Category: Taxes
-
Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) Update
The IRS requires that anyone who prepares or assists in preparing federal tax returns for compensation must have a valid Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) before preparing returns. This allows the government to track tax returns by preparer and, in my opinion, has resulted in the decrease of fraudulent or abusive tax returns. In prior…
-
2017-2018 tax services agreement
From time to time it becomes necessary to update my service agreement. This is a revised generic tax services agreement proposed for next tax season. Dear : Thank you for choosing me to help you with your taxes. My goal is to give a stress-free tax filing experience. Clear communication plays an important part…
-
Tax reform: “your results may vary”
Investors have cheered the prospect of a tax cut since it first became a reasonable possibility with Trump’s election. The markets reflect that enthusiasm. But now a closer look at the proposed legislation and its uphill battle ahead paint a different picture. First, it is clear that not all large businesses will benefit. Wall Street…
-
Eight reasons why we must keep the estate tax
Update 10/9/2017: It now appears certain that Republicans will abandon their effort to repeal the estate tax due to public accumulated public resistance. It is important for the United States to keep the estate tax in place for a wide range of public policy, social equity and financial reasons. I have long promoted the basic…
-
First glance at the Republican tax reform bill
The Republican tax reform bill has no t yet been released. This blog post is meant as a brief summary of the issues most important to individuals and small businesses as reported by news sources. Significant provisions Individual tax rates are 12%, 25% and 35% and 39.6% The standard deduction would be increased so fewer…
-
A sad but common story of tax trouble
I read a story of an ordinary middle-income wage earner who received some letters from the IRS, ignored them, wound up having her wages garnished. Then she got scared and did not file her 2016 tax return, making matters worse. We don’t know the original issue that triggered IRS concern (perhaps inadvertently omitted items on…
-
How to handle income tax debt
There are three basic strategies for handling past-due income tax debt: Offer in compromise Payoff over time Dismissal in bankruptcy The only way to appropriately access these options is to take a ‘big picture’ view of your overall financial status and expectations in light of specific IRS program requirements. It is never easy but most…
-
Primer on Tax Transcripts
In this age we know that information is power. Tax transcripts are increasingly important for providing primary information to efficiently handle federal tax issues. As a tax adviser, I find that the level of federal tax information available to clients is poor and is often dominated by misinformation and misunderstanding. Tax transcripts give us the most…
-
Tax stress?
This is the time of year when IRS and state auditors pick up the pace of sending out examination notices and this causes some people a lot of stress. I’ve heard plenty of stories about how a person lost sleep or couldn’t enjoy their weekend worrying about the IRS letter. Only one in four of these…
-
Everybody loves a tax cut
Americans have been clear and consistent in their opinions that corporations and wealthy people do not pay their fair share of the tax burden. We’ve known and accepted this as reality for most of our lives with little or no government action to make the system more fair. This public opinion has been largely unaffected by…