by Fresh Start Tax | Jun 29, 2012 | Tax News
More work for the IRS. Obama is putting them to work again in 2016 collecting unpaid heath care tax
So what is the taxing truth in regard to the IRS and the New Obama Care Plan?
When the law was before Congress, Obama and Democrats avoided calling its penalty for going uninsured a “tax.” But the Obama administration argued before the Supreme Court that the law was constitutional as a Federal Tax.
The Supreme rejected two other Obama administration arguments for the law but accepted the tax one. Strange!
In 2016, after the law is fully in place, about 4 million people will pay the penalty to the Internal Revenue Service for being uninsured, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated.
These taxpayers will pay $695 per uninsured adult or 2.5 percent of family income, up to $12,500 per year.
The IRS can’t prosecute violators or place federal tax liens against them, however.
Its seems there only enforcement option may be withholding money from refunds.
The bottom line, IRS will place hold indicators on there computer system to freeze all refunds.
After a while taxpayers will figure that one out and simple adjust there W-4’s.
by Fresh Start Tax | Jun 27, 2012 | FBAR, IRS Tax Problem, Representation, Tax Help, Tax Lawyer, Tax News
If you need IRS tax help to solve a IRS tax problem cause by the new FBAR requirements call Fresh Start Tax L.L.C. today for tax representation and never speak to the IRS.
Call us today for a free tax consult – 1-866-700-1040
We have a World Wide Tax Practice with years of tax experience.
We are affordable and accessible.
We are staffed with Tax Attorneys, CPA’s and Former IRS agents. We have over 205 years of professional tax experience and over 60 years of working directly for the IRS.
We taught Tax Law at the IRS.
The Offshore Program FBAR
The new program launched by the Federal Government is raising hoards of revenue for the Federal Government.
The IRS has announced that efforts Tops $5 Billion.
New Details:
There are new details on the Voluntary Disclosure Program and Closing of Offshore Loophole
The new details regarding the voluntary disclosure program announced in January, including tightening the eligibility requirements.
The IRS is pressing very hard on the FBAR issue because of the large dollars on the table.
It is the most productive program in the history of the IRS.
IRS Statement:
“We continue to make strong progress in our international compliance efforts that help ensure honest taxpayers are not footing the bill for those hiding assets offshore,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “People are finding it tougher and tougher to keep their assets hidden in offshore accounts.”
Shulman said the IRS offshore voluntary disclosure programs have so far resulted in the collection of more than $5 billion in back taxes, interest and penalties from 33,000 voluntary disclosures made under the first two programs. In addition, another 1,500 disclosures have been made under the new program announced in January.
Voluntary Disclosure Program
The voluntary disclosure programs are part of a wider effort by the IRS to stop offshore tax evasion and ensure tax compliance. This includes beefed up enforcement, criminal prosecution and implementation of third-party reporting through the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
Loophole:
The IRS also closed a loophole that’s been used by some taxpayers with offshore accounts. Under existing law, if a taxpayer challenges in a foreign court the disclosure of tax information by that government, the taxpayer is required to notify the U.S. Justice Department of the appeal.
The IRS said that if the taxpayer fails to comply with this law and does not notify the U.S. Justice Department of the foreign appeal, the taxpayer will no longer be eligible for the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP). The IRS also put taxpayers on notice that their eligibility for OVDP could be terminated once the U.S. government has taken action in connection with their specific financial institution.
OVDP
Additional details of these eligibility issues are available in a new set of questions and answers released today on the current OVDP, which was announced in January (see IR-2012-5). The IRS reopened the OVDP following continued strong interest from taxpayers and tax practitioners after the closure of the 2011 and 2009 programs.
This program – which helps bring people back into the tax system — will be open for an indefinite period until otherwise announced. The program is similar to the 2011 program in many ways, but with a few key differences. Unlike last year, there is no set deadline for people to apply. However, the terms of the program could change at any time going forward.
Under the current OVDP, the offshore penalty has been raised to 27.5 percent from 25 percent in the 2011 program. The reduced penalty categories of 5 percent and 12.5 percent are still available.
The IRS also announced a plan to help U.S. citizens residing overseas to catch up with tax filing obligations and assistance for people with foreign retirement plan issues.
by Fresh Start Tax | Jun 18, 2012 | IRS Notice or Letter, IRS Tax Debt, IRS Tax Problem, Representation, Tax Help, Tax Lawyer, Tax News
Not All IRS Tax Assessments Are Valid!
Let former IRS Agents and Appeals agent determine whether the IRS has properly assessed your tax liability.
The validity if tax assessments or tax bills.
The IRS may be correct that you owe additional income taxes; but if the assessment was not made according to the Internal Revenue Code, the IRS is not authorized to collect it. The IRS does make mistakes in assessing taxes due to procedural errors on its part. Also, the IRS must make the assessment of the additional tax before the assessment statute has expired.
