Posts Tagged ‘BozoTaxTips’

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Bozo Tax Tip #1: No Tax Form, No Income!

Friday, April 15th, 2022

A new client was on the phone with me last week:

“Russ, I just found out that I don’t get a tax form for the income I earn.  That means I don’t have to report it, right?”

This individual is filing his first tax returns.  He just graduated college, and is self-employed.  He (thankfully) did keep good books and records, but no one sent him a 1099-NEC (several businesses should have) so his uncle told him he didn’t have to report anything.

Yes, the US has a ‘voluntary’ tax reporting system, but here voluntary doesn’t mean you can skip income without paperwork.  A better word than voluntary is “self-reporting.”  We self-report our income, and the fact that tax paperwork isn’t sent for everything is one of the causes of the tax gap.  As I explained to my client, all income is taxable unless Congress exempts it.  Congress didn’t exempt his self-employment income (indeed, it’s over $100,000).  I asked him if he might want to buy a home in the next two years (which I already knew he did want to do).  I asked him how he was going to qualify for a mortgage without tax returns filed showing income.

I explained to him that his uncle was correct in that many individuals do receive income ‘under the table’ and don’t report it.  I also explained to him that not filing a tax return when you have income is a crime, and you can go to ClubFed for it.  It’s a lot easier to file and pay your taxes and sleep peacefully at night then to do the opposite.  My client agreed, and his return was filed.

Of course, for those who want to live on the edge you can: Ignore income that doesn’t come with tax paperwork.  You may want to remember that if you’re ever audited the IRS might just do a bank account analysis and wonder where those deposits are coming from.

That’s it for this year’s Bozo Tax Tips. We’ll be back with some interesting (I hope) thoughts about Part I of the 2022 Tax Season in a couple of weeks.

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Posted in IRS | Comments Closed

Bozo Tax Tip #2: Anger Your Tax Professional!

Thursday, April 14th, 2022

If you are a tax professional living in Las Vegas, and you’re interested in working for me for the 2023 Tax Season (2022 tax returns filed in 2023)–or you are in Las Vegas and you’re interested in becoming a tax professional–we may have an opening for you.  So why am I starting a post in regards to Bozo Tax Tips with my possibly expanding my staff for 2023?

The reason is the “Great Resignation.”  The tax professional community skews older in age: I saw a statistic that the average age of a tax professional is in the mid-50s.  Finding good tax professionals is not easy (indeed, hiring in any profession isn’t easy), and I’m blessed to have the staff that I do.

From February 1st through the date this post is being written (March 10th), I have been averaging over two inquiries a day into using our services.  Indeed, my next available appointments are in May!  From talks with my friends in the business, they’re seeing the same things: not enough staff, and demand through the roof.

This equates to a seller’s market.  We increased our rates (for 2021 returns prepared in 2022) by 10%, and I’ve already concluded I didn’t raise them enough.  The law of supply and demand holds in every industry: if supply decreases and demand increases, prices go up.  Yes, you’re going to pay more.

So let’s get back to the title of this post: angering your tax professional.  Those who have met me know my salt and pepper hair is now mostly salt.  I enjoy what I do, but I do not enjoy (and have never enjoyed) dealing with misanthropes.  Given the high demand, your tax professional almost certainly feels the same way.  Every year, tax professionals send letters to clients who are about to become former clients because they’re either no longer a fit for them or the tax professional cannot make a profit from them (because they require too much time or will not pay what the tax professional believes to be a fair price).  I’ve sent these in the past, but I never enjoy doing that.  I’m vowing to send some at year-end unless conditions radically change.

The average tax professional is very stressed out.  Dealing with the IRS has been a disaster for the last few years.  The pandemic hasn’t helped in any way.  Congress (and the IRS) have added new regulations and forms (e.g. Schedules K-2/K-3) that add tremendous busy work with little gain.  My Office Manager recently saw me blow up (and I rarely do that).  I have marked a client that he is getting a “Dear Former Valued Client” at year-end because of what he put me through.  (I’d like to send one to Congress, too, but I can’t do that.)

So do not anger your tax professional…unless you want to find a new one.

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Posted in Taxable Talk | Comments Closed

Bozo Tax Tip #3: Ignore Cryptocurrency!

Wednesday, April 13th, 2022

Right underneath your name and address (and your spouse’s name) on Form 1040 is this question:

“At any time during 2021, did you receive, sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any financial interest in any virtual currency?”

