Croc Dundee to Tax Authorities: 'Come and Get Me'

Crocodile Dundee Snarls at Aussie Tax Authorities

Los Angeles (July 8, 2008)
By WebCPA staff

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Crocodile Dundee actor Paul Hogan has told Australian tax authorities to “come and get me” after being told in California that the Australian Taxation Office is asking the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to help round up nine years’ worth of records from three U.S. banks.

The actor told The Australian newspaper that the tax authorities are on a “long-distance fishing expedition” to get his financial records. Four companies related to him are allegedly part of the probe. But Hogan is defiant. “They should build a statue of me up there at the tax office,” he said to reporters outside his Santa Barbara mansion, according to wire reports.

Despite the tax probe, Hogan plans to return to his native country in September to shoot a movie. “I’ll be arrested the minute I land on the shore, of course, but I have a gun, so be warned,” he said to Australia’s Ten Network television channel.

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Stephen Martinez

IRS May Have Goofed on 385,000 Stimulus Payments

Washington, D.C. (June 23, 2008)
By WebCPA staff

Calculations of economic stimulus payments by the Internal Revenue Service may have been wrong in nearly 400,000 cases.

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George said in testimony before the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee that as of June 13, the IRS had issued approximately 76.5 million stimulus payments totaling approximately $63.9 billion. His office has determined that the IRS correctly calculated the stimulus payment for 99.6 percent of the returns.

However, TIGTA identified approximately 385,000 stimulus payments in which its calculation did not agree with the IRS's. The differences in some cases resulted from programming that did not include all qualified self-employment income and losses in the determination of eligibility. As of May 30, 2008, TIGTA had identified approximately 25,000 returns for which the stimulus payment was not allowed.

"In these cases, TIGTA believes that taxpayers were entitled to an additional $16.5 million," said George. "These errors affected clergy and other individuals whose income is not subject to the self-employment tax."

Many taxpayers did not receive the child portion of the stimulus payment because they did not check the Child Tax Credit qualifying box on the tax return. When TIGTA raised this concern, the IRS initially responded that it could not allow the child portion of the stimulus payment in these instances because eligibility for the Child Tax Credit could not be determined from the information on the tax return.

The IRS subsequently announced that it would issue the additional child portion of the stimulus payment to approximately 350,000 households in July. TIGTA is in the process of quantifying the number of individuals that might be affected

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Stephen Martinez

Automatic Filing Extension for Partnership, Trusts and Estate Tax Returns Reduced

Automatic Filing Extension for Partnership, Trusts and Estate Tax Returns Due After 2008 Reduced from Six to Five Months (IR-2008-84; T.D. 9407; NPRM REG-115457-08)

The IRS has issued proposed, final and temporary regulations relating to simplification procedures for obtaining automatic extensions of time to file returns. The final regulations adopt temporary regulations previously issued in T.D. 9229 without significant change.

The newly issued temporary regulations, however, revise certain of the previously issued temporary regulations by reducing, from six months to five months, the automatic extension period for partnerships filing Form 1065, U.S. Partnership Return of Income, or Form 8804, Annual Return for Partnership Withholding Tax, and estates and trusts filing Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts.

For example, in the case of a calendar-year partnership, Form 1065 will need to be filed by September 15, rather than October 15. This change should enable individual taxpayers to obtain the Schedule K-1 information necessary to complete their returns by their October 15 six-month extended due date. This one-month reduction in the six-month extension period is effective for returns due on or after January 1, 2009. The six-month extension period for partnerships that file Forms 1065 or Form 8804 and trusts and estates that file Form 1041 will continue to apply to returns required to be filed before January 1, 2009.

CCH Comment. Under the current rules, a calendar-year S corporation with a six-month extension is already required to file its return by October 15 since the unextended due date for Form 1120-S is March 15. Thus, S corporations will continue to receive an automatic six-month extension period.

The final regulations adopt without change the earlier issued temporary regulations that provided an automatic six-month extension for individual returns if a timely, completed application for extension is filed on Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File a U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. Under the rules in effect prior to issuance of T.D. 9229, an individual could obtain an initial automatic four-month extension by filing Form 4868 and apply for an additional two-month discretionary extension by filing Form 2688, Application for Additional Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.