When the IRS determines that your income tax liability should be increased, the Internal Revenue Code requires that IRS assess the additional tax. The “assessment of tax” is the posting of the additional tax to your tax account for that specific tax year. The Internal Revenue Code provides various procedures for assessing taxes. The most common method for assessment is for the IRS to solicit from the taxpayer a signed Form 870 or Form 4549. After these signed forms have been received by the IRS, the IRS then has the authority to make the assessment of the additional tax against the taxpayer.
Another form that gives the IRS the authority to assess the additional tax is Form 870-AD, when a case is under the jurisdiction of the Appeals Division. The Form 870-AD becomes valid for the purpose to assess tax only after the taxpayer signs and the IRS executes (signs) the form. If the IRS makes the assessment based on Form 870-AD that has not been executed, the assessment is not valid.
The IRS can also make an assessment after the taxpayer signs a decision document and is properly signed by the IRS Area Counsel Attorney when the case is in docketed status before the Tax Court. Also there are specific periods of time that the assessment is prohibited and specific periods of time that the assessment can be made by the IRS. If the decision document is not properly signed by the IRS Area Counsel Attorney or the assessment is made during the period that the assessment is prohibited or after the assessment is allowed, then the assessment is not valid.
The least common method that authorizes the IRS to make an assessment is when the taxpayer signs Form 866 (Agreement as to Final Determination of Tax Liability). If the Form 866 is not executed by the proper IRS official (signed), the assessment is not valid.
It should be noted that if the taxpayer signs Form 906 (Determination Covering Specific Matters), the Form 906 by itself does not authorize the IRS to assess the additional tax attributable to the specific matters of the closing agreement. The IRS is still required to either solicit a signed agreement form such as an 870, 4549 or and 870-AD. Should the taxpayer refuse to sign any of these agreement forms, the IRS must then issue a Notice of Deficiency and should the taxpayer then file a petition to Tax Court, he would be precluded from contesting the issues found in the Form 906 in Tax Court.
When the taxpayer does not agree to a proposed assessment, the IRS issues a Notice of Deficiency (more commonly known as the 90 day letter) which authorizes the IRS to assess the additional tax after the expiration of the 90 day period, if the taxpayer does not petition Tax Court. An important fact to remember is if the IRS does not mail the Notice of Deficiency to the last known address, the assessment based on the defaulted Notice of Deficiency (that means that the taxpayer did not file a petition to Tax Court within the 90 day period) is not valid.
If the assessment is not valid, the IRS is required by law to reverse out the invalid assessment. It is up to you, to raise the issue with the IRS that the assessment is not valid. If the assessment statute has expired, the IRS will no longer be able to assess the additional tax. In the other hand, if the assessment statute is still open, then the IRS can properly assess the additional tax by soliciting an agreement form from the taxpayer or issue a Notice of Deficiency. The correct strategy is to raise the invalid assessment issue only after the assessment statute has expired; thus, the IRS would be precluded from assessing the increase in tax.
Let us at Fresh Start Tax review your case. Our experienced staff of former IRS Examiners and Appeals Officers will evaluate your case and determine whether you should raise the issue that the assessment is invalid and demand that the IRS reverse the invalid assessment.
Many assessments of tax attributable to the taxpayer’s flow through adjustments from partnerships are not valid due to procedural errors on the part of the IRS. The assessment of tax attributable to a taxpayer’s share of partnership items is a complex area of tax law that even the IRS makes many errors in its application.
Let Former IRS agents get you the tax relief you need on your back taxes.
Fresh Start Tax L.L.C. is one of the premier tax resolution firms in the country. We deal with all types of civil cases including individuals, businesses, non-profits, partnerships and corporations. We have staff that specialize in every facet of IRS Tax Representation.
We know all the IRS tax strategies because of our extensive IRS working backgrounds. We were Former IRS Certified Tax Instructors that taught IRS Tax Law in the IRS Regional Training Center. Some of our many specialties include the following:
Areas of Professional Tax Practice:
- Same Day IRS Tax Representation
- Offers in Compromise or IRS Tax Debt Settlements
- Immediate Release of IRS Bank Levies or IRS Wage Garnishments
- Tax Relief from a IRS Bill, Letter or Notice of “Intent to Levy”
- IRS Tax Audits
- IRS Hardships Cases or Unable to Pay
- Payment Plans, Installment Agreements, Structured agreements
- Abatement of Penalties and Interest
- State Sales Tax Cases
- Payroll / Trust Fund Penalty Cases / 6672
- Filing Late, Back, Unfiled Tax Returns
- Tax Return Reconstruction if Tax Records are lost or destroyed
Our Company Resume: ( Since 1982 )
- Our staff has collectively over 205 years of Professional IRS Tax Representation Experience
- On staff, Board Certified Tax Attorney’s, IRS Tax Lawyers, Certified Public Accountants, Enrolled Agents,
- We taught Tax Law in the IRS Regional Training Center
- Former IRS Agents, Managers and Instructors with over 60 years experience in the local, district and regional IRS offices.
