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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As Tax Day April 15th draws near, I will be reaching into archive blog posts to gather useful and informative posts that can help taxpayers avoid IRS issues and find tax relief. Today’s topic: small business tax audits.
In a previous post and TaxMan episode for the Big Biz Show, I discussed how small business owners often make themselves targets for harmful tax audits citing a tragic story of business owners
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The IRS has been busting celebrities. But you and your neighbors aren’t safe from the taxman either.
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O.J. Simpson will be remembered for many things.
He was a football player.
He was a product spokesman and actor.
He was an accused murderer who was found not guilty in a criminal trial only to be found guilty later in a civil one.
He was an armed robber who went after sports memorabilia.
But there’s one more thing
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Happy Friday! It’s time for a review of this week’s mixed bag of tax relief topics:
Currently Not-Collectable Status – Status 53
A new video from the Tax Man series explains how Currently Not-Collectable Status works for taxpayers having trouble with tax debt repayment because their current expenses are higher than their income. Currently Not-Collectable Status gives these folks time (sometimes up to two years) whereby they are not obligated to
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According to a new article by the Los Angeles Times, the IRS is increasing the number of audits on taxpayers making over  $1 million a year.  In the article titled Big earners more likely to face audits by Tiffany Hsu, the majority of audits done by the IRS are done on those making $1 million and very rarely on anyone making under $20 k a year. Hsu states that in
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With the holidays approaching, it’s a good time to take stock and consider your taxes and financial life — and take time to correct the mistakes.
Thanksgiving just passed, and the holiday season is now upon us.
That means the year is almost over, and with it another tax year.
You’ve been here before, many times actually. We all have. But now is the time — this is the year — to start
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Are wealthy Americans shuffling around the states in the attempt to gain some tax relief? In an article on MarylandReporter.com, Len Lazarick interviews a man who explains that his future move to Florida is not just an attempt to avoid the cooler climate. In the article, Tax flight a reality for Frederick business owner, Lazarick quotes Mark Graver, a Maryland native and a man with high financial success (earning over
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Any tax audit by the IRS should be taken seriously.  Ironically, it was tax audits of multiple returns that led the IRS to a corrupt individual and his company who were falsely preparing tax returns for others.�
A federal court has barred Eddie Madrigal of San Antonio, Texas, from preparing federal tax returns for others. The government complaint alleged that Madrigal and his company prepared tax returns for customers that claimed
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When someone is being subjected to an IRS tax audit, they may feel defensive, even if they are not guilty of tax evasion or owing back taxes.  They also may feel bitter about the large amount of time they will spend responding to the tax audit and defending their tax history.  In their frustration, they may ask “why are tax audits necessary?!”   Although the person in the scenario above may be
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Did you manage to file your taxes by the deadline? Perhaps you squeezed in your returns at the last minute? According to MarketWatch.com filling has gone down by 3% in the first week of April compared to that time last year.  This means that less people are filing legally required tax returns due to the current economy. Because more people than ever are struggling to pay their taxes, they will
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Tax resolution scams are on the rise as unethical tax relief companies are taking advantage of the increased number of taxpayers under threat of IRS audits and back taxes.
Because the IRS is increasing enforcement to unprecedented levels, there’s been an increase in the number of unethical tax resolution scams preying on people who owe back taxes. This year we’ve already seen rising numbers of consumer complaints about tax resolution scams.
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I believe that some people evade taxes because they fear that the taxes, or back taxes, they owe will be more than they can handle.   As I’ve blogged about tax evasion over and over again, one can only get away with tax evasion for so long and eventually the IRS will catch up to you.  Then you are looking at prison time and a hefty fine.  Don’t be afraid of taxes.
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Congress is sending another $12.2 billion to the IRS this year. Most of the money will be used for enforcement. It’s time to watch out.
The United States Congress is finally putting to use the old cliché: its money where its mouth is.
That is to say, while Congress has always had a loud bark regarding tax cheats, its members haven’t always been eager to spend money on the bite.
That changed in
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The IRS announced that it expects to expand its auditing activities by embarking on a 3-year campaign that will audit 6,000 businesses both big and small.
According to the TheStreet.com, the IRS estimates that American companies underpay employer taxes by a whopping $14 billion a year. As the government is strapped for cash, the IRS is stepping up its auditing department to try and cash in on lost tax revenue.
While some
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A tough year calls for tough measures. The IRS knows this better than anyone and is not afraid to show its aggression with the increasing audit rate.
Nearly 1.4 million Americans were audited in 2009, which equates to 1% of all tax returns filed. Even if you can’t pay your back taxes, you can settle your debt by negotiating a reasonable monthly IRS payment plan or an offer in compromise settlement
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