Don't Mess With Taxes

Millions are getting ready to file federal tax returns so they can collect refunds. Crooks are among them. And things get even worse for the taxpayers whose identities were stolen and used to file false returns claiming fraudulent refunds. The average time it took the Internal Revenue Service to resolve identity theft cases and issue refunds to the affected victims in fiscal year 2024 was two years, according the National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2024 annual report to Congress, issued today. These delays impacted nearly half a million taxpayers, noted National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) Erin M. Collins, and were even worse than... Read more →

Life is tough for lots of people. Unfortunately, that’s true even during, or because of, the holiday season. But caring people still exist. They donate dollars and, more importantly in many cases, their time to help those in need. That’s true in the tax world, too. It’s no secret that Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs provide free help to many who need personal assistance, but can’t afford to pay a tax professional, to fill out and file their annual returns. Then there are those who offer similar free aid to those who... Read more →

Photo by Pixabay I know it’s early December and you're already frazzled. Oh, wait. Maybe that’s just me. Even if you are a bit swamped like me, but still think you can make room for one more thing (I'm jealous!), the Internal Revenue Service wants to hear from you. Specifically, the tax agency is seeking new members for the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC). And actually, you don’t have to decide right now. (Whew!) The IRS is accepting applications through Jan. 31, 2025. Even better for those who need to clear some items from their current to-do lists and/or... Read more →

The anniversary comes as the Internal Revenue Service watchdog is awaiting confirmation of a new leader. The Internal Revenue Service is a perpetual target. Some want to eliminate it. Others want to add to its operations. Both of these groups often rely on data provided by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, or TIGTA, in making their divergent arguments. TIGTA was created as part of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act or 1998 (RRA 98). The following year, TIGTA began carrying out its mandate to provide independent oversight of IRS activities. Now, the IRS watchdog is commemorating... Read more →

Since the Supreme Court in 2018 let states allow betting on college sports, sportsbook activity, like this in a Las Vegas casino, has pick up substantially. (Photo by Kay Bell) College and professional sports dominate screens right now. And sports wagering has increased annually since the Supreme Court of the United States in 2018 opened the door for states to allow sports betting on collegiate competitions. The high court’s move also made it possible for the Internal Revenue Service to collect on winning bets placed at legal sportsbooks. For the most part, those operations report the amounts that went into... Read more →

If only online privacy was as easy as posting a sign. (Photo by Connor Danylenko) Do you look at your overflowing email box (OK, maybe that’s just me) and wonder why in the heck am I getting all this unsolicited crap? It’s probably because you checked, or didn’t check, a box when you went to some website. You either directly or implicitly consented to let that site pass along your email to “partners” who are now inundating you with unwanted email. That’s a tax issue, too, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). In a just released... Read more →

As the Internal Revenue Service increases its electronic interactions with taxpayers, a volunteer advisory committee is going to have a lot more on its agenda. The IRS Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee, or ETAAC, serves as a public forum for discussing electronic tax administration issues. Created as part of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, the committee's main objective in the beginning was to encourage paperless filing of tax and information returns. As everyone’s lives, including our taxes, have become more electronic, ETAAC’s focus widened. In its annual report to Congress, ETAAC researches, analyzes, considers, and makes recommendations... Read more →

The Internal Revenue Service’s long-standing goal of regulating noncredentialed tax preparers got some support from the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee’s (ETAAC) 2024 annual report. Such oversight is one of a dozen recommendations in the latest ETAAC document, released June 26. It is one of three suggestions the panel directed to Congress; the remaining nine ETAAC recommendations are for the IRS. ETAAC goals: ETAAC is a volunteer panel established by Congress in 1988 to provide public input into the development and implementation of the IRS organizational strategy for, as the name says, electronic tax administration. To that end, ETAAC researches,... Read more →

Unsplash+ in collaboration with Kateryna Hliznitsova One of the biggest, most persistent complaints about the Internal Revenue Service is the agency’s service, or lack thereof, in answering taxpayer phone calls. The IRS has improved in this area, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate’s midyear report to Congress released today. The Treasury Department and the IRS established the Accounts Management (AM) Customer Service Representative Level of Service (LOS) standard to measure taxpayer service. For the past two filing seasons, notes National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) Erin M. Collins in her report, the Treasury/IRS LOS goal of at least 85 percent was met.... Read more →

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash Waiting on your Internal Revenue Service tax refund is frustrating. In most instances, though, the issues that slowed the tax refund are resolved and the money is issued in a relatively reasonable amount of time. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for the hundreds of thousands of filers whose personal information was used by identity thieves trying to intercept the real taxpayers’ refunds. Not only must they go through the process of alerting the IRS of the stolen identity and fraudulent refund claim, their wait for their rightful refunds takes much, much longer. In some... Read more →