CCH Comment. A commentator suggested that the elimination of Form 2688 adds an administrative burden on individual taxpayers living abroad who may qualify for an extension beyond six months. The IRS, however, will not retain Form 2688. Taxpayers living abroad will need to file a letter containing the information required by Reg. §1.6081-1(b) that was formerly provided on Form 2688.

With respect to corporate filing extensions, the final regulations now explicitly state that the requirement to list with an extension request the name and address of each member of an affiliated group has the effect of granting an extension for each member's separate return in the event that the member does not file as part of the consolidated group.

The final regulations also adopt without change temporary regulations that: (1) provide an automatic six-month extension to file certain excise, income, information and other returns by filing Form 7004, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File Certain Business Income Tax, Information, and Other Returns; (2) allow administrators and sponsors of employee benefit plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to report information concerning the plans and direct entities to obtain an automatic two-and-one-half-month extension of time to file by using Form 5558, Application for Extension of Time To File Certain Employee Plan Returns; and (3) allow donors who do not request an extension of time to file an income tax return to request an automatic six-month extension of time to file Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, by filing Form 8892, Payment of Gift/GST Tax and/or Application for Extension of Time to File Form 709.

The text of the temporary regulations serves as the text of proposed regulations set forth in NPRM REG-115457-08. Written or electronic comments and requests for a public hearing must be received by September 28, 2008.

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Stephen Martinez

IRS May Have Goofed on 385,000 Stimulus Payments

Washington, D.C. (June 23, 2008)
By WebCPA staff

Calculations of economic stimulus payments by the Internal Revenue Service may have been wrong in nearly 400,000 cases.

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George said in testimony before the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee that as of June 13, the IRS had issued approximately 76.5 million stimulus payments totaling approximately $63.9 billion. His office has determined that the IRS correctly calculated the stimulus payment for 99.6 percent of the returns.

However, TIGTA identified approximately 385,000 stimulus payments in which its calculation did not agree with the IRS's. The differences in some cases resulted from programming that did not include all qualified self-employment income and losses in the determination of eligibility. As of May 30, 2008, TIGTA had identified approximately 25,000 returns for which the stimulus payment was not allowed.

"In these cases, TIGTA believes that taxpayers were entitled to an additional $16.5 million," said George. "These errors affected clergy and other individuals whose income is not subject to the self-employment tax."

Many taxpayers did not receive the child portion of the stimulus payment because they did not check the Child Tax Credit qualifying box on the tax return. When TIGTA raised this concern, the IRS initially responded that it could not allow the child portion of the stimulus payment in these instances because eligibility for the Child Tax Credit could not be determined from the information on the tax return.

The IRS subsequently announced that it would issue the additional child portion of the stimulus payment to approximately 350,000 households in July. TIGTA is in the process of quantifying the number of individuals that might be affected

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Stephen Martinez

Venta de su Residencia

Si tiene ganancias a través de la venta de su residencia principal, puede tener derecho a excluir de sus ingresos todas sus ganancias o parte de ellas. La Publicación 523, Selling Your Home (Venta de su Residencia), en inglés, ofrece información sobre ciertas reglas y las hojas de cálculos pertinentes.

Si vendió su residencia bajo un contrato que estipulaba que parte o la totalidad del precio de venta debía pagarse durante un año posterior, usted realizó una "venta a plazos". Consulte el Tema 705, Venta a Plazos, para más información.

Para poder reunir las condiciones para la exclusión, debe satisfacer ciertos requisitos que se tratan en la Publicación 523. Por lo general, puede reunir dichas condiciones si ha sido dueño de su propiedad y la ha utilizado como hogar principal de residencia durante un total de por lo menos 2 años dentro del período de los 5 años anterior a su venta.

