Comments on: Fearing the Taxman: When Not To Be Scared

By: The List Maven Presents: The Best of b5 Lists

The List Maven Presents: The Best of b5 Lists — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:50:01 +0000

[...] Fearing the TaxMan: When Not to Be Scared [...]

By: sandradee

sandradee — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:47:28 +0000

HI HERES MY QUESTION MY HUSBAND OWES
14.000 TO THE TAX MAN CAN THEY TAKE OUR HOME THE HOME IS IN BOTH ARE NAMES BUT HIS DEBT IS HIS OWN FROM HIS BUSSINESS
AND IM NOT PART OF THAT AT ALL AND WE HAVE 2 CHILDREN THAT GET THE DISABILITY AMOUNT CREDIT

By: Being Right Isn’t the Same as Not Getting Audited

Being Right Isn’t the Same as Not Getting Audited — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:19:53 +0000

[...] to bed at night overly worried about being contacted by the IRS for minor issues or discrepancies. I’ve even posted about this before - I believe it is your right to be aggressive on your returns (so long as you can substantiate it) [...]

By: lawmummy » Hmm.

lawmummy » Hmm. — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 02:12:09 +0000

[...] Fearing the Taxman: When Not To Be Scared [...]

By: suz

suz — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:22:27 +0000

Thanks for the list Kelly. I admit I’m one of those folks afraid of the tax audit. I tend to way under claim deductions because I don’t want to red flag anything. But this year, I’m doing a much better job of keeping all my receipts/documents well organized so I feel comfortable with taking the deductions owed to me.

By: Business Channel Theme Day - Fear

Business Channel Theme Day - Fear — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 11:32:00 +0000

[...] you see it. Check out taxgirl’s list of irrational taxpayer fears - and choose not to be afraid. http://www.taxgirl.com/fearing-the-taxman-when-not-to-be-scared/ Tags:Related StoriesFear And TremblingAll Work and No Play…Goals, Goals, [...]

By: 10 Bloggo-Fears That Go Bump in the Night and How to Make Them Worse - Liz Strauss at Successful Blog - Thinking, writing, business ideas . . . You’re only a stranger once.

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 18:08:30 +0000

[...] FEAR in Home Business - Find Every Available Resource Investing Fear Factor: Know Your Risk Tolerance Fear and Social Media Freelance Writers and the Fear of Success and/or Money FEAR and RISK - You don’t know what you don’t know. Fear And Trembling Symptoms of productivity phobia Fear? Think This Is A Stretch Do You? The four letter word that keeps us from success Fearing the Taxman: When Not To Be Scared [...]

By: b5 business bloggers muse on FEAR

b5 business bloggers muse on FEAR — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:38:03 +0000

[...] Kelly Phillips at Tax Girl writes taxes can be a scary thing. But really, fear of taxes is kind of like a Hitchcock movie: it’s all in the way that you see it. Check out taxgirl’s list of irrational taxpayer fears - and choose not to be afraid.http://www.taxgirl.com/fearing-the-taxman-when-not-to-be-scared/ [...]

By: Kelly

Kelly — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 13:34:55 +0000

Jim -
I agree. When crafting my list, I was thinking about things that my clients are scared of and shouldn’t be… When it comes to income, there isn’t much gray. But when it comes to deductions, I have clients with receipts for things like business cards which they didn’t claim because they felt that promotional expenses were not properly deductible and were scared of an audit. I find myself saying over and over, “If it’s properly deductible, claim it!” I rarely find myself interpreting income (well, except as it applies to blogging since many bloggers don’t understand the income rules as they relate to forms 1099).

By: Jim Newhard, CPA

Jim Newhard, CPA — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 12:09:28 +0000

There is a big difference between aggressiveness with deductions and aggressiveness with reporting income. First, it may be helpful to better define “aggressive.” Aggressive, in our tax world, means that you have basis, underlining conviction for why something is claimable or recognized under a specific tax position (for example, for deductions — there is some basis for the position that it is ordinary & necessary - certainly two words that can leave some to the interpretive imagination, but imagination alone does not cut it!).

However, failing to report income is a far, far more serious matter and imagination thus drops to less value than fairly strong substantiable basis for determining soemthing as non-taxable or non-reportable.

Be aggressive — certainly! But remember, too aggressive in deductions can get you hot with interest and penalties; too aggressive with unreported income can get you far more serious consequences. As I often say, “pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered!”