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by Fresh Start Tax | May 3, 2012 | IRS Tax Problem, Owe Payroll Taxes, Tax Lawyer, Tax News
941 payroll taxes, change is here!!!!
If you have payroll tax issues call us today to work out tax settlement. Former IRS agents know the effective tax strategies.
New Tax Legislation for Payroll Tax signed into Law.
This is Great News and a long time coming. finally some middle class tax relief coming our way.
This past Feb. 22, President Barack Obama finally signed into law the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, H.R. 3630.
On Feb. 23, the IRS released a revised Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, to reflect the extended payroll tax cut. I never thought i would live too see the day.
This act extends the 4.2% rate for the employee portion of Social Security Tax through the end of 2012.
It also extends certain unemployment benefits and blocks a cut in Medicare Payments to doctors. This act also repeals earlier-enacted shifts in the timing of corporate estimated tax payments.
The act raises revenue through an auction of the spectrum of public airwaves, currently reserved for television, to allow for more wireless Internet systems.
A 2% recapture tax enacted in the December legislation that extended the payroll tax cut through Feb. 29, which effectively capped the amount of wages eligible for the payroll tax cut at $18,350, was also repealed by the act.
If you need to have questions answered or have any IRS tax issues call our team of Tax Attorneys, CPA’s of Former IRS Agents.
by Fresh Start Tax | May 1, 2012 | Tax News
Tax Fraud, Identity Theft- What were they thinking?
What could they possibly be thinking? If true, two NFL players could face some serious prison time in the Federal Penitentiary. The stripes they will be seeing will not be the referee’s but the ones they will be wearing and the numbers they will be wearing will be a lot longer.
The two ex-NFL players charged with defrauding the federal government and ID theft are:
1.William Joseph, a University of Miami defensive tackle drafted in the first round by the New York Giants in 2003,
2. Michael Bennett, a University of Wisconsin running back also drafted in the first round by the Minnesota Vikings in 2001.
3. Louis simply, who starred at Miami Jackson High and Syracuse University as a defensive lineman, was signed as a free agent by the New England Patriots in 2004. But he never made the final roster. simply played in 2005 for NFL Europe’s Frankfurt Galaxy.
The Fed’s will be taking no prisoners and will probably make an example of these former NFL players. The IRS, Congress and different government agencies have been cracking down on the over 900,000 cases of tax fraud and fraudulent filings.
I do not expect any mercy to take place. This can bring instant notoriety to the Feds and the implementation of the nationwide program to cut down on this new wave of crime that has effected close to one million persons. With tax fraud and identity theft on a all time high, everyone will be closely watching.
If true, ( alleged only at this time ) I see a plea deal transpiring. The IRS problem will be the least of their worries. Hope they have a good tax attorney.
by admin | Mar 27, 2012 | Representation, Tax News
Need professional tax help to prepare your tax return. You should be using former IRS Agents who know all the possible rules and regs to get you the most favorable tax position.
There are certain Tax Rules can affect Your child’s investment income. Check with us to make sure your tax return is not flagged for a IRS tax audit.
Many parents may not realize that there are tax rules that may affect their child’s investment income.
Four Major Rules that may apply:
1. Investment Income.
Children with investment income may have part or all of this income taxed at their parents’ tax rate rather than at the child’s rate. Investment income includes interest, dividends, capital gains and other unearned income. Call us to check for other types of unearned income.
2. Age requirements.
The child’s tax must be figured using the parents’ rates if the child has investment income of more than $1,900 and meets one of three age requirements for 2011:
1. Was under age 18 at the end of the year,
2. Was age 18 at the end of the year and did not have earned income that was more than half of his or her support, or
3. Was a full-time student over age 18 and under age 24 at the end of the year and did not have earned income that was more than half of his or her support.
3. Form 8615 To figure the child’s tax using the parents’ rate for the child’s return, fill out Form 8615, Tax for Certain Children Who Have Investment Income of More Than $1,900, and attach it to the child’s federal income tax return.
4. Form 8814.
When certain conditions are met, a parent may be able to avoid having to file a tax return for the child by including the child’s income on the parent’s tax return. In this situation, the parent would file Form 8814, Parents’ Election To Report Child’s Interest and Dividends.
If you need any tax help help for any tax matter or IRS situation call us today.
Fresh Start Tax 1-866-700-1040