Debe declarar la venta de su residencia principal únicamente si ha obtenido ganancias que no se hayan excluido de sus ingresos. Si obtuvo ganancias que no se hayan excluido, debe declararlas en el Anexo D del Formulario 1040, Capital Gains and Losses (Ganancias de Capital y Pérdidas), en inglés.

Si estuvo en las fuerzas armadas, en el servicio diplomático y consular o en la comunidad de inteligencia de los Estados Unidos en cumplimiento prolongado de sus deberes oficiales calificados, puede suspender hasta por 10 años el período de requisito de 5 años. Una persona se encuentra en cumplimiento prolongado de sus deberes oficiales calificados cuando, durante más de 90 días o durante un período indefinido dicha persona se encuentra:

• En un lugar de destino oficial ubicado por lo menos a 50 millas de distancia de su residencia principal o
  
• En un lugar de residencia bajo órdenes del gobierno y con alojamiento provisto por el gobierno.

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Stephen Martinez

IRS May Have Goofed on 385,000 Stimulus Payments

Washington, D.C. (June 23, 2008)
By WebCPA staff

Calculations of economic stimulus payments by the Internal Revenue Service may have been wrong in nearly 400,000 cases.

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George said in testimony before the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee that as of June 13, the IRS had issued approximately 76.5 million stimulus payments totaling approximately $63.9 billion. His office has determined that the IRS correctly calculated the stimulus payment for 99.6 percent of the returns.

However, TIGTA identified approximately 385,000 stimulus payments in which its calculation did not agree with the IRS's. The differences in some cases resulted from programming that did not include all qualified self-employment income and losses in the determination of eligibility. As of May 30, 2008, TIGTA had identified approximately 25,000 returns for which the stimulus payment was not allowed.

"In these cases, TIGTA believes that taxpayers were entitled to an additional $16.5 million," said George. "These errors affected clergy and other individuals whose income is not subject to the self-employment tax."

Many taxpayers did not receive the child portion of the stimulus payment because they did not check the Child Tax Credit qualifying box on the tax return. When TIGTA raised this concern, the IRS initially responded that it could not allow the child portion of the stimulus payment in these instances because eligibility for the Child Tax Credit could not be determined from the information on the tax return.

The IRS subsequently announced that it would issue the additional child portion of the stimulus payment to approximately 350,000 households in July. TIGTA is in the process of quantifying the number of individuals that might be affected

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Stephen Martinez

IRS Agent Admits Soliciting Bribe From Taxpayer

NEW YORK—Former Internal Revenue Service agent Robert Rosner has pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to soliciting a bribe from a taxpayer.

Prosecutors say from August 2004 until Dec. 6, 2006, Rosner served as an agent with the IRS. In that capacity, Rosner was responsible for conducting taxpayer audits. On July 25, 2006, Rosner initiated an audit of a small business based in New York.

On Nov. 28, 2006, Rosner contacted the head of the company to discuss the audit. He requested that the victim treat him to lunch. During the lunch, Rosner told the victim that he would terminate the IRS audit of the company if the victim paid him $5,000. The victim agreed to pay the bribe.

On Dec. 1, 2006, Rosner submitted interna lpaperwork at the IRS recommending that no change be made to the company’s tax returns. This step effectively ended the IRS auditof the company. Two days later, the victim had a conversation with Rosner, which, unbeknownst to Rosner, was recorded. The victim told Rosner that the victim did not feel comfortable with the agreement to pay the bribe. Rosner responded that he had already relied on the victim’s acceptance of the offer and taken steps within the IRS to conclude the audit.

The victim agreed to discuss the issue with Rosner further the next day. Two days later, the victim received a telephone call from Rosner during which Rosner stated that he had closed the audit of the company.

Rosner pleaded guilty to one count of soliciting and agreeing to accept a thing of value for or because of the performance of an official act. The charge carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss from the offense. Rosner will be sentenced on Oct. 17. 6-27-08

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Stephen Martinez

IRS May Have Goofed on 385,000 Stimulus Payments

Washington, D.C. (June 23, 2008)
By WebCPA staff

Calculations of economic stimulus payments by the Internal Revenue Service may have been wrong in nearly 400,000 cases.

