What to Do If You Receive an IRS Notice

It’s a moment many taxpayers dread. A letter arrives from the IRS and it’s not a refund check. But don’t panic; many of these letters can be dealt with simply and painlessly. Each year, the IRS sends millions of letters and notices to taxpayers to request payment of taxes, notify them of changes to their accounts, or request additional information. The notice you receive normally covers a very specific issue about your account or tax return. Each letter and notice offers specific instructions on what you are asked to do to satisfy the inquiry....

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Social Security Administration Launches New Online Tool

If you go back a few years, you may remember that every year, about three months before your birthday, you received an earnings and benefits statement from the Social Security Administration providing you with a history of your earnings and projected benefits. Then, along came a recession and the accompanying budget cuts and the mailing out of the statements stopped, except for workers age 60 and over. The earnings and benefits statements provided a valuable annual reminder of what you can expect to receive and how benefits are calculated. It...

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IRS Liberalizes Position on Local Lodging

In the past, a business deduction was allowed only for lodging when a taxpayer traveled away from his or her “tax home.” A taxpayer’s tax home is generally the location (such as city or metropolitan area) of a taxpayer’s main place of business (not necessarily the place where he/she lives). This has long created problems for individuals attending conferences and training sessions within their tax homes that include extended-hour events that preclude traveling back home between days of the events. In 2007, the IRS announced that it would amend...

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Do You Have a Financial Interest in or Signature Authority over a Foreign Financial Account? Better Read This! June 30 Is a Critical Date

Every U.S. person who has a financial interest in or signature or other authority over any foreign financial accounts (including bank, securities and other types of financial accounts in a foreign country), if the aggregate value of these financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year, must report those relationships to the U.S. government each calendar year. The government uses this reporting mechanism as a means to uncover hidden foreign accounts and ensure that investment income earned in foreign countries by U.S. taxpayers...

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Are You an Employee or an Independent Contractor?

The distinction has significant implications for both the employer and the employee. Employers like to treat individuals as independent contractors because they avoid having to match the employees’ payroll tax, pay benefits, pay unemployment insurance, etc. This results in a significant savings for employers. When you are an employee, the employer pays you a net amount after making all the required tax withholdings and provides you with a W-2 for tax reporting that shows your taxable wages and details all of the withholding amounts. If you are an...

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Forgot Something on Your Tax Return? It’s Not Too Late to Amend the Return

If you discover that you forgot something on your tax return, you can amend that return after it has been filed. The need to amend can include a number of issues: Receiving an unexpected or amended K-1 from a trust, estate, partnership, or S-corporation. Overlooking an item of income or receiving a corrected 1099. Forgetting about a deducible expense. Forgetting about an expense that would qualify for a tax credit. These are among the many reasons individuals need to amend their returns, whether it is for the just-filed 2011 return or prior year...

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