5581 Portsmouth Blvd.
Portsmouth, VA 23701
(757) 488-7232 | Fax: (757) 488-1368 Get Directions

IRS Can Audit 6 Tax Years Not 3, So Be Careful

IRS Can Audit 6 Tax Years Not 3, So Be Careful

See this article from Forbes magazine – https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2017/02/09/irs-can-audit-6-tax-years-not-3-so-be-careful/#2e6101695994

SCAMMERS!!!

Scammers are now sending out bills that look EXACTLY like an IRS bill in almost every respect.

NEVER pay any bill that you are not expecting or that you have not verified with us first.

Please call us if you have any questions whatsoever about the legitimacy of any bill from the IRS!  There is NO charge for this call.

I will also remind you that the IRS will NEVER call you unless it is prearranged.  So if someone calls you claiming to be from the IRS, it also is a scam.

PLEASE VOTE FOR US FOR THE BEST OF PORTSMOUTH

PLEASE VOTE FOR US FOR THE BEST OF PORTSMOUTH

I would greatly appreciate it if you would vote for us for BEST OF PORTSMOUTH this year.  There are 2 ways to vote.  You can either:

  1. Vote online at http://www.hamptonroads.com/bestof or
  2. Text the code “CCXZ” to 21333

Better yet, please do both!

You can vote between March 8th and March 22nd

We will greatly appreciate your vote!

MANY THANKS!

Lennox C. (Len) Boush, EA

Heritage Income Tax Service, Inc.

IRS Warns Of Delayed Refunds, Long Waits For Taxpayers & Possible Shutdown

IRS Warns Of Delayed Refunds, Long Waits For Taxpayers & Possible Shutdown

 

Kelly Phillips Erb, Contributor, Forbes.com

 

With a week to go before tax season opens, taxpayers were already bracing for a potentially “miserable” filing season. It turns out that it could live up to the hype.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Koskinen has advised employees that the budget cuts will result in reduced services to taxpayers. In an email to employees sent earlier today, Commissioner Koskinen advised that “realistically we have no choice but to do less with less.”

What does that mean for taxpayers?

  • Identity theft could increase. Despite the need for increased taxpayer protections against identity theft, the implementation of additional measures will be delayed. That’s bad news for taxpayers since, despite the efforts of IRS and other agencies to stem the tide of identity theft, scammers have grown more bold. TIGTA reported that
  • telephone scammers, posing as IRS representatives, managed to steal more than $5 million from taxpayers last year. And as quickly as the scams are picked up, theychange. IRS-Criminal Investigation has responded to what has been termed an “epidemic” of identity theft by ramping up investigations – but with wholesale cuts to IRS, expect those investigations to dip, too.
  • Refund delays. It turns out that satirical piece on tax refunds making the rounds might have had some merit after all. According to the Commissioner, taxpayers who file paper tax returns may have to wait an extra week or longer to see their refund. In the email, the Commissioner didn’t specifically address whether delays would affect refunds for taxpayers who e-file, though a few weeks again he refused to say that refunds would not be delayed.
  • Lags in correspondence. Those of us in the field have already become familiar with those letters from IRS that begin “We need more time…” It looks like those are about to kick up even more. With fewer employees on staff, IRS expects “lengthy delays” to answer correspondence.
  • Fewer resolutions. Those taxpayers who have legitimate gripes but can’t find a resolution will be out of luck. The Commissioner says that the Taxpayer Advocate Service, normally the next step when cases aren’t resolved through normal channels, won’t be able to obtain a new case management system to oversee taxpayer hardship cases.
  • Unanswered calls. Predictions weren’t terrific for answered call rates before. Now, the Commissioner is warning of “an even lower level of telephone service.” Specifically, he notes the “real possibility that fewer than half of taxpayers trying to call us will actually reach us.” Those calls that are answered, he says, “will face extended wait times that are unacceptable to all of us.”
  • Shutdowns. Although the Commissioner wavered on saying yes to furloughs last month, temporary shutdowns look to be the case after all. The Commissioner indicated that the agency is planning for at least one shutdown this fiscal year; he suggested there might be two furlough days. There was no word on when those dates might be other than later in the fiscal year (read: not during tax season).
  • Fewer Audit Closures. The silver lining – if you can call it that – is that the reduction in staffing means
  • fewer taxpayer audits will be closed in 2015 (no word on how that will affect selection of new matters). Collections case closures will also be reduced. That might be good news for those under the audit gun but not so great for the Treasury. Commissioner Koskinen estimates that the government will, as a result, lose at least $2 billion in revenue.

Quite frankly, none of this information is earth-shattering. I think many of us – tax professionals and taxpayers alike – have been hoping for the best but bracing for the worst this tax season. It looks like we’re getting the latter.

Tax season is still slated to open on January 20, 2015 (those pesky rumors suggesting the date has been pushed out further are just that: rumors). For the latest word on the 2015 tax season, keep checking back.

 

THANKS!

We wanted to express our thanks to the many of you who voted for us for Best of Portsmouth 2014.