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George said in testimony before the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee that as of June 13, the IRS had issued approximately 76.5 million stimulus payments totaling approximately $63.9 billion. His office has determined that the IRS correctly calculated the stimulus payment for 99.6 percent of the returns.

However, TIGTA identified approximately 385,000 stimulus payments in which its calculation did not agree with the IRS's. The differences in some cases resulted from programming that did not include all qualified self-employment income and losses in the determination of eligibility. As of May 30, 2008, TIGTA had identified approximately 25,000 returns for which the stimulus payment was not allowed.

"In these cases, TIGTA believes that taxpayers were entitled to an additional $16.5 million," said George. "These errors affected clergy and other individuals whose income is not subject to the self-employment tax."

Many taxpayers did not receive the child portion of the stimulus payment because they did not check the Child Tax Credit qualifying box on the tax return. When TIGTA raised this concern, the IRS initially responded that it could not allow the child portion of the stimulus payment in these instances because eligibility for the Child Tax Credit could not be determined from the information on the tax return.

The IRS subsequently announced that it would issue the additional child portion of the stimulus payment to approximately 350,000 households in July. TIGTA is in the process of quantifying the number of individuals that might be affected

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Stephen Martinez

Will the 2009 Tax Season be delayed??

Taxpayers would receive one year of relief from the alternative minimum tax (AMT), under a bill passed by House lawmakers on June 25. By a vote of 233 to 198, the House approved the Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Bill of 2008 (HR 6275), which was introduced on June 17 by House Ways and Means Chairman Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y (TAXDAY, 2008/06/18, C.1).

The $61.5-billion cost of the bill, which is offset by provisions that raise taxes on oil companies, hedge fund managers and others, continued to draw opposition from GOP lawmakers. "This vote is nothing more than a cynical and craven political exercise that will only further delay the inevitable: a one-year patch without revenue raisers," said Rep. Phil English, R-Pa., ranking member of the House Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee.

According to a summary of the legislation, the two biggest revenue raisers in the AMT bill would tax the so-called "carried interest" earned by investment fund managers as ordinary income, rather than as capital gains. This would raise $30.9 billion over 10 years. The bill would also deny Code Sec. 199 benefits to major integrated oil and natural gas companies. This provision would raise $13.5 billion over 10 years.

Rangel told lawmakers that the federal government should pay for what it buys, rather than increasing the nation's budget deficit. "We shouldn't go to China and Japan and ask them once again to bail us out," Rangel said. "Instead, we should take a look at the tax code and see what loopholes we can close to repair the AMT --at least for this year --without passing this burden on to our children and grandchildren."

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Stephen Martinez

IRS May Have Goofed on 385,000 Stimulus Payments

Washington, D.C. (June 23, 2008)
By WebCPA staff

Calculations of economic stimulus payments by the Internal Revenue Service may have been wrong in nearly 400,000 cases.

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George said in testimony before the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee that as of June 13, the IRS had issued approximately 76.5 million stimulus payments totaling approximately $63.9 billion. His office has determined that the IRS correctly calculated the stimulus payment for 99.6 percent of the returns.

However, TIGTA identified approximately 385,000 stimulus payments in which its calculation did not agree with the IRS's. The differences in some cases resulted from programming that did not include all qualified self-employment income and losses in the determination of eligibility. As of May 30, 2008, TIGTA had identified approximately 25,000 returns for which the stimulus payment was not allowed.

"In these cases, TIGTA believes that taxpayers were entitled to an additional $16.5 million," said George. "These errors affected clergy and other individuals whose income is not subject to the self-employment tax."

Many taxpayers did not receive the child portion of the stimulus payment because they did not check the Child Tax Credit qualifying box on the tax return. When TIGTA raised this concern, the IRS initially responded that it could not allow the child portion of the stimulus payment in these instances because eligibility for the Child Tax Credit could not be determined from the information on the tax return.