All taxpayers must answer this question.  The IRS is basically telling everyone, thou shalt report your cryptocurrency gains and losses. 

It’s clear the IRS means business.  Over the last few years the IRS has successfully enforced summonses against several US-based cryptocurrency exchanges. To date, most IRS enforcement efforts in cryptocurrency have been going toward the low-hanging fruit: individuals who have not reported their cryptocurrency. I do expect the IRS to start looking at auditing large users of crypto. Given Commissioner Rettig’s remarks on the Tax Gap, IRS management clearly believes that there’s a lot of tax dollars to be found in cryptocurrency.

There is one truism, though: If you don’t report your cryptocurrency gains (and losses), you’re violating the law. So if you need to take some time to figure it out before filing your 2021 returns, make an estimate of your gains (or losses) and file an extension. Or you can choose the Bozo behavior of ignoring your cryptocurrency.

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Posted in Cryptocurrencies | Comments Closed

Bozo Tax Tip #4: They Shoot Jaywalkers, Don’t They?

Tuesday, April 12th, 2022

I have, unfortunately, become quite competent in the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. That form is better known as the FBAR. It used to have the form number TD F 90-22.1 (yes, it really did) but now goes by Form 114. The form must be filed online through the BSAefiling center of FINCEN, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

You must file an FBAR if you have $10,000 aggregate at any time during the year. The report for 2021 is due October 15th (it has a due date of April 15th with an automatic extension to October 15th).

The form is fairly simple and straightforward: Note every foreign financial account you have with name, address, account number, and maximum balance at any time during the past year. Let’s say you have one foreign account, a bank account at the Royal Bank of Canada. You would take your maximum balance and convert it to US dollars from Canadian dollars (you should use the Fiscal Service’s year-end exchange rates to determine the balance in US dollars no matter when the high balance was). The form must be electronically filed and is filed separately from your tax return.

The penalties for not filing it are quite high. Willful non-filing has a minimum penalty of $100,000 or half the balance in the account–and that’s per account! There’s also possible jail time.

So what must be reported:
– Foreign Bank accounts;
– Bank accounts outside the US of a US financial institution;
– Foreign financial accounts where all you have is signature authority;
– Foreign securities accounts;
– Foreign mutual funds;
– Foreign life insurance with a cash or annuity value; and
– Online gambling accounts if outside the US.

There are others, too.

The IRS does have a chart that lists most things that need reporting on the FBAR and Form 8938. Form 8938 is the “cousin” of the FBAR; this form needs to be filed if you have larger balances in foreign accounts.

Millions of FBARs are filed each year. When I started in tax, filing an FBAR was a huge audit red flag; that’s no longer the case. There are just too many FBARs filed. Do note that if you have an FBAR filing requirement you must note that in question 7 at the bottom of Schedule B.

To end this with some humor, one of my pet peeves in dealing with taxes is that there are three different sets of abbreviations for foreign counties used in tax. The FBAR has one set; question 7 at the bottom of Schedule B has another set, and Form 8938 has a third set. Some countries are noted identically while others are not. On one of of the abbreviations Curacao is “CU” while that means Cuba in another.

In any case, the FBAR is no laughing matter. The IRS’s mantra here is to shoot jaywalkers. Don’t become such a person: If you have an FBAR filing requirement, file it! Again, the FBAR is effectively due on October 15th.

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Posted in FINCEN | Comments Closed

Bozo Tax Tip #5: Procrastinate!

Monday, April 11th, 2022

Today is April 11th. The tax deadline is just seven days away.

What happens if you wake up and it’s April 18, 2022, and you can’t file your tax? File an extension. Download Form 4868, make an estimate of what you owe, pay that, and mail the voucher and check to the address noted for your state. Use certified mail, return receipt, of course. And don’t forget your state income tax. Some states have automatic extensions (California does), some don’t (Pennsylvania is one of those), while others have deadlines that don’t match the federal tax deadline (Hawaii state taxes are due on April 20th, for example). Automatic extensions are of time to file, not pay, so download and mail off a payment to your state, too. If you mail your extension, make sure you mail it certified mail, return receipt requested. (You can do that from most Automated Postal Centers, too.)

By the way, I strongly suggest you electronically file the extension. The IRS will happily take your extension electronically; many (but not all) states will, too.  If you make an extension payment on IRS Direct Pay (using “Extension” as  the reason for the payment), the IRS will file an extension for you.

