Preparing your taxes and strategizing how to keep more of your hard-earned dollars in your pocket becomes increasingly difficult with each passing year. Your best course of action to save time, frustration, MONEY, and (God forbid) an auditor knocking on your door, is to have a professional accountant handle your taxes. Tax professionals have years of experience with tax preparation, religiously attend tax seminars, read scores of journals, magazines, and monthly tax tips, among other things, to correctly interpret the changing tax code and gain the advantage over the IRS.
Nevertheless, many accountants don’t understand the mammoth tax code and end up being too conservative with your tax deductions. The more conservative they are, the more taxes you end up paying.
Unfortunately, the cryptic and mystifying nature of the tax code generates a lot of folklore and misinformation that also leads to costly mistakes. Here is a list of some common small business tax misconceptions:
All Start-Up Costs Are Immediately Deductible
Business start-up costs are the expenses you incur before you actually begin business operations. Your business start-up costs will depend on the type of business you are starting. They may include costs for advertising, travel, surveys, and training. These costs are generally capital expenses.
You usually recover costs for a particular asset (such as machinery or office equipment) through depreciation. You can elect to deduct up to $5,000 of business start-up costs and $5,000 of organizational costs paid or incurred in the year that you start a business. The $5,000 deduction is reduced by the amount your total start-up or organizational costs exceed $50,000. Any remaining cost must be amortized.
The only catch is that in order to take advantage of the immediate deduction you must spread out the remainder of your start-up costs over 15 years (180 months).
Overpaying The IRS Makes You “Audit Proof”
The IRS doesn’t care if you pay the right amount of taxes or overpay your taxes. They do care if you pay less than you owe and you can’t substantiate your deductions. Even if you overpay in one area, the IRS will still hit you with interest and penalties if you underpay in another. It is never a good idea to knowingly or unknowingly overpay the IRS. The best way to “Audit Proof” yourself is to properly document your expenses and make sure you are getting good advice from your tax accountant.
Being incorporated enables you to take more deductions.
Aside from health insurance, deductions for the self-employed (sole-proprietors and S Corps) are pretty much equivalent to corporate deductions. For many small businesses, being incorporated is an unnecessary expense and burden. Start-ups can spend $1,000 in legal and accounting fees to set up a corporation, only to determine shortly after that they want to change their name or company direction. Plenty of small business owners who incorporate don’t make money for the first few years and find themselves saddled with minimum corporate tax payments and no income.
The home office deduction is a red flag for an audit.
This is no longer as true as it once was. Because of the proliferation of home offices, tax officials cannot possibly audit all tax returns containing the home office deduction. A high deduction-to-income ratio tends to lead to an audit.
If you don’t take the home office deduction, business expenses are not deductible.
You are still eligible to take deductions for business supplies, business-related phone bills, travel expenses, printing, wages paid to employees or contract workers, depreciation of equipment used for your business, and other expenses related to running a home-based business, whether or not you take the home office deduction.
Taking an extension on your taxes is an extension to pay taxes.
Extensions enable you to extend your filing date only. If you do not pay taxes on time, penalties and interest begin accruing from the due date.
Part-time business owners cannot set up self-employed pensions.
If you start up a company while you have a salaried position complete with a 401K plan, you can still set up a SEP-IRA for your business and take the deduction.
Besides avoiding these pitfalls, possessing basic knowledge of how the tax system works is also beneficial. After all, even if you delegate the tax preparation to someone else, you are still liable for the accuracy of your tax returns. If your accountant messes up, you pay the penalty, not him.
A Week in Perspective
New PTIN System Set in Motion by IRS – On Tuesday, the IRS officially implemented its new Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) system. From now on, all tax preparers will have to be issued PTIN (even if they already have one) in order to be qualified to prepare and submit tax returns for their clients in 2011. This included all paid classes of tax preparers including CPAs, enrolled agents and tax attorneys. This is in line with the IRS initiative to properly register and regulate the thousands of tax preparers in the country.
Tax Professionals Must Now Pay The IRS For The Right to Prepare Tax Returns PTIN’s Are Now For Sale – Well, now a tax professional must buy the right to prepare a tax return. I suppose this isn’t any different from having to pay a fee every year to renew my CPA license. Just one more thing to add to my overhead costs.