The IRS subsequently announced that it would issue the additional child portion of the stimulus payment to approximately 350,000 households in July. TIGTA is in the process of quantifying the number of individuals that might be affected

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Stephen Martinez

Internet Evangelist Challenges IRS Investigation

Internet Evangelist Challenges IRS Investigation

New York (June 26, 2008)
By WebCPA staff

Internet evangelist Bill Keller is challenging an Internal Revenue Service probe of his organization’s tax-exempt status.

Keller, whose Web site Liveprayer.com claims to have over 2.4 million subscribers, is under investigation for possibly violating his group's tax-exempt status last year when Keller criticized then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney by saying, “A vote for Romney is a vote for Satan.” More recently, Keller has been claiming that Barack Obama is not a Christian.

However, he insists that his statements should not endanger his organization’s status with the IRS. “We did nothing to violate our tax-exempt status at all,” he said. “I have every right to educate people on spiritual matters and I have every right to deal with issues from a spiritual point of view. I never endorsed a candidate and I never told people who to vote for and who not to vote for.”

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Stephen Martinez

IRS May Have Goofed on 385,000 Stimulus Payments

Washington, D.C. (June 23, 2008)
By WebCPA staff

Calculations of economic stimulus payments by the Internal Revenue Service may have been wrong in nearly 400,000 cases.

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George said in testimony before the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee that as of June 13, the IRS had issued approximately 76.5 million stimulus payments totaling approximately $63.9 billion. His office has determined that the IRS correctly calculated the stimulus payment for 99.6 percent of the returns.

However, TIGTA identified approximately 385,000 stimulus payments in which its calculation did not agree with the IRS's. The differences in some cases resulted from programming that did not include all qualified self-employment income and losses in the determination of eligibility. As of May 30, 2008, TIGTA had identified approximately 25,000 returns for which the stimulus payment was not allowed.

"In these cases, TIGTA believes that taxpayers were entitled to an additional $16.5 million," said George. "These errors affected clergy and other individuals whose income is not subject to the self-employment tax."

Many taxpayers did not receive the child portion of the stimulus payment because they did not check the Child Tax Credit qualifying box on the tax return. When TIGTA raised this concern, the IRS initially responded that it could not allow the child portion of the stimulus payment in these instances because eligibility for the Child Tax Credit could not be determined from the information on the tax return.

The IRS subsequently announced that it would issue the additional child portion of the stimulus payment to approximately 350,000 households in July. TIGTA is in the process of quantifying the number of individuals that might be affected

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Stephen Martinez

IRS Increases Mileage Rates through Dec. 31, 2008

IRS Increases Mileage Rates through Dec. 31, 2008

IR-2008-82, June 23, 2008 WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rates for the final six months of 2008. Taxpayers may use the optional standard rates to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. The rate will increase to 58.5 cents a mile for all business miles driven from July 1, 2008, through Dec. 31, 2008. This is an increase of eight (8) cents from the 50.5 cent rate in effect for the first six months of 2008, as set forth in Rev. Proc. 2007-70. In recognition of recent gasoline price increases, the IRS made this special adjustment for the final months of 2008. The IRS normally updates the mileage rates once a year in the fall for the next calendar year.

Mileage Rate Changes

Purpose	Rates 1/1 through 6/30/08	Rates 7/1 through 12/31/08
Business	50.5	58.5
Medical/Moving	19	27
Charitable	14	14

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Stephen Martinez

George Carlin had a $3 million tax debt

Comedian Carlin Paid $3 Million Tax Debt

New York (June 24, 2008)
By WebCPA staff
|

The late comedian George Carlin had a $3 million tax debt that took him about two decades to pay off, but he credited the debt with keeping him working as a comic.

The Web site Don't Mess with Taxes included a link to a 2001 interview with Esquire magazine in which Carlin discussed his old tax problems.

"Because of my abuse of drugs, I neglected my business affairs and had large arrears with the IRS, and that took me 18 to 20 years to dig out of," he said. "I did it honorably, and I don't begrudge them. I don't hate paying taxes, and I'm not angry at anyone, because I was complicit in it. But I'll tell you what it did for me: It made me a way better comedian. Because I had to stay out on the road and I couldn't pursue that movie career, which would have gone nowhere, and I became a really good comic and a really good writer."