But what do you do if you wait until April 19th? Well, get your paperwork together so you can file as quickly as possible and avoid even more penalties. Penalties escalate, so unless you want 25% penalties, get everything ready and see your tax professional next week. He’ll have time for you, and you can leisurely complete your return and only pay one week of interest, one month of the Failure to Pay penalty (0.5% of the tax due), and one month of the Failure to File Penalty (5% of the tax due).

There is a silver lining in all of this. If you are owed a refund and haven’t filed, you will likely receive interest from the IRS. Yes, interest works both ways: The IRS must pay interest on late-filed returns owed refunds. Just one note about that: the interest is taxable.

(Note: If you reside in Massachusetts or Maine, your tax filing deadline for 2021 returns is Tuesday, April 19th.  Thanks to Patriot’s Day you get an extra day this year to file your tax returns and/or extensions.)

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Posted in IRS, Maine, Massachusetts | Comments Closed

Bozo Tax Tip #6: The $0.58 Solution

Friday, April 8th, 2022

With Tax Day fast approaching it’s time to examine yet another Bozo method of courting disaster. And it doesn’t, on the surface, seem to be a Bozo method. After all, this organization has the motto, Neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night can stay these messengers about their duty.

Well, that’s not really the Postal Service’s motto. It’s just the inscription on the General Post Office in New York (at 8th Avenue and 33rd Street).

So assume you have a lengthy, difficult return. You’ve paid a professional good money to get it done. You go to the Post Office, put proper postage on it, dump it in the slot (on or before April 18th), and you’ve just committed a Bozo act.

If you use the Postal Service to mail your tax returns, spend the extra money for certified mail. For $3.75 you can purchase certified mail. Yes, you will have to stand in a line (or you can use the automated machines in many post offices), but you now have a receipt that verifies that you have mailed your return.

About fourteen years ago one of my clients saved $2.42 (I think that was the cost of a certified mail piece then) and sent his return in with a $0.37 stamp. It never made it. He ended up paying nearly $1,000 in penalties and interest…but he did save $2.42.

Don’t be a Bozo. E-File (and you don’t have to worry at all about the Post Office), or spend the $3.75! And you can go all out and spend $3.05 and get a return receipt, too (though you can now track certified mail online). For another $1.85, you can get the postal service to e-mail the confirmation that the IRS got the return (for the OCD in the crowd). There’s a reason every client letter notes, “using certified mail, return receipt requested.”

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Posted in IRS | Comments Closed

Bozo Tax Tip #7: Only Income Earned Outside the United States Is Taxable

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

A few days ago I was explaining to a client the basics of the US Tax Code: All income is taxable unless Congress exempts it; nothing is deducible unless Congress allows it. That’s the basics.

My office is in Las Vegas, Nevada. I’m a US citizen. So I owe US income tax on my earnings, right? Of course I do. But where few willingly go the Bozo contingent jumps in. Here’s a method of avoiding tax on all your income. It’s been used by celebrities such as Wesley Snipes. So let’s use Section 861 of the Tax Code to avoid tax!

Section 861 states that certain items are always considered as income from within the United States. It does not say that income earned in the US is exempt from tax. But tax protesters claim that’s the case; courts, though, basically state, ‘You must be kidding.’ This argument has never been used successfully. In an audit or in court, if you use the Section 861 argument you have no chance of success.

The US taxes its citizens on their worldwide income. That includes the United States. Indeed, if that weren’t the case I’d be out of a job. Mr. Snipes received three years at ClubFed. In the long-run it’s far, far easier to simply pay your tax.

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Posted in International | Comments Closed

Bozo Tax Tip #8: Nevada Corporations (or LLCs)

Wednesday, April 6th, 2022

As we continue with our Bozo Tax Tips–things you absolutely, positively shouldn’t do but somewhere someone will try anyway–it’s time for an old favorite. Given the business and regulatory climate in California, lots of businesses are trying to escape taxes by becoming a Nevada business entity. While I’m focusing on California and Nevada, the principle applies to any pair of states.

Nevada is doing everything it can to draw businesses from California. Frankly, California is doing a lot to draw businesses away from the Bronze Golden State. But just like last year you need to beware if you’re going to incorporate in Nevada.

If the corporation (or LLC) operates in California it will need to file a California tax return. Period. It doesn’t matter if the corporation (or LLC) is a California corporation/LLC, a Delaware corporation/LLC, or a Nevada corporation/LLC.