Problems with PTIN Online System? Don’t Wait to Register – Tax preparers heads up, according to the new IRS rules, you have until January 1, 2011 to register for your PTIN (preparers tax identification number). I’m getting a little concerned about the IRS’s ability to GET IT DONE by the January 1, 2011 due date.
Online PTIN Application Now Available, But… – The IRS released the final regulations for the new PTIN process for tax professionals. There’s an FAQ available, too.
Don’t you feel more competent already?
Is it reasonable for Congress to demand “Plain Talk” from the IRS? – Bottom line: if we Americans want a tax code that we can understand, we need to demand it directly from Congress. This is my favorite post this week.
Don’t Let a Rule of Thumb Rule Your Wallet – Rules of thumb are great little guidelines when you’re talking to large groups of people. A perfect example is the “rule” that you should have “1.5 times your annual salary by age 35″ described in the recent retirement checklist from CNNMoney. If you’re in that age group, you can read that rule of thumb and quickly compare your current retirement savings to get a general idea of what kind of shape you’re. If you have $5,000 and you make $35,000 a year, you might be panicked enough to start beefing up your retirement savings. If you’ve make $35,000 a year and you’ve got $100,000 socked away, you’ll probably feel that you’re ahead of the game. There’s just one problem…
Varying cost of living – it depends on the lifestyle you aspire to.
Taxes on garage sale earnings – The federal tax laws provide for IRS collection of tax on capital gains. So, notes IRS Publication 525, “if you sold an item you owned for personal use, such as a car, refrigerator, furniture, stereo, jewelry, or silverware, your gain is taxable as a capital gain.”
But who’s ever had a capital gain on an exercise bicycle, old toys or an out-of-style suit sold at a garage sale?
Now we know what happened or is happing with Monica L. over at Confessions of a CPA. She landed a job. Nicely done Monica. She explains in her post First Days.
Tax-Exempt Tips For Oct. 15 Due Date –
BlogRoll Beans – September 28th edition.
Cure for the Financially Overwhelmed - Do you experience any of these symptoms when thinking about your personal finances: Budget dizziness, Debt fever, Sweaty emergency fund palms, Late fee hair pulling, Banking knots in your stomach, Retirement savings rash. If you experience any of these symptoms when you think about your finances, I am not a doctor but I believe you have what is called financial overwhelmedness.
Tax cut timing could be costly
Bye, Bye Paper – The IRS has announced that they will no longer be sending tax packages to individuals or businesses. Later in the year, they will send a card to taxpayers (ind and business) who prepared their own paper return last year notifying them of the change and telling them how to obtain the forms they need.
Tax Help News: Seven Deadly Sins of Tax Resolution Every Taxpayer Needs to Know
Tax Foundation Releases Two Reports Focusing on High-Income Taxpayers – The Tax Foundation has released two reports focusing on the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts and high-income taxpayers: one examining top marginal effective tax rates by state, and another profiling demographic characteristics among top earners.
Should the IRS Give Taxpayers an Itemized Receipt? – What is provided to a taxpayer with a $5,400 tax bill? Nothing. For many Americans, the amount they pay in taxes is larger than any purchase they make during the year, but studies show they know almost nothing about where that money goes to.
US Savings Bonds – What Are Savings Bonds and How do They Work?
The Importance of Cash Flow Management – One of the most important aspects of managing your personal economy is understanding where your money is coming from, and where it is going. You should also know when all of this is happening. Cash flow management in your personal finances is important, since it keeps you from overdrawing your account and helps you plan ahead for larger expenses. When you know how money flows through your personal economy, you are in control.
What is the Difference Between HSA and FSA Accounts?
Use Flexible Spending Account Balance by End of Year – If your health insurance plan provides a Flexible Spending Account or FSA option I highly recommend you use it. You are getting a tax break for every dollar you put into the account. If you use those dollars toward eligible healthcare expenses then you never pay taxes on that money.
Yes, you read that correctly.
The Soft Skills You Need to Get Hired There are Old School tactics and there are New School tactics for every facet of job seeking. One key to your success today is knowing how to capitalize on your soft skills. Wondering what your “soft skills” are? Read on!
