Question: Does the 10 year collection statute begin when the civil penalties are due?  Or, when the installment agreement has begun?  Or, as in my case, when the installment agreement was reinstated?
Answer: The 10 year Collection Statute Expiration Date (CSED) begins on the ASSESSMENT date, not when the taxes are due and not when you begin an Installment Payment Plan.
There are exceptions to this rule, including if the taxpayer agrees
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I was recently interviewed by Thom Senzee for the San Fernando Valley Business Journal.  We talked about companies that utilize online technologies like webinars and online video to reach customers and educated the public.
In addition to this blog, I Twitter (@taxresolution), author tax help articles, and use YouTube to share helpful income tax relief videos. We use these online channels to educate users on some lesser known facts about tax
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Danny Pang, and Orange County money manager, was  arrested on suspicion of evading currency reporting laws. According to the Los Angeles Times, Pang is accused of bilking investors of hundreds of millions of dollars and has allegedly sought to hide more than $300,000 in cash from the government.
On Monday, Pang’s assets and those of his Irvine company, Private Equity Management Group Inc., were frozen at the request of the
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The IRS just released its strategic plan for fiscal years 2009-2013. The plan outlines how the agency will improve service to taxpayers and enforcement of the law over the next five years.
According to IRS Commissioner Douglas H. Shulman, the agency’s first goal is to make voluntary compliance easier in an effort to maintain the fairest and most effective system of voluntary compliance in the world.
In other words, their goal is
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Thank You! Thank You!
Thanks to YOU, the word is spreading.  Thanks to my clients and friends who graciously referred me to their friends, clients and relatives last month!  I enjoy building my business based on the positive comments and referrals from people just like you.
Lorrie Thomas and Carrie Bergman
 I just couldn’t do it without you!
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I’d Like To Hear From YOU!
Whether you’d like to avoid the IRS, contact the IRS, settle
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I’ve blogged before about the investment fraud loss and deductibility rules outlined in Internal Revenue Code 165, and how the tax code can help victims of investment fraud recoup their losses. Now Madoff victims are hoping to get refunds on past state taxes paid on income from Madoff that they might never have received.
The Los Angeles Times reports that hundreds of Californians, many of them elderly and nearly broke, are
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QUESTION: Some of my income is paid to me in cash.  If I do not report all of it, will the penalty be a fine?
Answer: Whether you underreport some, most, or all of your income, the penalties are severe!  Do not think that the IRS will fine you and that is it!  The IRS will consider you a tax cheat and you will be guilty of tax evasion, even
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Daniel L. French, of Akron, Ohio, was charged with three counts of attempting to evade his personal income taxes and two counts filing false income tax returns for a solely-owned corporation he operated in Macedonia, Ohio.
The first two counts allege French filed false returns for the years 2002 and 2003, which  listed deductions for corporate payments that were in fact disbursements for personal benefit.  These disbursements are alleged to be
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When I was on the BigBiz Show with Russ and Sully ealier this month, we talked about what taxpayers should know about working with the IRS to solve their tax problems.  We also talked about the tough economic times that we’re experiencing and how it’s not so much a Great Depression – but a Great Correction.
And as Sully pointed out, for many Americans, April 15th is not tax filing deadline,
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I was recently the guest tax expert on the BigBiz Show with Russ and Sully earlier this month. I love these guys – they’re hilarious. Plus, I found out that I’m apparently the only guest they’ve had on the show twice!  Listen to the full interview or catch some of the highlights below.
Last time I was on the BigBiz Show, we talked about what people can do if they are
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A San Antonio, Texas, woman was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution to the IRS for her role in a fraudulent tax scheme.
In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Fred Biery ordered that Terrell Diamond be placed under supervised release for a period of three years after completing her prison term.
According to court records, Diamond, along with her
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I recently appeared as the tax expert on Financial Lifeline Radio with hosts Dave Harbison and John March.We talked about all the tax buzz this year. It’s almost become a cultural movement in this bad economy with everyone struggling with tax debt -  we’re seeing all the tax tea parties and stimulus packages making headlines.
Not to mention, it seems like you must have tax problems to be nominated by the
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Victims of dishonest tax return preparers can end up in a world of tax trouble – it’s no wonder return preparer fraud made this year’s IRS Dirty Dozen list of common scams taxpayers should avoid.  The promise of large refunds may be all too tempting in this challenging economy – but taxpayers should still choose their tax preparer wisely.
With IRS enforcement on the rise, struggling taxpayers do not want to
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A recent Los Angeles Times article examined the resentment that’s brewing among Americans who feel that there is a double standard applied to delinquent taxpayers, which appears to favor powerful people like recent Cabinet nominees.
The most highly criticized nominee has been Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who owed $34,000 in back taxes and didn’t pay all of it until Obama nominated him.
His excuse? Geithner told the committee that he prepared his
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Did you pay your taxes this year? You can run, but you can’t hide from the IRS! However, there is hope for struggling taxpayers to resolve back taxes and avoid IRS penalties!
For the millions of Americans who failed to file legally required tax returns, there’s still hope for receiving income tax relief! Even taxpayers who received an extension for filing are not granted more time for the payment of taxes
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