Carlin also talked about his tax debt with Bankrate.com last December to explain why he started doing commercials for long-distance service provider 10-10-220. "In the early '80s I discovered that I had made bad business decisions during the last half of the '70s and was deeply in debt to the IRS," he said. "It was still 70 percent tax at the time. I was behind. The penalties and interest were burying me, and I had no career to speak of. ... Penalties and interest on back taxes make a mountain out of a mole hill."


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Stephen Martinez

IRS explica que muchos no han recibido estímulo económico

WASHINGTON - El Servicio de Impuestos Internos (IRS) anunció una nueva campaña de verano para informar a los jubilados y veteranos discapacitados que califican para el pago de estímulo económico pero que aún no han presentado una declaración para reclamarlo. Nuevas estadísticas divulgadas esta semana indican que aproximadamente un 74 por ciento se han contado en este grupo de los pagos del estímulo que actualmente se están enviando, dejando alrededor de 5.2 mil millones de posibles beneficiarios restantes.Para todos los contribuyentes, el IRS ha emitido 76.5 millones de pagos por un total de 63.8 mil millones basados en declaraciones de impuestos del 2007 procesadas hasta el momento. La agencia espera emitir 124 millones de pagos a contribuyentes hasta el fin de año. Personas elegibles están recibiendo hasta 600 (1200 para parejas casadas con declaración conjunta), y 300 por cada niño menor de 17 años.

"El IRS ha cumplido. A sólo 70 días después de que la legislación se convirtió en ley, el IRS empezó a entregar el dinero en manos de decenas de millones de contribuyentes. Este verano, vamos a hacer un esfuerzo adicional para ayudar al resto de los jubilados y de veteranos discapacitados para que obtengan sus pagos", dijo Doug Shulman, Comisionado del IRS.

Una categoría de estímulo especial incluye a los destinatarios de determinados beneficios del Seguro Social y la Agencia de Asuntos de Veteranos que normalmente no tienen la obligación de presentar una declaración de impuestos. Sin embargo, estas personas deben presentar una declaración de impuestos antes del 15 de octubre de este año para recibir sus pagos de estímulo económico. El IRS ha identificado un 74 por ciento de destinatarios del Seguro Social y la Agencia de Asuntos de Veteranos de entre los unos 20 millones inicialmente identificados como posibles destinatarios del estímulo. Todos menos 5.2 millones se han identificado por haber presentado una declaración, una declaración conjunta, o por no ser elegibles para un pago de estímulo (por ejemplo, fueron reclamados como dependientes en la declaración de otra persona).

La mayoría de las personas sólo tienen que presentar una declaración de impuestos, como normalmente la hacen todos los años. El IRS calculará la elegibilidad y el monto del pago. Sin embargo, muchos jubilados y veteranos no suelen presentar una declaración de impuestos porque sus beneficios no son tributables. Este año, deben presentar una declaración con el fin de recibir un pago de estímulo económico.

Shulman también señaló que para los jubilados que reciben el pago de estímulo no debe afectar otros beneficios federales que actualmente reciben. El pago de estímulo no es tributable. Si no tienen otra obligación de declarar, el presentar una declaración de impuestos para recibir el pago de estímulo no significa que los jubilados tendrán que seguir presentando declaraciones de impuestos anualmente.

El IRS ha identificado unos 5.2 millones de jubilados y veteranos que podrían ser elegibles para los pagos de estímulo. A finales de este verano, la agencia les enviará una carta especial que explica la elegibilidad para obtener el pago de estímulo y la forma de reclamarlo. La carta incluirá una muestra de un formulario impuestos y un formulario actual en blanco que los individuos puedan completar y enviar por correo al IRS. Este será el segundo envío especial por correo para estas personas.

"Algunos jubilados y otros que normalmente no presentan una declaración de impuestos pueden ser elegibles y no saberlo. Y, esto es donde podemos utilizar la ayuda del público. Si usted conoce de un jubilado o un veterano discapacitado que podría calificar, por favor avíseles sobre esta información", dijo Shulman.

