Tag Archives: IRS

Use Your Tax Refund Wisely

Three of every four Americans got a refund check last year and the average amount was $2,777, according to IRS statistics. Because the amount of a refund is often uncertain, we may be tempted to spend it without too much planning. One way to counteract this natural tendency is to come up with a plan beforehand to spend your refund purposefully.

Here are some ideas:

Pay off debt. If you have debt other than your home mortgage, a great spending priority can be to reduce or eliminate it. The longer you hold debt, the more the cumulative interest burden weighs on your future plans. You have to work harder for longer just to counteract the effect of the debt on your financial health. Start by paying down debts with the highest interest rates and work your way down the list until you bring your debt burden down to a manageable level.

Save for retirement. Saving for retirement works like debt, but in reverse. The longer you set aside money for retirement, the more time you give the power of compound earnings to work for you. This money can even continue working for you long after you retire. Consider depositing some or all of your refund check into a Traditional or Roth IRA. You can contribute a total of $5,500 to an IRA every year, or $6,500 if you’re 50 years old or older.

Save for a home. Home ownership is a source of wealth and stability for many Americans. If you don’t own a home yet, consider building up a down payment fund using some of your refund. If you already own a home, consider using your refund to start paying your mortgage off early.

Invest in yourself. Sometimes the best investment isn’t financial, but personal. If there’s a course of study or conference that would improve your skills or knowledge, that could be a wise use of your money in the long run.

Give some of it away. Helping people, and being able to deduct gifts and charity from your next tax return, isn’t the only benefit of giving to a good cause. Research shows that it makes us feel good on a neurological level. In fact, donating money activates our brains’ pleasure centers more than receiving the equivalent amount.1

If a refund is in your future, start planning now on how it can best help your financial situation.

1 https://www.wired.com/2010/12/the-science-of-charity

The College Student Tax Scam

School is well under way and the IRS has reminded us to pay attention to a new scam that is targeting students and their parents. Here is what you need to know.

  • The scam – Callers will contact your student and demand payment of an unpaid Student Tax. This tax does not exist. The contact is typically via phone call, but can take the form of a realistic looking email.
  • It will seem real – The caller will say they are from the IRS. They will have your student’s name and some of their personal information stolen from another source. There may be a caller ID displaying IRS. They will often call multiple times and may even threaten arrest.
  • Their goal – To get your unwary student (or you – the unwary parent) to provide them with payment through a prepaid debit card, credit card, or other type of gift card.
  • What to do – If this happens to you, hang up. If they call back, do not answer. Make sure your students are aware that this may happen and they should inform you immediately of the call. Remember, the IRS NEVER initiates a tax question with a phone call or email. You can also report the scam to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration: IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting Form

 Your data must be stolen

Should this scam occur, one thing is certain. Personal data has been stolen. If you receive this scam call, you may be targeted for other scams. So be alert and consider reviewing your credit reports to ensure someone is not trying to access your identity in other ways.

IRS Changes That May Delay Your Early Refund

In an effort to reduce the amount of money paid to identity thieves who file fraudulent returns, the IRS will be implementing changes in the timing and way they handle the processing of tax returns.

These steps will continue to evolve, but recent changes will impact millions who depend on receiving an early refund.

Earlier filing of form W-2s and 1099-MISC – The timing required to send these forms to employees and vendors remains the end of January. However, the extended deadline for filing the electronic version of these forms to the IRS and Social Security Administration is now a full month earlier. This is done to allow the IRS to match records with early filed tax returns. The prior timing gap was ideal for thieves to file fraudulent tax returns.

Earned Income Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit – If you file a tax return that contains either of these credits, do not expect to receive an early refund. The IRS has been mandated to hold these refund payments until February 15th or later. Given the payment backlog this will create, it is still important to file early to get your refund in the queue.

Begin planning now to be prepared for these upcoming changes. Rest assured, we can all look forward to further changes as the IRS continues to address the multi-billion dollar identity theft problem plaguing the Agency.

1099 Filing Requirements

Another year has come to an end and we would like to take the time to remind you of Form 1099 reporting requirements and changes to filing deadlines.

Certain payments made in the course of business are required to be reported on the appropriate Form 1099.  The type of 1099 filed depends on the type and amount of the business expenditure.  Some of the most common expenditures requiring a 1099 are listed below:

Payments for: Equal to or Exceeding: Form:
Dividends $  10 1099-DIV
Interest (generally) $  10 1099-INT
Royalties $  10 1099-MISC
Liquidating distributions $600 1099-DIV
Interest (paid in the course of business) $600 1099-INT
Fees paid for services $600 1099-MISC
Commissions $600 1099-MISC
Prizes and awards $600 1099-MISC
Rents $600 1099-MISC

Note: Generally, payments made to a corporation are not required to be reported on a form 1099.  However, there are some exceptions such as attorney fees.

A copy of the 1099 is required to be postmarked to the recipient and the IRS by January 31, 2017. Failure to correctly file the required 1099’s within the due dates can result in penalties of up to $260 per return (based on when filed) with a maximum of $1,059,500 for each year.

In addition to the above mentioned requirements, business taxpayers will be required to answer two questions on their 2016 income tax returns: (1) Did you make any payments in 2016 that would require you to file Form 1099(s)? (2) If yes, did you file the required Form 1099(s)?

In order to properly fill out the required forms, you will need to obtain information from each person to whom you make qualifying payments. Form W-9 is used for this purpose and can be obtained by going to http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf.

