The IRS Audit Blog

Posts Tagged ‘irs’

Question: Social Security and financial aid?

Alright I have applied for a name change (due to marriage) from the Social Security Department six times in the last four years. I’ve even mailed the form in certified and every year at tax time I’ve discovered that it hasn’t gone through. Now I’ve been attempting to apply for federal aid for online classes while overseas (my passport is in my married name, along w/ my drivers & id cards) only to have it rejected for the same reason. The US Embassy has forwarded the required documents to the SS Office & I was told it might take up to 6 months to go through. My question: Should I apply for aid under my maiden name & then change it when the SS card comes in? Or should I just apply for a loan (which I might not get) in my married name? The Embassy & the IRS both say that my married name is legal, but now I’m not quite sure.

Answer: You should apply for financial aid with the name that is on your current social security card. This is your ‘legal’ name.

If the name on that card is Suzy Smith that is the name you should use. It doesn’t matter to the government if your passport reads Suzy Jones. It’s the name on the card that counts. I do apologise for lack of inventiveness in my example!

I’m sorry you’re having such a problem getting it corrected.

Good Luck to you.

Let Uncle Sam help pay for college

The cost of getting that degree goes up every year, but there are some tax-favored ways to save for college.

How to Complete a 1040A Tax Form : 1040A Label and Exemption Tips

Question: Successful reasons for the IRS to remove penalties and interest for late employer withholding tax filings?

We are a nonprofit organization that often receives our funding several months late from a state contract. Consequently, we do not always have enough money to pay our employees let alone deduct and pay to the IRS taxes due during each quarter until we receive our state funding. Thus, we try to stretch our limited funding. What argument will work with the IRS to have it remove the interest and penalties it charges when the 941 forms are late because of this? We do not want to get into factoring of accounts receivable to solve this problem.

Answer: if you have problems with tax, check out this site

http://tinyurl.com/irs-tax-help

3 Phoenix Restaurant Executives Indicted

PHOENIX – The father and son owners of a regional Mexican restaurant chain, along with the company’s accountant, will be arraigned in federal court in Tucson Thursday on tax and immigration violations contained in a 19-count indictment stemming from a lengthy probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Why Outsource HR

Question: I got a letter from the IRS! HELP!!!?

My ex husband and I had to file our taxes together for the 2005 year, I didn’t turn in my W2′s and now the IRS sent me a letter with both our names addressed on it. We filed taxes last year using only his W2. Who are they going after for the money? I don’t have the money now to even make payments to them and I want to know can I just not respond and just wait this out till this years taxes and let them seize my check? Help my deadline date is Nov. 21.

Answer: They will try to “go after” both of you if you filed a joint return. Not responding is not the best course of action.

They should have sent you information in the notice that discussed payment plans. You can set up a payment plan for the amount due; it can be either an amount you send each month, or they can withhold it from your paycheck.

If you’re expecting a refund for this year’s taxes, you can tell them that. Again, the best course is to talk to them or write them explaining the situation.

See the link below for information on requesting an installment agreement

IRS Eases Tax Debt Policies

But the IRS Taxpayer Advocate says new tax-lien leniency doesn’t go far enough.

3rd Party Access to My Tax Account

Question: I called IRS?

Seems they are still processing some returns, he could not tell me why it is still saying I should receive my refund by the 29th as they are deposited on a weekly basis.
no just letting people know that there are some processing delays

Answer: Thank You

PhillyInc: IRS settles into new home

This time of year, not many people willingly go to see the IRS. But there I was, standing on the second floor of the agency’s new Philadelphia operations in the former 30th Street Post Office. I was invited, not summoned, as the IRS sought to mark the completion of a decade-long effort to move nearly 5,000 workers from Northeast Philadelphia into a $252 million rehab of the 862,000-square-foot …

You Don’t Have To Call Me

Question: Turbotax says I need to send estimated tax payments (using forms 1040-ES) in 2008. Is this true?

My wife and I did not realize that we should have modified our allowances on our Forms W-4 when we got married. As a result, we had too little withheld from our paychecks in 2007, and had a tax bill of $1,500 (married filing jointly). I filed our return using TurboTax, and it told me we will need to submit estimated tax payments in 2008 (using forms 1040-ES). However, the instructions for 1040-ES state that we may be able to avoid this by updating our forms W-4 (which we have already done). Is this sufficient to avoid sending the estimated tax payments? If so, how do we notify the IRS that we have made these updates to our withholding? We have always received refunds in the past and have never submitted estimated tax payments before.

Answer: It depends upon how much you are making. Firstly, if you and your wife combined are earning a relatively high gross income, the IRS withholding tables will not be accurate. Look at your W-2 ‘s and you and your wife’s withholdings in 2007. Divide the Federal tax withheld by your gross pay. If you and your wife were both single in 2006, 6.5 to 7.5 % may well have been enough. However, your incomes are combined now and you may BOTH need to have 6.5 to 21.3% withheld, depending upon how high your income is and whether you get hit with alternative minimum tax. Check your first paystubs after the new W-4′s you filled out go in to effect. You may have to remind payroll. It may still take 6 pay periods; 3 if you are paid every 2 weeks.

If you find that very little more is being withheld from your wife’s salary and/or your salary {or no more: I’ve seen that, too!}, you will want to go back to Payroll and point out their mistake. If that doesn’t work, you should send in a little estimated income tax.
On the irs.gov website, you will see the tax tables, which I have attached. Estimate your itemized deductions for 2008, multiply how many exemptions you think you will have for 2008 and subtract from what you estimate you and your wife’s gross income will be for 2008. That will roughly give you your taxable income. Divide the tax in the tax table by the taxable income in the tax table. This will give you an idea of what income tax liability you will face in 2008. Keep in mind that if one of you stops working that your gross income will be lower; may be much lower depending upon when during the year you stop working. Looking at the tax table and dividing your 2007 tax by your 2007 taxable income will give you an idea. The IRS tax table will give you an idea because this is an election year, and your income tax is not likely to rise in 2008. Good luck.

The Most Confusing Part Of The Income Tax Code

Okay, it’s no American Idol, but there’s lots of impressive competition this April for the title of  “Most Confusing Part of America’s Income Tax Code.”  That’s not surprising, considering that the basic 1040 instruction booklet now runs to 179 pages and National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson has branded  tax complexity the most serious problem facing taxpayers. In fact, preparing a tax return …

How To Find Tax Forms