H&R Share Prices Expected to Drop due to IRS Action – H&R Share Prices Expected to Drop Due to IRS Action. In the next tax year, the IRS has declared they will no longer supply tax preparers the ‘debt indicator’ of a taxpayer. The debt indicator is a code the IRS has provided every year to tax preparers that indicate the amount of tax refunds the taxpayer is entitled to receive. The debt indicator information supplied by the IRS would include any amounts of child support, back taxes and other debts that would reduce the amount of refunds.
Making Work Pay Credit not likely to be extended – Congress’ effort to stimulate the economy included pushing through a series of tax breaks in 2009. The centerpiece of the legislation was the Making Work Pay Credit, which was intended to provide tax relief for working and middle class families. It may not last beyond this year. The idea was to allow more taxpayers to have cash in their pocket during the year, as opposed to at tax time, by adjusting the amount of earned income withholding.
Tax Reform Discussions in 2011? – “Rep. Levin seeks early action on tax reform next year” reports that the House Ways & Means Committee chair wants to have lots of tax reform hearings in 2011. He says: “We’re serious about looking at our tax code.” The Hill also reports Congressman Levin saying that reform needs to happen in a non-election year.
Something about tax cuts from The Onion – Follow her link it is a must read for sure.
ARE WE BEING RUN BY ARSEHOLES? – THE DAILY SHOW had a bit that asked the question “Are We Being Run By Arseholes?”. The answer they came up with was an obvious “Yes”.
Tax breaks in the new small business bill
Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 – On September 27, 2010 (Monday), President Obama signed an additional economic stimulus bill – the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (H.R. 5297).
Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 Into Law – What it Means for You
HR 5297 Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 Outline of Tax Stuff – This is wonderful. Thanks Stacie.
Buying Long-Term Care Insurance To Save For The High Cost of Assisted Living – There’s a great deal of talk today about the “graying of America.” Thanks to advances in medical technology, many people are now living 20 or more years beyond normal retirement age. However, quite a few of these people must deal with poor health during those years. And, the increased longevity, coupled with expanded health care needs, can place enormous social and financial strain on these individuals and their loved ones.
A week about What is a Series LLC and more. Be sure to check out the whole week of post over at Diane Kennedy’s US Tax Aide blog.
An great answer to a frequent question Ask the taxgirl: Reporting Income Not on a W-2
Also today another round up A Post Wall Roundup.
The blogroll works now Thanks Joe.
Currency – A New Financial Site for Young Adults – Currency offers great content, featuring writing from over 25 leading personal finance writers (including yours truly!) from various backgrounds, including journalists from major publications, best-selling authors, and a variety of bloggers from different genres such as personal finance, career advice, travel, lifestyle, and related topics. The articles are written in a fun and informative manner, featuring a more personal and conversational approach than you will find at most financial websites.
In a blogging friend scurry to get his clients extensions done, he posted yesterday A TAX FIX, directing you to his other writing gig as he hasn’t been posting at TWTP in his effort to “GIT-R-DONE”
Three Quickbooks Shortcuts to Save You Time!
Homemade Gift Series #3: Caramel Apple Jam – So what exactly do you do with eight and a half pounds of apples? You make something with them, of course.
A Week in Perspective
THE NEW E-FILE MANDATE – “. . . An individual or couple may engage a tax professional, such as me, to prepare the federal income tax return that he/she/they is/are required to file. While, as is the case with just about every situation where a person or company provides goods or services for compensation, the preparer has certain legal and ethical responsibilities regarding the preparation of the return, the tax pro is hired by the taxpayer to simply prepare the return. . . .”
In the post mentioned above (please read the whole post), my friend asked many a tax bloggers/professionals for our response “I am very sincerely interested in the comments of my fellow tax professionals, and especially my fellow tax bloggers (are you listening Annette, Kay, Kelly, Mary, Trish, Bruce, Dan, Jim, both Joes, Russ, etc.?) on this post.” Of all of us out here and those ask of in particular I was disappointed in the number of us who have responded.
A few even chose to respond by a post on their perspective blogs A Line in the New Jersey Sand and It Depends on What the Meaning of the Word ‘Is’ Is. The rest of the comments can be read here including mine.
In his post I AM RIGHT – BUT A LOT OF GOOD IT WILL DO ME! RDF concludes what we have all said.
Those of the most popular sites or those who have the most readers I was/am ashamed that so many of you did not respond to RDFs inquiry as to what you thought. He asked even with the thought ““on the record” by submitting a comment, or “off the record” by email”. You should have.
