IRS

The Bill of Rights generally requires the government to acquire a search warrant before its agents can seize a person’s property. Though exceptions exist, few would suspect that federal authorities have the power to seize their bank accounts without the person being even suspected of a crime. Believe it or not, the IRS, along with […]

For various reasons, many people whom the IRS accuses of owing a hefty income tax bill choose not to contest the claim. Perhaps they do not dispute owing the money, or the size of the debt. Maybe, for personal reasons, it is not worthwhile to go through the time and expense of fighting the IRS. […]

There is no doubt that the Internal Revenue Service is an agency that wields a significant amount of power over us. The words “IRS audit” are enough to seriously frighten even the most law-abiding tax payer simply because innocent mistakes found in an audit are still a very serious matter. What is the IRS’s duty […]

The federal Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, commonly known as FATCA, is a 2013 law that empowers the IRS to pursue taxpayers suspected of failing to disclose assets in foreign bank and investment accounts. The idea is that these individuals and businesses are defrauding the IRS by hiding these funds so that they can claim […]

Getting a phone call from the IRS can be scary. If the person on the other end of the line tells you that you owe thousands in back income taxes and must pay now, it may seem like you have no choice. Don’t be fooled. The person you are talking to is not an IRS […]

If a tax dispute with the IRS reaches the point that you or the agency must file suit to resolve it, the litigation could end up in one of several different courts. In fact, there are four different federal courts that potentially could have jurisdiction over your tax case. Though the balance of power between […]

The government pursues tax revenues with the relentlessness of a pack of bloodhounds. Even an honest tax mistake can come back to haunt you years later in an audit, and the IRS can follow up on a willful omission or failure for even longer. But for just how long do you have to worry about […]

Starting on July 1 a new policy went into effect for organizations seeking tax-exempt status as a charity. Previously, groups pursuing this designation had to complete a detailed 26-page form, provide reams of supporting documentation and describe their intended activities in narrative form. To obtain tax-exempt status as a nonprofit now, many groups will simply […]

In recent years, the IRS has been forced to operate with a significantly lower budget. Since 2010, IRS funding has been cut by nearly $1 billion. And, after a recent meeting of the House Appropriations Committee, everyone’s favorite tax collection agency could be on the chopping block once again. On June 25, a bill was […]

Washington, D.C., loves acronyms. Nearly everything has one and they are so widespread that a Google search of “government acronyms” delivers a whole slew of sites that offer guides to help people decipher who’s who and what’s what. In the tax realm, the Internal Revenue Service provides a list of about 80 different acronyms. The […]