Category Archives: IRS

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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It’s Only Wrong by Three Days

Posted on January 3, 2016 by Russ

Friday’s Las Vegas Review-Journal included a free calendar (with a retail price of $2). Remember the cliche, “You get what you pay for”? Well, that was definitely the case with this free calendar. Highlighted on Friday, April 15 is “Tax … Continue reading →

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IRS: We’ll Trust You on Health Insurance for 2015 Because…

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Russ

Earlier today I saw a tweet from Joe Kristan: New Notice 2016-4 extends deadline to provide employee 1095-B and -C copies from 2/1/16 to 3/31/16; 2/29 IRS copy deadline moved to 5/31/16 — Joe Kristan (@joebwan) December 28, 2015 The … Continue reading →

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Tax Season to Open on January 19th

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Russ

The IRS announced today that the 2016 Tax Season (for filing 2015 tax returns) will begin on Tuesday, January 19th. The tax deadline will be Monday, April 18th (for federal individual returns) except for taxpayers in Maine and Massachusetts–they get … Continue reading →

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Once Again, the IRS Doesn’t Start by Calling You

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Russ

My mother received a phone call on Saturday morning at 6 am from “Agent Smith” of the IRS demanding immediate payment of her taxes or she would find herself “thrown in jail.” Yes, the scamsters are still out there. Now … Continue reading →

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