This mandate affects all of those who prepare, and I know RDF isn’t the only one who has issue with it. I use software (two different brands actually), and I have issues with it. Are you charging for e-filing your clients returns? If so, are you just sitting there counting the money you might make by being able to charge everyone? Shame on you. This country prides itself on being able to give us the freedom to choose. This mandate takes a peace of that away.
The Recession is Over – The recession lasted 18 months and just as we didn’t know there was a recession until we were well into it, we are now told it ended in June 2009.
Tax Breaks Expiring Soon – No, Not Those Tax Breaks
I found a new blog. I’ll introduce it by saying this is a worthwhile read How important is small business to the US?I have had it on by blog roll for a few days. Add it to yours if you like the way Wray writes.
Another new one I found recently and I have on my blog roll (Is that supposed to be one word? Blogroll, or Blog roll? Hummm, maybe two I think) 21st Century Taxation. The post that took me there is good. Making Work Pay Credit & Economic Stimulus – Need for Better Discussion. As above at this to your RSS feeder/reader if you like the way this blog is written.
Insider Tips to Stop IRS Notice of Deficiency- And Save Your Cash!
As in above I am wondering what has happened to Monica L. The Tax CPA and Confessions of a CPA hasn’t had a post since August 16th at one and August 27th at the other.
Monica, you still out there?
What about Stacie from Stacie’s More Tax Tips, Stacie, are you going to be writing anymore? I have to say you post are missing and we are missing your post.
Self-Employed Folks Get a (Tax) Break
Tax Help For Business Owners Who Owe Unpaid Employment Taxes or Delinquent Payroll Taxes – Are you a small business owner or an independent contractor? If yes, did you know that the IRS is stepping up their enforcement just so that they can go after taxpayers like you more aggressively? The IRS assigns a higher priority to the collection of payroll taxes than personal income taxes.
GOP Pledge to America: No New Taxes (Now Cue the Dancers)
Representing the rich … or not- What all this attention to the impending end of Dubya’s tax cuts really means is there’s been, and will continue to be, all sorts of crazy numbers crunching.
Effect of expiring tax cuts on the rich
You can’t claim the ‘Hope Credit’ just because you hope you qualify for it
Lessons from Tax Reform Act of 1986 – The Senate Finance Committee held hearings today to review and reflect on the important lessons our country learned from its experiences with the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (which Dave Williams talked about in class on Tuesday).
There is a good deal worth reading and pondering in the transcripts of those hearings.
Extended bonus depreciation, $500K Section 179 deduction await President’s signature
Maybe Building Business Credit IS the Answer- The US’s population is a little over 310 million, but 27% of them are under 20. Bottomline – over half of all adults do NOT have good credit.
What do plumbers, politicians, and professors have in common?
The folks over at TaxQueriesblog have once again asked for authors. Seems those of use who want to write about tax stuff want to do so more at our own blogs than others. I joined this group of bloggers at TaxQueriesblog some time ago, when it first came about. Sadly I wasn’t and still am not able to keep up with everything and have little time to contribute to the collection of bloggers and their musings. Here is the list of contributors thus far:
I mention all of this in an effort to maybe get more over there as authors. Please check it out and make contact with those running the show to see if you can join our ranks. Maybe I should write another post for them, I haven’t added anything since. . . It’s been awhile.
A Public Service Announcement – if you text while you drive, this is a must read!
Apologies for not referencing on any PF blogs this week. If you know of other really good ones that I don’t already have in my PF blog roll please send me a note so I can get there.
I’d in closing like to mention, that I have added a few items to help spread the tax word around. You’ll notice at the end of each post there are two buttons. One for tweeting the post on twitter, and another for Google Buzz. I a few folks use these, I am asking that if you enjoy the post or feel someone you know will, please use these to get them the info.
Also I have added at the end of both my columns, some Facebook stuff. Please use these as well. The more people we can reach with our information the more who will be informed about what is. . . .
Thanks, see everyone later.
“A Week in Perspective” what about this title?
The week in review
I wanted to let you know first that on September 13th Intuit announced the release date for its newest version, QuickBooks 2011, which includes several new features that will help small business owners find data when they need it, perform everyday tasks and access business information remotely.
