I always thought I could deduct that!
A growing number of calls are coming into my office daily for audit representation. Taxpayers want to get the best return possible, however many have received incorrect advice. Sadly many times I have to be the bearer of bad news and tell taxpayers that these expenses will not allowed. Below is a listing on common deductions that are NOT allowed. Read more
As a tax resolution attorney, I have clients all over the world. Are you surprised to hear that people in Canada, Thailand, France, and Egypt have U.S. tax problems? Now this usually stems from a portion of time living in the U.S. or having U.S. investments, but nonetheless they are still tax problems. Our firm is proud that we are able to handle federal and local tax controversies for clients all over the globe.
Where does Florida come in?
A little closer to home, we have our Florida friends and frequent resolution clients. Are you surprised that a tax attorney in Maryland has a large number of clients in Florida? These tax problems occur for many reasons but most commonly are a result of dual residency. Read more
Often clients ask me what they can deduct on their taxes. The answer is not so cut and dry. It really depends on each client’s specific situation. Below I have compiled a list of possible deductions. Remember you must maintain accurate records to substantiate your deductions. I hope this helps in preparing and planning for tax season.
Schedule A Itemized Deductions Read more
The IRS reported that their percentage of individual audits has drastically been reduced by recent budget cuts. They have fallen to record lows not seen in over a decade. Operating with over 20% fewer revenue agents the IRS struggles to keep up with their workload.
How does this impact audits? Read more
In 2011, Maryland passed a law that if you have unpaid taxes you will prevented from renewing your license and/or registration. This applies to both business and personal vehicles and licenses. Some time has passed and we are starting to see a large occurrence of these holds. Every day our firm gets frantic calls from taxpayers who need to drive to get to and to perform their jobs.
What can you do? Read more
The IRS has over 148 different penalty types that can be assessed on a taxpayer or business. What’s even worse is interest and additional penalties can continue to grow from the original penalty. That’s just on the federal level. Maryland has a whopping 13% interest, not to mention they are not as forgiving when it comes to old tax returns. I have seen the State go after clients for taxes from the early 90’s! These penalties and interest charges continue to rack up a bill that sometimes is larger than the original infraction. As bad as they seem, IRS penalties can often times be reduced or even wiped out completely, but you have to know what you are doing. And you must have a justifiable reason to ask for them to be removed. Read more
The IRS Mission
Provide America’s taxpayers top quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and enforce the law with integrity and fairness to all.
This mission statement describes our role and the public’s expectation about how we should perform that role.
http://www.irs.gov/uac/The-Agency,-its-Mission-and-Statutory-Authority Read more
I heard an advertisement while driving into work today. “Call us if you can’t afford to pay the IRS…The new CNC program can help”. Many taxpayers are calling and may not even know what the CNC program stands for. I thought that an explanation would make for a good post.
CNC or Currently Not Collectible Status is a program used to temporarily resolve tax problems for low income individuals. This means the IRS must stop collection tactics and leave your case alone for a while. However, if your income changes or your file comes up for review, the IRS can come back to collect. CNC is a good program when used as a tool along with other legal measures to resolve past due taxes. I feel it is unfair to let taxpayers think CNC is a permanent fix and works for everyone. Like Offer in Compromise, only a small number of people actually qualify for CNC. Read more
I received a 1099-C: what is this?
In the last ten years Americans have had a tough time between lack of employment and the credit crunch, many of us were hit hard. Citizens caught in subprime mortgages that they could no longer afford and were unable to refinance due to home price or new credit restrictions. Good credit individuals woke up to find their lines of credit slashed. Regularly employed people were slowly pushed out of the work force. Millions of good honest people fell on hard times.
What does this mean for taxes? Read more
What is an audit?
*1 As defined by the IRS: An IRS audit is a review/examination of an organization’s or individual’s accounts and financial information to ensure information is being reported correctly, according to the tax laws, to verify the amount of tax reported is substantially correct.
What are your rights as a taxpayer? Read more
