The feds have made another arrest tied to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan fraud. This time, it’s an attorney facing charges. Jae H. Choi, who has an office in Fort Lee, New Jersey, has been accused of fraudulently obtaining nearly $9 million in PPP loans. Choi has been charged with three counts of bank fraud…
Got questions about Opportunity Zones? The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is offering a free webinar designed to give an overview of Opportunity Zones and related tax benefits for investors. As part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), new investments in some economically-distressed areas may be eligible for preferential tax treatment. To qualify, areas…
The Justice Department has announced action against two hacks of virtual currency exchanges by North Korean actors. According to court documents, the actors stole millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency and laundered the funds through Chinese over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency traders. Now, the Justice Department is seeking to recover those funds through the filing of a…
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced that it will allow the use of E-signatures on certain tax forms that cannot be filed electronically. This is a temporary move intended to reduce in-person contact and lessen the risk to taxpayers and tax professionals during COVID. What does that mean? Well, some forms, like Form 1040,…
On August 8, 2020, President Trump issued a directive to the Department of Treasury to allow for the deferral of payroll taxes for the period of September 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. Details were scarce, but a few days later, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested to Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo that the deferral would be voluntary. Today,…
Did you recently receive a penalty notice for your payroll tax deposit even though you remitted the correct amount? You’re not alone. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced that a “small population of employers” may have received notice that they were being assessed a failure to deposit penalty – even though the penalty doesn’t…
Did you take out a required minimum distribution (RMD) this year and want to put it back? As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), RMDs are waived for 2020, including for inherited IRAs. The CARES waiver includes RMDs for individuals who turned age 70 ½ in 2019 and took…
Wondering where your stimulus check might be? It may soon be on its way to you. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced that about 50,000 individuals whose respective portions of the Economic Impact Payment (EIP, or stimulus check) were diverted to pay their spouse’s past-due child support will finally be getting their share. These catch-up payments…
Did you know that the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) is the only federal agency that devotes 100% of resources to investigating financial crimes? IRS-CI is also the only agency with jurisdiction over federal tax crimes. You can test how much you know about the agency here: [forminator_quiz id=”53599″] How’d you do? For…
Feeling overwhelmed and not sure how to handle those overdue notices from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)? You aren’t the only one. Taxpayers have been complaining about the receipt of notices showing a balance due with impossible deadlines. How many notices went out? According to the Taxpayer Advocate, during the pandemic-related shutdown, the IRS generated more…