This is the Internal Revenue Service’s fourth and final Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) Saturday opening in 2024. IRS reps will be accepting walk-in help requests at 59 TACs in 30 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. Photo by Tim Douglas The Internal Revenue Service is offering taxpayers in 32 jurisdictions one more chance this year to get help at a Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) without having to make an appointment. The agency’s final Saturday walk-in is tomorrow, May 18. At the select TACs — 59 total — across the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, you can... Read more →

A fourth, and final, Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) Saturday opening is set for May 18. Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash The third round of special Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) Saturday openings is this weekend, April 13. But don't let the date confuse you. Just because Internal Revenue Service reps will be available to help taxpayers who live near the TACs open across the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico on April 13 doesn't mean the tax agency staff will help filers complete 2023 tax returns (or extension requests) due on Monday, April 15. They won't. These... Read more →

The Internal Revenue Service has held two special walk-in Saturdays this year at its Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs) across the United States. Two more are scheduled for April and May. The no-appointment-needed sessions are welcomed by taxpayers who need help (note, however, that the TAC reps aren't offering tax return filing assistance), as long as you can find them. A recent report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) found that's not always easy, especially if you search online for a TAC office. Issue reported by the IRS: To the IRS' credit, the agency brought this concern to... Read more →

Two more IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) Saturday openings are scheduled for April 13 and May 18. Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash The Internal Revenue Service's second special Saturday openings this year of Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs) will be this Saturday, March 16. As with the February event, and the two openings in April and May, there's no need for taxpayers to make appointments. They can just walk into the TACs, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time, for help. The following 70 TACs in 34 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico... Read more →

Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) members adorn the cover of the federal tax advisory committee's 2022 report. Do you constantly look at things and think, I know how to make that better? Then the Internal Revenue Service wants you. Specifically, the IRS' Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) wants you. This all-volunteer group with members from across the United States, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico is committed to improving the IRS and the U.S. tax system. An additional member represents the interests of taxpayers working, living, or doing business abroad. "TAP volunteers consistently work to identify issues, and most importantly, come up with... Read more →

Other IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) Saturday openings will be on March 16, April 13, and May 18. Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash For the third consecutive year, the Internal Revenue Service is opening some of its Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs) on Saturdays. Face-to-face help at these IRS offices usually is available only on weekdays, and taxpayers must make appointments. But on Feb. 24, March 16, April 13, and May 18 certain TACs nationwide will be open. Even better, on those four Saturdays taxpayers won't need to call ahead. They can just walk into the TACs, which will be... Read more →

The 2024 tax filing season has started. Sorta. Eight tax software companies now are available to eligible Free File taxpayers. Some business returns can be e-filed starting Tuesday, Jan. 16. On Monday, Jan. 29, the Internal Revenue Service officially begins processing all 2023 tax returns. While this filing season is expected to be relatively smooth, some taxpayers typically encounter problems. And every year, the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) details the most annoying tax complications that we, and the IRS, face. 10 most serious taxpayers problems: Those concerns are included in NTA Erin M. Collins' 2023 Annual Report to Congress, released... Read more →

Photo via Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images College football fans are in heaven. The 2023 NCAA bowl season is underway. The first of the 42 games kicked off this morning in with Georgia Southern meeting Ohio in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. The event's sponsoring name notwithstanding, the event is actually more inland, at Brooks Stadium in Conway, South Carolina. There are six more games today, all as appetizers to the main menu meal, the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in Houston on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. The one downside this year is the number of notable players —... Read more →

Hunter Biden hugging his father Joe and stepmother Jill after the elder Biden was sworn in as President of the United States on Jan. 20, 2021. (Photo by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff via Wikimedia Commons) One of the 10 guarantees in the Internal Revenue Service's Taxpayer Bill of Rights is the right to privacy. Hunter Biden says the tax agency failed to follow its rule, and has filed a federal lawsuit against the IRS alleging that it illegally disclosed information about his taxes. The core of Biden's legal action is the public testimony of two IRS agents.... Read more →

Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images The Internal Revenue Service Taxpayer Bill of Rights includes the right to challenge the tax agency's position and be heard when it comes to what it says you owe. But that's not always as easy as the official IRS stance might make it seem. True, the IRS has several alternative dispute resolution, or ADR, programs in place. These programs use an IRS mediator to resolve taxpayer-IRS differences, and may be faster and less costly than the often-lengthy traditional tax appeals process. GAO issues with IRS ADR options: However, a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)... Read more →