Aunque su pago puede emitirse por cheque, el IRS exhorta a la población a utilizar el depósito directo para asegurar una entrega rápida.

Los tipos de beneficios del Seguro Social que califican incluyen los ingresos de jubilación, pagos por discapacidad y sobrevivencia. Ingresos de Seguridad Suplemental (SSI) no es un ingreso calificado. Los tipos de beneficios provenientes de la Agencia de Asuntos de Veteranos calificados incluyen pagos por discapacidad, pensión por discapacidad y de sobrevivencia. Los beneficios calificados de Retiro Ferroviario incluyen del Nivel 1, la porción equivalente al seguro social.

Las personas elegibles incluyendo sus hijos calificados, deben tener números de Seguro Social válidos. Además, las personas no pueden ser reclamadas o ser elegibles para ser reclamadas como dependientes en la declaración de impuestos de otra persona. Las personas con Números Individuales de Identificación del Contribuyente o ITIN, con la excepción de los cónyuges y los niños calificados de personal militar, no son elegibles.

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Stephen Martinez

IRS Files Tax Lien Against Milwaukee Brewers Player

Milwaukee (June 20, 2008)
By WebCPA staff

|

Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder reportedly owes the Internal Revenue Service a tax debt of $409,149, and the IRS has filed a lien against him to collect it.

The Detroit News reported this week that the player owed taxes dating back to 2003, prompting the IRS to file a lien against him in 2005. Fielder, a first-round draft pick in 2002, got a signing bonus of $2.4 million from the team.

It is unclear if Fielder, the son of another baseball player, Cecil Fielder, has paid the taxes yet. Online court records from Orange County, Fla., indicate that the lien has not yet been satisfied, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Fielder's agent, Scott Boras, refused to comment on his client's finances to the paper, but said the original report was "one-and-a-half years behind the real story." He did not respond to a request for comment from WebCPA
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Stephen Martinez

Tax Debt Firm to Pay $1.5M in Restitution

JK Harris, a firm that advertises its ability to help taxpayers solve their problems with the Internal Revenue Service for pennies on the dollar, has agreed to pay $1.5 million in restitution to former clients and change its advertising as part of an agreement with attorneys general in 18 states.

Attorney General Martha Coakley of Massachusetts and 17 other AGs signed a consent judgment with the Charleston, S.C.-based firm and its president, John K. Harris. Coakley had filed a complaint saying the firm did not assist its clients as advertised and would not give them refunds when clients complained that services were never completed.

"This company took advantage of people who paid for tax assistance and, in some instances, profited by taking their money and not giving them any help at all," said Coakley in a statement.

The complaint alleged that JK Harris regularly advertised that it could help people who owed back taxes by filing an offer in compromise on their behalf and clients would only have to pay a small percentage of what they owed. However, the firm charged money up front for the service without actually determining if clients qualified for an OIC or while knowing that they did not qualify. In many cases, according to the complaint, JK Harris did not even apply to the IRS to assist clients as promised, but still refused to give clients their money back.

The firm also claimed that it had veteran ex-IRS agents, CPAs, lawyers, enrolled agents, and tax, financial, and small business professionals, but the complaint alleged that the individuals handling the cases did not fit that description and did not have tax expertise. Most offices were staffed by sales representatives. To meet with an employee for help with a tax problem, a client would have to travel to Charleston.

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Stephen Martinez

Preparer Penalties

Proposed Rules Let Tax Preparers Disclose to Taxpayer, Not IRS

The IRS proposes regulations (REG-129243-07) that would allow tax return preparers to generally avoid penalties in situations where they are required to disclose tax positions on behalf of their clients when they do not reach the new higher “more likely than not” standard. The proposed rules allow for something short of disclosure to the IRS regarding positions that do not meet the more likely than not standard, Bryan Skarlatos, partner with Kostelanetz & Fink LLP New York, tells BNA. Tom Ochsenschlager, vice president for taxation at the AICPA, tells BNA his organization is pleased that the IRS is not requiring that a statement about positions that do not meet the more likely than not standard be attached to returns sent to the IRS.