According to Intuit, the software goes on sale September 27. – to my clients. Update when you will but please note that I won’t get there until Jan 2011.
Some quick tax cut calculations – Taxes are all about the numbers.
Next I want to mention that there are several bloggers giving out a weekly list of Tax and personal finance bloggers.
WHAT’S THE BUZZ? TELL ME WHAT’S A HAPPENNIN’ – WEDNESDAY EDITION
WHAT’S THE BUZZ? TELL ME WHAT’S A HAPPENNIN’ – usually posted every Saturday over at THE WANDERING TAX PRO
“. . . who says all CPAs, attorneys and EAs have a tax background and the appropriate competency?” I hear the comment and feel the same. In fact, all I know and most who I read from all feel the same. So from all our point of view to what is actually happening how is that so many are going to be just presumed to know what they need to know? Becoming a Registered Tax Return Preparer.
Home Business: Are You Providing a Product or a Service? – When you start a home business, it is important to understand the distinction between a product and a service. This is because this distinction could affect how you are paid. Consider:
- Most people pay for a product before they receive it.
- Most people pay for a service after they receive it.
Regulating Paid Tax Return Preparers
If that’s not regulation, I’d hate to see what regulation looks like I’d consider the source, but true enough he was regulated. Joe, agreeably, somebody willing to commit blatant fraud isn’t going to have a change of heart because they have a registration number and have to pass some lame “proficiency” test.
Five Myths about the Bush Tax Cuts – popular myths coming from both sides in the tax cut debate.
More on the Bush Tax Cuts
- Jonathan Allen (Politico), Nancy Pelosi Keeps Losing Democrats on Tax Cuts
- Bruce Bartlett (Fiscal Times), Bush Tax Cuts Had Little Positive Impact on Economy
- Neil H. Buchanan (George Washington), The Bush Tax Cuts and Uncertainty
- Mike Dorf (Cornell), Boehner v. McConnell on Taxes
- Howard Gleckman (Forbes), Mitch McConnell, the Bush Tax Cuts, and the Future of Government
- Timothy Homan (Bloomberg), Paychecks Could Be Whacked If U.S. Tax Vote Slips
- Paul Krugman (New York Times), The Tax-Cut Racket
- Lori Montgomery (Washington Post), Senate GOP Looks for Deal in Tax Debate
- Stephen Moore (Wall Street Journal), Let Them Eat Tax Hikes
- Gerald Prante & Bill Ahern (Fiscal Times), Five Myths about the Bush Tax Cuts
- Greg Sargent (Washington Post), Dear Dems: Do NOT Take GOP Deal on Tax Cuts
- Michael Scherer (Time), Obama Finds His Footing in the Tax Fight
- Kimberly Strassel (Wall Street Journal), Why Democrats Can’t Win on Taxes
- Martin Vaughan (Wall Street Journal), Democrats Find Party Unity On Tax Cuts Remains Elusive
- Martin Vaughan (Wall Street Journal), McConnell’s Embrace of Estate-Tax Compromise Draws Criticism
Compare Traditional and Roth 401k – As it’s name implies, a Roth 401(k) is a 401k plan with features similar to a Roth IRA. It has a variety of benefits over the Traditional 401k, depending on your specific financial situation.
10 Ways to Boost Your Retirement Savings Starting Now – With longer predicted life expectancies, a roller coaster stock market, and more pending job losses, it’s more important than ever to find ways to boost your retirement savings now.
Dumb Money: Early 401k Withdrawals – The economy is still struggling to get going. While jobless claims recently fell more than expected there were still 451,000 initial applications for unemployment.
Making Progress with Mileage-Based Road Fees
Obama names Warren to set up consumer protection agency – Calling Warren “one of the country’s fiercest advocates for the middle class,” Obama said she would ensure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ends abusive practices.
New to the taxguy post Joe Taxpayer with this A Retirement Shortfall.
Trustworthy Tax Professionals are a Must When Seeking Tax Help
The left hand of the government apparently does not know what the right hand has been doing not really sure there was any question of that but I like to see the proof – thanks Mary.
The IRS Announces: No More Paper Coupons It’s Time to Learn How To Use EFTPS – It’s time for those taxpayers who are fighting the electronic age to step it up. The IRS today issued proposed Regs to discontinue the use of paper coupons as early as next year. If you try to send in a paper coupon after December 31, 2010, there wont be anyone at the Treasury Department to process it.
