The IRS Audit Blog

Archive for March, 2008

Guest commentary: Immigration laws need to change for their sake and ours

In the debate about immigration reform, we hardly hear compelling reasons why Americans should be interested in a change of the laws — for their own sake. Fact is that immigration laws, as they currently are, hurt Americans too. They are bad for our society, bad for our economy; they burden our system and discourage foreign investment. There is no up side to this until American voters give this …

FL tax attorney explains IRS does not have forever to collect

State workers’ charitable giving plunges

The economic downturn that has cost state employees pay raises—and, in some cases, jobs—is biting deeply into their yuletide giving. Donations by workers through the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign, the state-managed seasonal charity drive, have plunged to $2.4 million—down from $4.4 million in 2008. Participation is off, too—a possible measure of the morale-eroding effects of the recession …

IRS Abuse and Intimidation

Question: When In-Laws do not speak?

my in laws do-not speak to me nor my wife(her aunt and want-b-husband). it is all about the stimulus check my wife received, she claim her aunt’s son and gave her some cash. when the stimulus came they expected some of that also. they did not get it. results, they filed, and IRS audit my wife, we have to repay. so with that they don’t speak to us. this has been going on for over a year. personally I’m sick of it and wants to end it with them for good. especially when they think they are right and above anybody else. i wouldn’t care if I ever had to speak to them again, but it is my wife’s family. any answers?

Answer: You can’t hold it against them for reporting you because of the illegal activities. That is above the fact that they were involved with the scam too. Next time, don’t try to scam the government, it always comes back to haunt you.

As far as family, you can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your family. Even if they are good for nothing (and that is not what I am saying here) they are family. You can’t expect your wife to simply throw away a blood relationship because of a mad. Not pointing fingers here, but do the right thing next time, everytime. It tends to make things easier. I find that the truth is easier to remember and to repeat. The story stays the same. Illegal or questionable activities tend to push to a grey area.

Not trying to harp or anything. Just my humble opinion. Good luck in whatever it is you and your wife decide to do.

Ten Things You Should Know About 1099s

They’re arriving in the mail now. Don’t ignore them, or you could be buying trouble with the IRS.

How to Avoid an IRS Tax Audit : How a Company Audit Affects Shareholders

Question: Which do you think gives you a higher chance of being Audit By The Irs, paper or efile?

I am pretty sure the IRS goes through every line to make sure everything is correct and reasonably legit whether its paper or efile but there are some believers that say if you efile your return then you are more likely to be audited because the computer can easily pick up everything better than a person reviewing paper who is prone to looking over things. So what do you think?

Answer: There is no information to say one way or the other on this question. However the IRS publishes that there is less than a one percent error rate when you efile. As part of the efile transmission process efiled returns are automatically checked for common errors. If there is an error or missing info the IRS will send back the return so you may correct the error and resend quickly.
When you file a paper return it must be keyed in manually so there is a greater chance that the person that manually keys in your information may make a mistake. You also run the risk of the process taking much longer because if there is an error the IRS will mail the form back to you. I suggest efiling with a service like Turbo Tax. They make it easy to efile with an audit checker to decrease the chances of errors on your form. Check them out at FileTaxesToday.com.

EO -Kosmos Probe Heading For An Anti-climax!

Protracted and in-depth investigations sponsored by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and the Government of Ghana (GoG) into alleged criminal deals including possible violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of the USA relative to the acquisition of a stake in Ghana’s Jubilee Oil Fields by Kosmos and the EO Group in July 2004, have hit a wall as no credible evidence of criminality and …

Tips for Filing Taxes : How to Keep Tax Records for Charity

Question: Receiving answer regarding Injured spouse form?

I am trying to see if anyone has a more specific time frame in how long before you receive money or even info on if you will get back money. Last yr the Irs kept $5500 from us for unpaid taxes my husband didnt file before we were married I found out about the 8379 form this yr when I found out they were keeping $2800 of our $4000 refund this yr. I filed the form for last yr waited to see what happened with this yrs taxes then filed another 8379 for this yr. Does anyone have a more specific time frame from when they have filed these forms, and being we live in a community property state does that change what I am entitled to since we were not together at the time he didnt file he was married to someone else.

Answer: Since you are in a community property state you will receive half of the refund, regardless of who owes the debt or how much taxes were paid in. As far as time frame..it all depends on how you filed the injured spouse form. I was told by the irs that if you file it by mail with your return the time is 8-10 weeks. If you e-file the form the time is 11-13 weeks. If you file the form after you file your return the time is 12-14 weeks.

Gifts to charity pay off on your taxes

Your gifts to charity can do more than make you feel good. They might lower your tax bill.

Bug for sale