Every year, taxpayers try to slip things into their taxes as deductions, things they might deem necessary business expenses that can be written off. Some of these things fly with tax preparers and subsequently, the Internal Revenue Service, while others, say, a subscription to Playboy, just don’t. [More]
IRS
You Might Have To Pay Taxes On That Canceled Credit Card Debt
By 3.6.12
That credit card debt you had was canceled or forgiven — yay! But you might have to pay the Internal Revenue Service taxes on it anyway, so — boo. You’ll find out you owe money when a 1099-C tax form comes in the mail from your lender, and probably not before then. [More]
No More Refund Anticipation Loans After This Tax Season
By 2.29.12
We’ve been warning people for years to steer clear of the “refund anticipation loans” that get you your tax refund ASAP but at the cost of usurious interest rates and fees. And between growing consumer awareness that RALs are a bad deal and the bigger banks dropping out of the business, only one bank has been backing the loans — and that’s all about to end. [More]
Anxious To Get Your Tax Refund? IRS Says 'Go Get Another Job'
By 2.24.12
Emily is a law student, and she spent last summer doing lawyer-type work and earning lawyer-type money. She mistakenly set up her withholding as if she were earning that much money year-round, though, so the government owes her a pretty sweet refund now that she’s returned to the poor, ascetic life of a student. She even filed her taxes super early so she can get that money back. Only the IRS has flagged her for extra-special review, delaying her refund, and no one she can get in touch with seems to care. “You should just get another job,” one helpful representative told her. [More]
Beware Of Identity Thieves Filing Fraudulent Tax Returns To Steal Your Refund
By 2.23.12
So you finally drag yourself to your desk/computer/accountant and get your taxes done. Good job. Now wouldn’t it just totally stink if you found out someone had already filed a tax return using your information, and that they’d snagged whatever refund you had coming to you? Yes, it would, which is why the Internal Revenue Service is warning people of just such a scam. [More]
IRS Says It's Ready To Field Your E-Filings
By 1.20.12
If you’re organized enough to have all your tax documents in order, you can go ahead and get a jump on the tax season by e-filing. The Internal Revenue Service says it’s ready to process tax returns filed online. [More]
Watch Yourselves, Moneybags: The IRS Says It It's Auditing More Of You Than Before
By 1.6.12
The Internal Revenue Sercice is onto you, millionaires, so you best be careful as to how you spend all that money and file your taxes right. The IRS revealed in an enforcement report this week that they’re auditing more wealthy taxpayers for 2011 than 2010. [More]
You Get Two Extra Days To File Your Taxes This Year
By 1.5.12
When April 15 falls on a weekend or holiday, as it does this year and did last year, the IRS cuts you a break and gives you until the next business day to file your taxes. That means tax procrastinators won’t have to file until April 17, giving them two extra, frantic days to delay the inevitable. [More]
Hundreds Of People's Tax Returns Found Dumped In Front Of Jackson Hewitt Office Because They Were "So Heavy"
By 11.4.11
A soggy pile of hundreds of old tax returns was found in front of an abandoned Jackson Hewitt tax prep office in San Francisco in late October. The papers had social security numbers, names, addresses, and phone numbers, a potential goldmine for any identity thief who got their hands on them. [More]
Your Taxes May Go Down Thanks To Prices Going Up
By 10.14.11
Don’t cry over the price of milk spilling upwards. It could actually mean that you pay lower taxes. [More]
Should We Be Concerned That Federal Agents Are Raiding IHOP Restaurants?
By 9.20.11
Of all the places one would expect to see IRS, FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents storming through the doors, an IHOP in Ohio. That’s why it’s even more bizarre to hear that very thing went down today inside at least seven IHOPs. [More]
How To Rat Your Friends And Neighbors Out To The IRS
By 9.6.11
Although it seems as though the Internal Revenue Service is an all-seeing entity that never lets a tax dollar it’s got coming slip away, the organization sometimes relies on the public to be its eyes and ears. Those who see tax cheating going on can report the issue to the IRS, which can investigate the cases and even hand out rewards of up to 15 percent of its take to the whistleblowers. [More]
Buffett Begs Congress To Raise His Taxes
By 8.16.11
Famous uberrich guy Warren Buffett has penned a NYT editorial begging Congress to please, please, raise his taxes. Last year, he writes, they were only 17.4 of his taxable income. He says folks like him, who make over $10 million a year, are treated by Washington “as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species.” It’s time to stop the “coddling,” he says and make the super-rich pay their fair share. [More]
"Secret" Way To Keep Buying Paper Savings Bonds After 2012 Deadline
By 7.19.11
The Treasury announced last week that, in order to save money, they’re going to stop selling paper saving bonds after Jan 2012. Gone will be the days when a grandparent could walk down to the bank and sock away $50 every year to make an ironclad investment for their grandchildren. But there is a bit of a “backdoor” way you can still buy them without having to go through their weird online “gift box.” It will also let you buy more bonds than the $5,000 limit. What you do is use your tax refund to buy them through the IRS using form 8888. [More]
IRS Gives $110,000 To Wrong Guy, Now He's In Jail
By 6.17.11
A California father is in jail and faces charges after the IRS deposited $110,000 in his account that should have gone to another taxpayer, reports KCAL. [More]
11 Legal Ways To Pay No Taxes. No Bunker Required.
By 4.11.11
It’s tax time, so you’re probably wondering, man, do I really have to give the government so much of my money? If you’re rich, the answer is no! Step 1: Be a millionaire. Step 2: Hire a flashy accountant. Step 3: Have them use one of these 11 completely legal ways the wealthy use to avoid paying taxes. One of them, which Bloomberg Businessweek calls “The Friendly Partner,” allows for a property to be sold without any capital-gains tax at all. [More]
Forgiven Credit Card Debt Over $600 Is Taxable Income
By 3.14.11
Did you negotiate a debt settlement in 2010 on your credit card? If the amount you knocked off is more than $600, LowCards notes, the IRS considers it income and you’ll have to pay tax on it. Sorry Charlie, you’re not out of the woods yet. [More]
Four Bankers Charged With Helping U.S. Taxpayers Hide $3 Billion
By 2.23.11
The latest news in the federal government’s crackdown on taxpayers (or rather, people who are supposed to be paying taxes) with offshore bank accounts: Four bankers from Credit Suisse Group have been indicted on charges of aiding tax evaders in hiding around $3 billion in assets. [More]