Maybe You Shouldn’t Be In Business is an interesting read. If you’re thinking about starting a business, read this then give your situation some real thought before proceeding.
5 Insider Tips for Starting a Small Business
Tax Hike on Pass-Through Businesses Twice that on “companies that ship jobs overseas”
This ended a week of post from USATaxAid’s Blogs series concerning steps you need to take with your business to protect your assets. Read all the post:
Lack of Paperwork Nails Taxpayer in IRS Audit
3 Steps to Asset Protection that Really Works
Does a Single Member LLC Protect Your Assets?
Why LLCs are Better than Corporations for Asset Protection
The Consequences of Tax Education Deficiency
No Advance Fees-Sort Of – The FTC has recently amended the Telemarketing Sales Rule to cover abusive practices by debt collectors. While aimed at those who are targeting consumers who want relief from credit card debt, tax debts to governments are also covered.
What If They Gave a Tax Party and No One . . . .
In an off tax note I found DangerousCrayon, the post I was drawn to homemade vanilla extract. I came across this in Homemade Gift Series #1: Vanilla Extract from Trent over at the simple dollar. Very cool
I was asked recently why I don’t mention more of the “more popular” tax blogs that are on the web. Aside from popularity being over rated, I don’t care much for those who are overly flashy or what have you.
Let’s face it, please, there are those who blog about taxes and finance because they enjoy the topic themselves (thank you to those people) and just want to get the information out to the average taxpayer/reader.
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing against making money with your blog be it a tax blog or a PF or other sort of blog, but if your motivation behind your blog is only financial, please pick something other than taxes to write about. The general taxpayer deserves someone who is generally interested in helping them (taxpayers) not bleed them out. If a blog is in my week ending post then it falls under my thoughts of those who are interested in informing you about taxes/personal finance first, that is the purpose of their blog, at least from where I sit.
Also I was hoping I could get some more suggestions for PF blogs. If you know of a good one please send me a note.
Thanks
Why have I been writing about Non tax stuff?
Okay, that is becoming a big question almost to the point of being annoying. I am no longer avoiding the question. Please stop filling my inbox and comments with this question, here is the answer:
In the Quote box below is a copy of a notice I received from NATP, National Association of Tax Professionals.
IRS Agents Requesting Electronic Copy of QuickBooks Records
NATP has learned that IRS agents are being instructed to obtain a copy of the taxpayer’s database for examinations for any taxpayer who uses QuickBooks. This will not be done in all examinations, only for those that the IRS agent deems necessary based on the judgment of the agent. If the taxpayer refuses to provide the database and the revenue agent (RA) or manager determines it is necessary, a Summons to obtain the information would be issued. The agents would look at only the information for the year under audit unless they decided to expand the examination to prior years, then information for those years would be reviewed.
The IRS has purchased 1,500 to 2,000 licenses from Intuit and will have one agent trained and licensed per group to assist others in the examination of taxpayers who use QuickBooks. You may not have heard of this yet, but as the software finds its way into RA groups and more agents are trained in its use, we could definitely be seeing a trend in the way exams are conducted since so many small businesses use QuickBooks.
So, in my Small Business client base, I have a lot of clients who use QuickBooks. The information is becoming more relevant to their tax situation seeing how the IRS is now getting these records.
If you have been cheating in QuickBooks, I suggest you make the corrections, now. As I said in my post Mistakes made in QuickBooks, QuickBooks is easy, thus making it user friendly, but being so easy makes it dangerous if you have no formal accounting education. And no I am not saying you need an accounting degree, but if you don’t understand basic bookkeeping, then you could really mess up your books in QuickBooks. And if you are “fudging” your numbers in QuickBooks, well now the IRS will be able to see this and then what? You could owe more in taxes to the IRS. There’s more I think on that, but my peers already think I am a bit out there, so I’ll just leave it at that.
Please if you are using QuickBooks, get your records straight, get your “books” looked at regularly by a professional.
Even better yet, when you find a Tax Professional ask them if they are able to review your QuickBooks files.
Prepare your taxes on-line With L & R Tax Preparation
L & R Tax Preparation
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Including online services.
E=MC2 or use QuickBooks