For the last thirteen (13) consecutive years, our clients have voted Heritage Income Tax Service, Inc. as either the Gold winner or the Silver Winner in the “tax service” category for “Best of Portsmouth”.  For the last seven (7) consecutive years, they voted us the Gold Winner, #1 in Portsmouth!

Thanks to all our wonderful clients! We owe it all to you!

Len Boush, Debbie Boush, Michelle Dail, Joan Hughes

Top 10 Tax Mistakes To Avoid At All Costs

Top 10 Tax Mistakes To Avoid At All Costs

A tax audit involves the time and expense of being examined and often a tax dispute. Avoid these common mistakes and you’ll reduce your chances of grief from the IRS.

Click on this line to read the full article.

Please Vote For Us

The deadline for voting for Best of Portsmouth is tomorrow, March 18th.

If you have already voted for us, THANKS!

If not, we’d greatly appreciate it if you would vote for us for “BEST OF PORTSMOUTH” this year.  There are 2 ways to vote.  You can either:

1.       Vote online at http://www.hamptonroads.com/bestofOR

2.       Text the code AKXZ to 21333

Better yet, please do both!

MANY THANKS!

IRS Criminal Prosecutions Climbed 23% under Obama

IRS Criminal Prosecutions Climbed 23% under Obama

The number of criminal prosecutions referred by the Internal Revenue Service to the Justice Department has increased 23.4 percent during the Obama administration.

Prosecutions in fiscal year 2013 alone jumped 30.6 percent from the previous year, according to a new report by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.

Convictions for tax crimes under the Obama administration are also drawing slightly longer average prison terms, 27 months under Obama, compared to 25 months during the George W. Bush administration, according to information obtained by TRAC under the Freedom of Information Act from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys.

Read the full article by clicking on this line.

WEALTH REDISTRIBUTION IS HERE!

WEALTH REDISTRIBUTION IS HERE!

 

(Disclaimer:  I wrote this a couple of year ago and the numbers have changed since then, “but NOT for the better!”)

 

I wonder how many people are aware of how much money a low income person can get from their income tax return this year.

 

As an example. We’ll say a person earns between $12,750 and $21, 800 and is married filing jointly and has 3 dependent children.  That person is truly worthy of some assistance but how much assistance should other taxpayers have to bear for that individual and at what point do we remove the incentive to work?

 

In the example above, the taxpayer can receive $5751 in Earned Income Credit, up to $3000 in Additional Child Tax Credit.  Specifically, at between $12, 750 and $21,800 of income, the taxpayer would have ZERO tax withheld, pay ZERO taxes and yet still receive a Federal Refund of $8751.  THAT’S $8751 THAT COMES ENTIRELY OUT OF THE POCKET OF OTHER TAXPAYERS!

 

On top of this, the low income would qualify the taxpayer for around $300+ per month in Food Stamps as well as Housing Assistance of up to $700 per month and either free or low cost health care through Medicaid.  The kids can also get FREE breakfasts and/or lunches if they are in public schools.  On the lower end, they would also qualify for SSI or up to $300+ per month.

 

I honestly am all for helping low income people who cannot help themselves or who are the victim our recent terrible economy.  But consider the following.  The low income person can literally DOUBLE their income 100% TAX FREE though all of these welfare programs (and YES, the Earned Income Credit IS a welfare program!).  They have ZERO incentive to work harder or for the second spouse to get a job when they can take your tax dollars and my tax dollars instead.

 

I am convinced that most Americans do not really know how much money is being paid out for these welfare programs and thought this information might be of interest.

 

BUT THERE IS ALSO ANOTHER SIDE TO THIS STORY

A couple can have a million dollars in IRA’s and not take any income out of it.  They also own a home worth a half million dollars and they drive two brand new Mercedes.  They are debt free and basicly retired.  They are legal guardians of their three grandchildren.  While most welfare is “means” tested for not only income but for assets as well, the Earned Income Credit is only tested for income.  Therefore, if either or both of these two spouses were to go out and get part time jobs making a total of $12,750 to $21,800 per year, they too would qualify for the maximum earned income credit of $5751 and could get the child tax credit of $3000.  That works out to $8751 to be paid by the taxpayers to someone who is a millionaire.

 

Both of the above scenarios need to be corrected.

Humor

A pastor was visiting one of the shut-in members of his church one day and noticed a bowl of almonds sitting on the table and asked if he might have some.  The kind lady assured him it would be fine.  After a quite lengthy visit, the pastor realized he had eaten a large number of the almonds and ask the lady to forgive him for eating so many of her almonds.  She quickly assured him that it was not a problem since she could only lick the chocolate coating off of them anyway.

2008 to 2023 Best of Portsmouth

Heritage Income Tax Service, Inc. | 5581 Portsmouth Blvd., Portsmouth, VA 23701
(757) 488-7232 | Fax (757) 488-1368

Heritage Income Tax offers a full range of tax preparation services. Located in Portsmouth, Virginia, we serve the entire Hampton Roads area including the cities of Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Suffolk, Newport News and Hampton.