Category: Taxes
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The battle to cut federal income taxes
Many of my clients are facing higher federal income taxes this year as a result of the so-called “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” that was passed by a slim minority of Republican lawmakers without the benefit of professional review that normally accompanies important fiscal social policy issues. While the law cuts taxes for most people,…
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Avoid IRS penalties with assertive strategies
Many of the penalties that IRS asserts on individual taxpayers and small businesses can be avoided with the right strategic response. Some or the penalty waiver procedures are straightforward, while some are not. Yet the strategies are not always apparent and sometimes even seasoned tax professionals are surprised by the favorable results. Tax penalties that…
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How Facebook’s IRS tax case applies to us
Facebook’s multi-billion dollar tax case in the news today has implications for us ordinary tax-paying citizens. Two take-home lessons: If you rely solely on the Taxpayer Bill of Rights without other statutory authority, then this adds a level of procedural risk to your dispute. We do routinely rely on these procedures and expectations of ‘fair play’…
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Is tax amnesty coming to New Jersey?
Governor Murphy proposed a tax amnesty program in our state of New Jersey. All indications I’ve read indicate that the legislature will eventually authorize it. If you haven’t filed tax returns now is the time to plan a strategy to get ready for this program. I am please to speak with anyone confidentially or even…
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List of Pennsylvania Local Tax Collection Districts (2018)
Pennsylvania currently has 70 local tax districts. The tax collector for each district splits the tax, where applicable, between the school district and the local municipality. In some cases there may be a local tax where you live (for example, a 1% earned income tax) and a different tax (for example, a local services tax)…
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Local income tax revisited
Recently I had an online conversation with an older successful business owner who apparently did not know that her business was subject to local income taxes. I don’t know the background or how this happened. I suspect that limited communication skills years ago played a role for this non-English native. Since there is no statute…
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The easy way to file a tax extension
This year about half of all my tax document and information responses were received by text message. This week text message service is helping to get tax extensions filed for people who are not ready to file their tax returns yet. Minimum requirements for filing an extension To file an extension, at a minimum, tax…
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2018 Changes to Employee Benefit Plans
This article lists the primary changes triggered by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that have an impact on employee benefit plans. They are listed here roughly in the order of impact on small business employers. For example, health benefits changes and work-related travel changes at the top of the list impacts most businesses, whereas…
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Annotated IRS Collection Statutes
This is an annotated copy of IRS statute controlling collection actions. 8.21.5 Collection Statutes Manual Transmittal November 17, 2015 Purpose (1) This transmits revised IRM 8.21.5, Collection Statutes. Background This IRM provides guidelines for verifying, updating, and monitoring statutes on collection cases in Appeals. Material Changes (1) Changes to this IRM are as follows: IRM Section…
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What to do if you owe money to the IRS: 4 steps to resolution
There is a clear and direct 4 step path to resolving IRS tax problems but you must follow this path in the proper sequence. An interesting discussion came up yesterday among tax professionals that indicates a need for us to communicate more effectively on the basic steps of resolving an income tax problem. By “income…