The IRS Audit Blog

Archive for August, 2008

Question: IRS audit question…

You are an accountant and a client of yours is under Audit By The Irs. The Revenue Agent contacts you after she has spent some time investigating the taxpayer’s records. She says that there are certain items that she has not been able to locate and she wishes to review your work papers, retained copies of returns and files.
A. Do you grant her request?
B. Assume that the revenue Agent sent you a letter stating that under Code Section 7602 she has the right to request, review and copy the records and that she is formally requesting them. Do you comply with her request?
C. If you turn the records over under either or these circumstances, do you expose yourself to any potential liability to your client?

Answer: Yes–generally a practitioner is required to provide the records (per IRS Circular 230) unless they believe in good faith and on reasonable grounds that the records or information are privileged.

Source: read more at page 15 http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/pcir230.pdf

Taxpayers make £26bn loss on stakes in Lloyds Banking Group and RBS

• RBS shares end the year at 29.2p, well below 50p needed to break even • Lloyds and RBS loss is wider than calculated by National Audit Office The taxpayer begins 2010 with a loss of more than £26bn on its stakes in Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, which were bailed out at the height of the banking crisis, illustrating the scale of the problem the government faces in selling its …

Taxpayers Rights Advocate Intro

Question: Got an email today saying I have a refund due from the irs…is this a scam?

Here is what the email said.
After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that
you are eligible to receive a status refund of $301.17.
Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 3-6 days in order to
process it.

To access the form for your status refund, please click here

Regards,
Internal Revenue Service

Copyright 2007, Internal Revenue Service U.S.A. All rights reserved.
KIHTKOHFSTMQSUVMXPZDIQOKMDCGBDSNHYHOGJ

and heres the email it came from.

status@irs.gov

Answer: Yes it’s a scam. See http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=170894,00.html

File your taxes electronically for free

Internal Revenue Service Friday will launch its revised website allowing all taxpayers to file their taxes electronically at no extra charge.

IRS ANUNCIA SISTEMA DE REEMBOLSO MAS RAPIDO Y EFECTIVO

Question: I received an audit letter asking for documentation of a few deductions from last year.?

The only problem is that I can’t find those receipts — am I going to go to jail? These were all cash-paid items and the store can’t retrieve them either.

I really don’t want to get into trouble with the IRS and will pay additional tax and penalty if I have to. I just don’t want to go to jail for this dumb thing. The deductions in question were about $7K and I made $30K last year.

Please Help

Answer: You aren’t going to jail. About the worst that will happen is that the auditor will disallow the deductions and you’ll have to pay the extra tax, penalty and interest. If you can show by some other means than receipts that you actually did buy the items in question, then they might even allow them.

Albany Bar Owner Pleads Guilty

State Tax Department says he charged customers taxes for drinks and food and pocketed the money.

TV model gets IRS audit penalties

Question: What are the major hidden items, loopholes, and drawbacks of the “Climate and Energy Bill”?

I’ve heard a lot of rumors, but I don’t really know. It just seems like this is the latest bill that everyone from Congress is getting pressure from Obama to pass without spending time to read first. I have heard that hydroelectric is excluded as a renewable energy source, people will perform “energy audits” on homes-hello 1984, jobs could move offshore due to the restrictions, and this will be another tax on people–except that credits will be given to low income consumers. With this, the healthcare bill, and other proposals, when do we run out of other people’s money to pay for this stuff? Does the bill really protect the environment?

Answer: Obama promised to help the poor and middle class. This energy bill raises the cost of energy. The least able to afford these price increases will suffer. I expect more people will be freezing in the future. It appears Obama is just another lying politician who sticks it to the poor, including a lot of Black Americans.

Sound Advice For Stretching Your Dollar In A Tight Economy

When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, thrift is in. Surveys show that in 2010, a majority of Americans want to skinny expenses as much as they want to whittle their waistlines. But living on a budget doesn’t have to mean doing without. A little buying savvy can result in big savings, if you know how and where to trim costs, stretch resources and find deals. We’ve got dozens of suggestions.

Contact KY3: New tax credit offer will make home energy audits more popular

Keeping the taxman at bay

JUDGING by the numbers in the tax authority’s latest annual report (2008-2009), the taxman had indeed been busy auditing and collecting. Across the board, there were increases in the number of cases dealt with and the amounts collected from back taxes and penalties.

Tax Deduction Tips & Advice : How to Keep Vehicle Mileage Tax Records