Category Archives: IRS

Math Is Hard, IRS Addition

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Russ

This time I couldn’t resist. A client received an IRS CP2000 notice. This is an Automated Underreporting Unit (AUR) notice, designed to look for things such as matching errors. In this case, a client didn’t include his dividend income on … Continue reading →

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The Most Terrifying Words in the English Language Strike Again

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Russ

One of my favorite quotes is from President Ronald Reagan: The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help. Yet another instance of this appears to be striking with the IRS. … Continue reading →

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Math Is Hard, IRS Edition

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Russ

I was so, so tempted to write, “Math Is Hard, IRS Addition,” but I held off. Why? Because it turns out that it wasn’t 104,000 people who were victimized in last year’s “Get Transcript” hack, nor was it 334,000 taxpayers. … Continue reading →

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Mr. Trump Has Trouble With the Truth

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Russ

Presidential candidate Donald Trump has stated that he cannot release his tax records because he’s under audit. He’s wrong. His tax records are his own, he can post them on billboards, websites, or anywhere else he’d like to. As the … Continue reading →

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IRS Must Pay Fees in Civil Forfeiture Case

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Russ

I’m a huge fan of the Institute for Justice. Last week, the Institute for Justice won a case for a man who had $107,702.66 seized from him. Last May, Lyndon McLellan won the right to get back his $107,702.66 that … Continue reading →

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Good News on the Practitioner Priority Service (PPS)

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Russ

It was with fear and trepidation that I picked up my phone and dialed the IRS’s Practitioner Priority Service (PPS). This is the telephone number that tax professionals use to obtain information from the IRS. Over the past year and … Continue reading →

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IRS Computers Crash

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Russ

2015 was a year the IRS would like to forget. Unfortunately, 2016 may be heading the same way. Yesterday, the IRS had a computer failure impacting multiple systems. Those systems are still down this morning (as of 6:30am PST). The … Continue reading →

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FTB’s New MyFTB Impresses; Will the IRS Take Heed?

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Russ

Submitting a Power of Attorney form to the IRS means I must fax the form to the IRS’s Centralized Authorization File (CAF) unit and hope that the POA is entered in timely. A few years ago authorized e-services providers (which … Continue reading →

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1099 Time for 2016

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Russ

It’s time for businesses to send out their annual information returns. These are the Form 1099s that are sent to to vendors when required. Let’s look first at who does not have to receive 1099s: Corporations (except attorneys) Entities you … Continue reading →

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IRS Errs on Identity Theft PIN Letters

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Russ

One would think that the IRS proofed important letters and notices before they’re finalized. That didn’t happen with IRS Notice CP 01A, the notice used when sending out an Identity Theft PIN (personal identification number). The IRS announcement is reproduced … Continue reading →

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