IRS

In the first part of this post, we began discussing collection due process (CDP) rights. Those rights and required procedures are important in establishing the rules that the IRS has to play by when seeking to collect back taxes. In this part of the post, let’s look at some of the reasons why people can […]

You may have heard that Congress has directed the IRS to create a program to use private debt collectors for tax debt in certain cases. That program is not yet, in place, however, and for now collections for federal tax debt are still being done solely by the IRS. We will update you in an […]

The IRS’s stepped-up enforcement campaign on offshore account disclosure has been going on for years now. Combined with the rollout of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, it has put great pressure on taxpayers with offshore holding as well as foreign financial institutions. Faced with possible criminal penalties, many taxpayers have chosen to participate in […]

Let’s continue the discussion we started last week of IRS whistleblower awards. Last week, we noted that a recent Tax Court ruling has broadened to scope of awards to be based not only a percentage of unpaid taxes, but also on criminal fines and civil forfeiture. In this part of the post, we will explain […]

The IRS operates a whistleblower program by which individuals who tip off the government about tax evasion can potentially receive monetary awards. Critics sometimes contend that whistleblowers have to wait too long for the IRS to act on applications for awards. But when large amounts of unpaid taxes are involved, the awards to whistleblowers can […]

Let’s continue the discussion we began last week about the creation of a common reporting standard (CRS) for revenue agencies around the world to exchange information about tax compliance. The CRS won’t take formal effect until September 2017. But more than 100 counties have already agreed to participate. In this part of the post, we […]

The international tax landscape has changed radically in recent years. The IRS enforcement crackdown on offshore account reporting is only one aspect of this. Also looming large of course is passage by Congress of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the intergovernmental agreements worked out by the Treasury Department to enforce it. But […]

In part one of this post, we began discussing the challenges you can face as a business owner if you fall behind on your payroll taxes. If your business runs into cashflow problems, it can be tempting to dip into the money you withheld from employees’ wage for payroll taxes. This may seem like merely […]

A few years ago, Congress got the idea that businesses could be more accurate in reporting all of their income. The concern was that there was a significant gap between taxable income and income reported on tax returns. To respond to this concern, Congress added a provision to the tax code to require credit-card companies […]

For those who are in business for themselves as sole proprietors, managing tax compliance is an important task. Not only is there income tax and the obligation to report profits, but also self-employment tax, quarterly estimated tax reporting, social security and Medicare taxes and tax withholdings, federal unemployment tax, and other potential tax obligations as […]