This was a busy week in tax relief and IRS news. The stories that caught our attention ranged from how long to keep IRS tax records, to celebrity tax woes and finding tax debt solutions to the pro’s and cons of IRS prepared returns.
This week started with a helpful post titled: Tax Relief Tips for How Long to Keep IRS Records. A general rule of thumb guideline suggests that
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Recently, I have been asked for my thoughts on the IRS’ proposal to pre-filled tax returns. Under a proposed system, the IRS would pre-fill taxpayers’ returns with the data employers and financial institutions have already reported. I came across a Forbes article titled: “Are IRS Prepared Tax Returns the Solution to our Tax Woes?“ that presented a decent overview of what such a system would mean for taxpayers, tax preparers and
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Apparently, Lauryn Hill’s “Miseducation” may relate to how badly she handled her IRS tax problems. According to Accounting Today’s article titled: Fugees Singer Lauryn Hill Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion, Hill was sentenced Monday to three months in prison plus three months home confinement for failing to file tax returns for five years and not reporting more than $2.3 million in income. The article explains the terms of her
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I wrote a post for the Tax Matters blog post about a recent report that revealed higher IRS audit rates in five major metropolitan areas. The culprits: small businesses attempting to tax dodge. An article by the Los Angeles Times titled “Los Angeles, San Francisco top cities for tax dodgers, study says” cites a new study from the National Taxpayer Advocate that analyzed IRS data of five metropolitan areas: San
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With just 13 days until Tax Day, I thought many of you might need some tax relief humor. The article from @TodayMoney titled: “Happy birthday, modern tax system: 100 toasts and roasts“ could be just what the accountant ordered if you are agonizing over preparing your taxes. Here are some historical points of interest from the article about how our current tax system came into existence:

The current tax system was formalized
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Sometimes the government does things that make you want to shake your head. This post is about one of those instances. The Today Show reported in a segment titled “Live Long and Squander?” that the IRS is under fire for two training videos in particular a “Star Trek” parody the Agency thought would be good for employee training. NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell reports that a congressional committee was angry about the
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I wrote a Tax Matters post last week on the news that 311,566 federal workers (including retirees) owe over $3.5 billion in back taxes. Many of the details came from both Forbes and MSN who reported on this story. While this topic is quite galling in many respects, the simple fact remains; more government employees with presumably decent incomes are struggling to pay their tax debt and need tax relief.
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An article by Forbes titled “11 Changes You Must Know Before Filing Your Tax Return for 2012” reminds us that the recent changes to the tax code could affect many of us and our wallets this tax season. Here are eleven important changes that the article highlights:

Payroll Tax Credit for Self-Employed Taxpayers
W-2 Forms Changed This Year Due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
2010 Roth Conversions May Be Subject to Tax
Tax
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As previously mentioned, I will continue posting client success stories and testimonials to inspire taxpayers with IRS tax problems to take the first steps to get the income tax relief they need. Waiting only makes matters worse.
Good people can have bad circumstances happened to them, often through no fault of their own. When those troubles involve tax debt, their biggest obstacle becomes financial: they have no money to pay their enormous
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I wrote a post on the Tax Matters blog about tax protesters and how their frivolous tax defense against the IRS is a losing battle. Evidence of that is celebrity tax protester, Wesley Snipes who is currently serving a three year prison sentence for willfully refusing to file and pay millions in taxes for years 1999 through 2001. A recent Forbes article titled: “Are Tax Protesters Actually Winning?” examined just
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Last week I was quoted in The Fiscal Times article “Tax Hell: New Laws, New Reasons to Hire an Expert” by Steve Yoder. The article mentions Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olson’s recent report to Congress that is critical of the burden the current tax system places on taxpayers, specifically on tax return preparation. Olson laments that the tax code is so complex, its burden essentially “requires” taxpayers to use their own
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If you are facing IRS tax issues, you may think your seemingly insurmountable IRS problems can never be resolved. But what you don’t realize is that others, often with similar situations and anxieties to yours, have successfully resolved theirs and are sharing their stories.
In a recent episode of the national network television show, TaxMan, I interviewed a former client and business owner, Stuart, who was blindsided by an IRS letter
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Last week, the National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina E. Olson, released her 2012 annual report to Congress where she suggested the need for tax reform as the priority number one for the tax administration. Other important tax problems Olson mentions are the following:

How the IRS is not adequately funded to properly serve taxpayers and collect taxes due to chronic underfunding.
How the IRS has not been affective in assisting victims of tax-related
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The IRS has officially announced it will open the tax filing season and begin accepting 2012 tax returns on January 30th. The original opening of tax season was to be January 22nd as that was the date last year 80% of taxpayers e-filed. As I mentioned in a previous post there would be a filing delay for taxpayers especially ones affected by the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). The IRS memo
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Now that the “fiscal cliff” crisis has been averted and the dust is settling, we see that taxes for most Americans are going up. The wealthy 2% will see their tax rates increase and the other 98% will see their taxes rise because the payroll tax cut just ended.
A CNN Money article titled: “How Much More Will You Pay” provides a useful chart from the Tax Policy Center showing how
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