Now, if you’re planning on moving to Nevada forming a business entity in the Silver State can be a very good idea (as I know). But thinking you’re going to avoid California taxes just because you’re a Nevada entity is, well, bozo.

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Posted in California, Nevada | Comments Closed

Bozo Tax Tip #9: Move Without Moving!

Tuesday, April 5th, 2022

Over ten years ago, we moved from Irvine, California to Las Vegas. The home in Irvine was sold, a home was purchased in Las Vegas, and the belongings went from the Golden State to the Silver State. Cars were re-registered, doctors changed, and no one would say that we didn’t become Las Vegas residents.

But some people like to have it both ways. Nevada’s income tax rate is a very round number (0%), while California’s maximum income tax rate is a ridiculous (in my opinion) 13.3%. That certainly could drive individuals to move in name only. California’s Franchise Tax Board (FTB) realizes that, and they (along with New York State) lead the country in residency audits.

If you really do relocate, a residency audit is a minor annoyance. But let’s say you reside in Silicon Valley, and you buy a home in Reno but keep your home in Los Altos. Did you move? Or did you just move in name?

The Bozo strategy is the latter: moving in name only. I’ll just have that little home in Reno, spend the ski season in Nevada but really continue to live in Los Altos.

In a residency audit, the FTB will look at where you’re actually spending time, where you’re spending money (if eight months of the year you’re patronizing businesses in Silicon Valley, it doesn’t look like you really moved), and a variety of other factors. (The FTB has an excellent Residency and Sourcing Manual that explains California laws on the subject.)

Given the pandemic and a possible recession later this year, state revenues may be squeezed. The one government agency where increasing employees increases revenues is the tax agency (especially employees in audit). While I expect to see states cut employees, I’ll be surprised to see anything but minor cuts in tax agencies. We’re also likely to see an increase in audits looking at telecommuting issues. In any case, if you move in name only you’re painting a target on your back for a residency audit.

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Posted in California, New York | Comments Closed

Bozo Tax Tip #10: Email Your Social Security Number (or EIN)!

Monday, April 4th, 2022

It’s time for our annual rundown of Bozo Tax Tips, strategies that you really, really, really shouldn’t try. But somewhere, somehow, someone will try these. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

This is a repeat for the ninth year in a row, but it’s one that bears repeating. Unfortunately, the problem of identity theft has burgeoned, and while the IRS’s response has improved, that’s just an improvement from awful to mediocre.  (If you try to reach the IRS’s Identity Protection Unit via the phone, you likely have a 1% chance of your call getting through.)

I have some clients who are incredibly smart. They make me look stupid (and I’m not). Yet a few of these otherwise intelligent individuals persist in Bozo behavior: They consistently send me their tax documents by email.

Seriously, use common sense! Would you post your social security number on a billboard? That’s what you’re doing when you email your social security number.

We use a web portal for secure loading and unloading of documents and secure communications to our clients. As I tell my clients, email is fast but it’s not secure. It’s fine to email your tax professional things that are not confidential. That said, social security numbers and most income information is quite confidential. Don’t send those through email unless you want to be an identity theft victim or want others to know how much money you make!

If I send an email to my brother, it might go in a straight line to him. It also might go via Anaheim, Azusa, and Cucamonga. At any one of these stops it could be intercepted and looked at by someone else. Would you post your social security number on a billboard in your community? If you wouldn’t, and I assume none of you would, why would you ever email anything with your social security number?

A friend told me, “Well, I’m not emailing my social, I’m just attaching my W-2 to the email.” An attachment is just as likely to be read as an email. Just say no to emailing your social security number.

The same issue holds for a business’s Employer Identification Number (EIN).  These should be treated like your individual social security number: send them using only a secure method.

If you’re not Internet savvy, hand the documents to your tax professional or use the postal service, FedEx, or UPS to deliver the documents, or fax the documents. (If you fax, make sure your tax professional has a secure fax machine.) If you like using the Internet to submit your tax documents, make sure your tax professional offers you a secure means to do so. It might be called a web portal, a file transfer service, or perhaps something else. The name isn’t as important as the concept.

Unfortunately, the IRS’s ability to handle identity theft is, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate, poor. So don’t add to the problem—communicate in a secure fashion to your tax professional.

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Posted in Tax Preparation | Comments Closed

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