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Stephen Martinez

Recursos Para Pequeñas Empresas

Si usted esta considerando comenzar un negocio, empiece aquí. Esta sección ofrece un sinnúmero de conceptos esenciales para dueños de pequeños negocios. Conozca los últimos adelantos en servicios electrónicos del Servicio de Impuestos Internos.

La SBA Ofrece Clases en Español por Internet La Agencia Federal Para el Desarrollo de la Pequeña Empresa (SBA) está ofreciendo un curso interactivo en su página Web dirigido a empresarios de habla Español.

Productos y Servicios Educativos para Pequeños Negocios y Trabajadores por Cuenta Propia Vea que información tributaria y asistencia existe para aquellos pequeños negocios o empleados por cuenta propia.

Publicaciones para Pequeños Negocios
Descargue por Internet un sinnúmero de publicaciones para pequeños negocios.

Opciones Electrónicas
E-file es la manera más rápida, fácil y conveniente de presentar su declaración de impuesto sobre el ingreso electrónicamente. EFTPS es la manera más fácil de pagar los Impuestos Federales de su negocio.

Contratista Independiente Vs. Empleado
¿Qué factores debo tener en cuenta para determinar si un empleado es un contratista independiente o un empleado?

Cumpliendo con la ley de Impuestos Patronales
Cuales son las responsabilidades del patrono y del empleado

Forma W-2
¿Dónde, Cuándo y Cómo Presentar La Forma W-2

Requisitos de Depósitos (Formularios 941 y 944) Cúando se deben hacer los pagos de impuestos patronales para cumplir con la Ley de Seguro Federal de Contribuciones (FICA)

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Stephen Martinez

Requisitos Revisados Para Solicitar Un ITIN

Requisitos Revisados Para Solicitar Un ITIN

¿Cuáles son los requisitos revisados para solicitar un ITIN?Inmediatamente entra en vigor que cada solicitante por un ITIN tendrá que:

• Aplicar usando la nueva Forma W-7 o W-7SP, Solicitud de Número de Identificación Individual del Contribuyente del Servicio de Impuestos Internos ; y
• Adjuntar una declaración del impuesto federal a la Forma W-7 o W-7(SP)

Los que llenan la excepción al requisito de presentar una declaración (vea las instrucciones para la Forma W-7SP), tendrán que proveer documentación para sustentarla.

¿Por qué está cambiando el IRS el proceso de aplicar por el ITIN?

Cambios al proceso de solicitudes por el ITIN ayudarán en asegurar que los ITIN sean utilizados para el propósito tributario intencionado.

¿Cuáles son los documentos aceptables como prueba de identidad y estado de extranjero?

El IRS ha modificado el número de documentos que la agencia aceptará como prueba de identidad para obtener un ITIN. Actualmente hay 13 documentos aceptables.

Un pasaporte original, (que no estè vencido) es el único documento aprobado tanto para su identidad como su estado de extranjero. Si usted no tiene un pasaporte, tendrá que proveer una combinación de documentos vigentes que contienen fecha de vencimiento, muestran su nombre y fotografía, y comprueban su estado de extranjero.

El IRS aceptará una combinación (dos o más) de los siguientes documentos en lugar de un pasaporte:

• Identificación nacional /Matrícula Consular (vigente, y con nombre, firma, fotografía, domicilio, fecha de nacimiento y fecha de vencimiento)
• Licencia para conducir de EE.UU
• Acta de nacimiento civil
• Licencia para conducir del extranjero
• Tarjeta de identificación estatal de EE.UU
• Tarjeta de registro de votacìon de su país
• Tarjeta de identificación militar de EE.UU
• Tarjeta de identificación militar de su país
• Visa
• Una identificación con foto emitida por los Servicios de Ciudadania e Inmigraciòn de los Estados Unidos ("U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services")
• Registros médicos (para dependientes de 14 años o menos.
• Registros de instituciones acadèmicas (dependientes y /o estudiantes; de 18 años o menos)

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Stephen Martinez