To fee or not to fee? That’s been the question for nearly nine years. Now the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) believes that it has an answer: A D.C. Circuit Court has upheld the IRS’ authority to charge fees for issuing and renewing Preparer Tax Identification Numbers (PTINs). A PTIN is like a substitute Social Security Number…
Each year, the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) makes an annual report to Congress. The report is required by law under Section 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii) of the Internal Revenue Code which mandates that the NTA identify at least 20 of the most serious problems encountered by taxpayers and make administrative and legislative recommendations. The most serious problems, as identified by…
So far, tax season is proving to be anything but ordinary. Tax filings are down, and refunds are off to a sluggish beginning. And it’s not only taxpayers getting a late start: the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) just released its annual report to Congress a short while ago. By statute, the report should have been submitted…
Might we finally be turning a corner? Tax season appeared to be off to a slow start when it opened in January, with initial statistics showing fewer returns filed and smaller refunds issued. Numbers from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have remained low since the open, but this past week they’ve finally ticked up where it matters to…
Imagine this: Your ex-spouse insists on claiming your child as a dependent without your consent. What do you do? A Princeville, Illinois, mom responded to this tax “emergency” by calling the police. According to the Journal Star, the woman called the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office on February 6 to report “possible tax fraud.” The woman claimed…
After forty-nine years at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), it’s the last tax season for Carolyn Tavenner. The long-term IRS employee, sometimes called the “Mother of the 1040-EZ,” has announced her plans to retire from the IRS, effective March 2, 2019. Currently, Carolyn is the Project Director for the Tax Reform Implementation Office. Prior to that,…
The tax season appeared to be off to a slow start when it opened last month, with initial statistics showing fewer returns filed and smaller refunds issued. While the numbers from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) were down, expectations were still high. However, a few weeks later, the data is again raising eyebrows: across the board, fewer taxpayers…
I had an email in my inbox yesterday which allegedly contained a voicemail from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Here’s part of what the email looked like: There are two things you should know for context. One, since I represent taxpayers, I do get voicemail from the IRS. And two, since I have a digital…
“Read my lips: no new taxes.” Those few words, uttered by then-American presidential candidate George H. W. Bush at the 1988 Republican National Convention on August 18, became a hallmark of Bush’s presidency. When taxes did go up – a move made by Congress – voters were angry and blamed the President. But how much influence…
Are you planning to file your tax return electronically? Be sure to have last year’s tax return (or tax info) handy if you’re filing for the first time or if your software requires validation of electronic signatures. But if you don’t, there’s no need to panic: you can get much of the needed information by…