The information above relates to the most common types of transactions and circumstances.

The IRS is Not Always Right

Quotes from actual IRS correspondence received by clients:

“Our records show we received a 1040X… for the tax year listed above, We’re sorry, but we cannot find it.”

“Our records show you owe a balance due of $0.00. If we do not receive it within 30 days, appropriate collection steps will be taken.”

“Payment is due on your account. Please submit payments on or before June 31st to avoid late payment penalties and interest.”

It’s pretty tough to pay a balance due of $0 on June 31st when June only has 30 days. The message should be clear. If you receive a notice from the IRS do not automatically assume it is correct and submit payment to make it go away. The same is true for any state notices. They are often in error. So what should you do?

Stay calm – Try not to overreact to the correspondence. 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 clients 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 open the correspondence.

Careful review – Review the letter. Make sure you understand exactly what the IRS thinks needs to be changed and determine whether or not you agree with their findings. Unfortunately, the IRS rarely sends correspondence to correct an oversight in your favor, but it sometimes happens.

Respond timely – The correspondence received should be very clear about what action the IRS believes you should take and within what timeframe. Ignore this information at your own risk. 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.

Certified mail is your friend – 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.

IRS Announces Dirty Dozen Tax Scams – Part 2

Last week we told you about the three largest of the “Dirty Dozen Tax Scams”. This week we will cover the rest.

Return preparer fraud – In conjunction with Identity Theft, many temporary tax preparation offices set up shop and generate fraudulent tax returns. These folks often file a return using stolen information, create refund fraud and other scams that leave you holding the tax obligation when caught.

Offshore accounts – The IRS has taken many enforcement actions in this area after breaking the long-standing secrecy wall of Swiss bank accounts. If you have money in foreign accounts, you must understand the reporting requirements or you could be subject to substantial fines.

Fake charities – After major disasters, many charitable givers are scammed into making donations to fake charities. In addition, new IRS charitable organization reporting requirements are not being followed by many organizations. This makes donations to them non-deductible. To protect against this, make sure the charity is both legitimate and deemed a qualified charity by the IRS before you donate.

Other scams – The other six scams that round out the IRS list include: inflated refund claims, falsely padding deductions, excessive business credit claims, falsifying income to claim credits, abusive tax shelters, and frivolous tax arguments.

If you want more info, visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov and click on the News & Events tab/Tax Scams!

IRS Announces Dirty Dozen Tax Scams – Part 1

Each year the IRS announces “Dirty Dozen Tax Scams” they encounter regarding frivolous tax arguments and fraud. While six of the “scams” are related to, “don’t cheat we have our eyes on you,” the other six are scams that all of us should be on guard to detect. Here are the largest three scams:

Identity theft – Identity theft tops the list of the dirty dozen this year. This reflects a truly bad year for the IRS. The IRS has acknowledged the theft of taxpayer’s private information three times in the past eighteen months. Thankfully, the IRS is taking precautionary measures to curtail this huge problem. For example, they are limiting the number of direct deposits it will make to any single account, working with states and tax preparation software vendors to put more controls in place, delaying the early processing of tax refunds, internal tracking within software programs, and continual checking for heavy filing activity. Some states will even be requiring driver’s license numbers on their tax forms. For people who have already had identity problems, there are taxpayer single use tax ID’s that change every year. If you wish to know more, here is a link to the IRS identity protection page: IRS Identity Protection: Prevention, Detection and Victim Assistance

Phone scams – Phone calls from thieves representing themselves as IRS agents continue to get more sophisticated. These thieves often have some personal information, the caller ID may show as coming from the IRS and the scam may involve numerous phone calls instead of a single contact. Some are even automated phone calls! Threats range from arrest warrants to deportation to law suits. Remember, never give information over the phone to someone claiming to be from the IRS when they call.

Phishing – This recurring scam involves receiving fake emails and creating websites that look like the real deal. The IRS will not send you billing information or refund information via email. Do not click on any link from an email received from the IRS unless you requested it. Remember the IRS does not initiate contact through emails.

Look for the second part of this article next week for more info!

The IRS Gets a Raise – But Not As Much As They Wanted!

As part of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH Act), Congress opened up its wallet and gave the IRS $290 million more to work with in Fiscal Year 2016 (FY2016). The extra money is expected to be used to deter taxpayer identity theft, protect vital data from cyber-based attacks and improve customer service. The new law also reins in IRS spending on video productions, conferences at resort hotels, and awards and bonuses – items that have previously gotten the IRS in trouble.

But it’s a mere drop in the bucket when compared to what the IRS really wanted: An extra $2 billion over the FY2015 budget!

The PATH Act Does More

The new Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH Act) does more than just extend tax breaks. It also addresses tax administration and other matters. For instance, the new law:

  • Approves a budget of $11+ billion for IRS operations
  • Codifies the Taxpayer Bill of Rights
  • Prohibits IRS employees from using personal email for work
  • Amends certain Tax Court procedures
  • Explains higher education information reporting
  • Revises requirements for Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs)
  • Clarifies penalties for improperly claiming tax credits
  • Postpones the “Cadillac tax” on high-cost health insurance plans from 2018 to 2020
  • Increases the penalty for reckless and willful conduct by paid tax return preparers

All in all, the PATH Act includes more than 80 provisions that have nothing to do with protecting taxpayers from tax hikes.