Tag Archives: assistance

The IRS Is Not Always Right

A letter in the mailbox with the IRS as the return address is sure to raise your blood pressure. Here are some tips for handling the situation if this happens to you:

  • Stay calm. Try not to overreact to the correspondence. They are often in error. This is easier said than done, but remember the IRS sends out millions of notices each year. The vast majority of them correct simple oversights or common filing errors.
  • Open the envelope. You would be surprised at how often people are so stressed by receiving a letter from the IRS that they cannot bear to open the envelope. If you fall into this category, try to remember that the first step in making the problem go away is to simply open the correspondence.
  • Carefully review the letter. Understand exactly what the IRS thinks needs to be changed and determine whether or not you agree with its findings. Unfortunately, the IRS rarely sends correspondence to correct an oversight in your favor, but its assessment of your situation is often wrong.
  • Respond timely. The correspondence should be very clear about what action the IRS believes you should take and within what timeframe. Delays in responses could generate penalties and additional interest payments.
  • Get help. You are not alone. Getting assistance from someone who deals with this all the time makes going through the process much smoother.
  • Correct the IRS error. Once the problem is understood, a clearly written response with copies of documentation will cure most of these IRS correspondence errors. Often the error is due to the inability of the IRS computers to conduct a simple reporting match. Pointing the information out on your tax return might be all it takes to solve the problem.
  • Use certified mail. Any responses to the IRS should be sent via certified mail. This will provide proof of your timely correspondence. Lost mail can lead to delays, penalties and additional interest on your tax bill.
  • Don’t assume it will go away. Until a definitive confirmation that the problem has been resolved is received, you need to assume the IRS still thinks you owe the money. If no correspondence confirming the correction is received, a written follow-up will be required.

Going Back to College? How to Deduct Tuition Costs

Can you deduct the cost of going back to a school to get ahead in your career? It depends.

The tax law is clear on this issue whether you’re returning to school full-time or just enrolling in a summer refresher course. To qualify for deductions, you must meet one of these two requirements.

  1. The education is required by your employer or the law to keep your present job or present work status. In other words, the education must serve a legitimate business interest.
  1. The education maintains or improves skills needed in your present job.

That seems easy enough, but you’re not done quite yet. Even if you meet one of the two requirements, you still flunk out if either:

  • The education is needed to meet the minimum educational requirements of your present trade or business.
  • The education is part of as study program that will qualify you for a new trade or business.

This is where things often become blurry. If you take courses that could ultimately lead to an advanced degree, like an MBA or law or medical degree, the IRS could say that the studies qualify you for a new trade or business, even if you don’t intend to switch your field. Not surprisingly, this issue is often contested in the courts. Despite a handful of isolated incidents, the IRS usually prevails.

Assuming that the coursework doesn’t qualify you for a new trade or business – expenses such as tuition, books, laptops, lab fees, supplies and similar items; costs of writing, researching and preparing term papers; and some limited travel and transportation expenses may be deductible.

Even if you qualify, however, business education expenses are deducted as miscellaneous expenses subject to the usual threshold of 2% of adjusted gross income (AGI). If you don’t clear this 2%-of-AGI floor, none of the expenses are deductible on your tax return.

These are hard lessons for many taxpayers to learn. When possible, other alternatives such as using an employer-sponsored educational assistance plan may be preferable. Under such a plan, an employer can provide up to $5,250 of tax-free educational benefits to each employee.