WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration continue to hear from taxpayers who have received unsolicited calls from individuals demanding payment while fraudulently claiming to be from the IRS.

Based on the 90,000 complaints that TIGTA has received through its telephone hotline, to date, TIGTA has identified approximately 1,100 victims who have lost an estimated $5 million from these scams. 

Washington — The Internal Revenue Service announced the successful start of its new web-based system — IRS Direct Pay — on IRS.gov, which lets taxpayers pay their tax bills or make estimated tax payments directly from checking or savings accounts without any fees or pre-registration.

“IRS Direct Pay reflects our latest effort to add more online tools to provide additional service options to help taxpayers,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.

WASHINGTON — As of April 18, almost 46 million returns were e-filed from home computers, more than the total from home computers for all of 2013. The IRS has received more than 131 million returns, of which 88 percent were e-filed.

The IRS also projects that almost 5 million taxpayers will amend their returns by filing http://www.irs.gov/uac/Form-1040X,-Amended-U.S.-Individual-Income-Tax-Return">Form 1040X during 2014. Taxpayers who need to amend their returns should file this form only after filing the original return. Generally, for a credit or refund, taxpayers must file Form 1040X within 3 years,

WASHINGTON —The Internal Revenue Service today warned consumers to be on the lookout for a new email phishing scam. The emails appear to be from the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service and include a bogus case number.‬

The fake emails may include the following message: “Your reported 2013 income is flagged for review due to a document processing error. Your case has been forwarded to the Taxpayer Advocate Service for resolution assistance. To avoid delays processing your 2013 filing contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service for resolution assistance.”‬

WASHINGTON — Refunds totaling almost $760 million may be waiting for an estimated 918,600 taxpayers who did not file a federal income tax return for 2010, the Internal Revenue Service announced today. However, to collect the money, a return for 2010 must be filed with the IRS no later than Tuesday, April 15, 2014.

"The window is quickly closing for people who are owed refunds from 2010 who haven't filed a tax return," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. "We encourage students, part-time workers and others who haven't filed for 2010 to look into this before time runs out on April 15."

In a breach involving Social Security numbers, the state Department of Labor said Friday that a printing error caused nearly 27,000 people to receive someone else's information on unemployment compensation forms.

Since unemployment compensation is taxable, the labor department is required to inform individuals annually about the amount they had received on a tax form.

On 27,000 of the 250,000 forms — known as UC-1099G — that have been mailed out to people who applied for unemployment benefits, information on the top portion of the form is correct. But in a case of double-printing, the bottom half includes the name, address, and Social Security number of another person.

IR-2013-100, Dec. 18, 2013

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced plans to open the 2014 filing season on Jan. 31 and encouraged taxpayers to use e-file or Free File as the fastest way to receive refunds.

The new opening date for individuals to file their 2013 tax returns will allow the IRS adequate time to program and test its tax processing systems. The annual process for updating IRS systems saw significant delays in October following the 16-day federal government closure.

Tax Tips Small Business

  • Starting Your Own Business?

    Here are a few quick tips to help you reduce taxes

    Open a separate business checking account. Many small business owners don't realize the complications that can arise from using their personal checking account to pay for business expenses. If business expenses are mixed in with personal expenses, the IRS may disallow them.

    Read more ...

Small Business Quick Tip

  • Employer Provided Education

    Employer-provided education assistance benefits of $5,250 provided under a written plan are excludable from wages. The education doesn't need to be job-related to qualify.
Saturday, 15th December 2018
EASEAL_L

What is an Enrolled Agent and why should I care?

Click Here to find out

 

NATP Member

Follow us on

TwitterFacebook

Tax Tips Personal

  • Charitable Remainder Trusts

    Reduce your estate by gifting property

    There are many ways to contribute to a charitable organization. You can write a check, donate property, or give of your time. If you're planning for retirement, you might want to consider making a gift of a future interest in your property by establishing a charitable remainder unitrust or annuity trust. These trusts allow you to contribute the property and retain an income stream.

    Read more ...

Personal Quick Tip

  • Adjusting Withholding

    If your tax refund was too high or too low, adjust your withholding so it doesn't happen again next year. You can file a revised W-4 with your employer at any time to increase or decrease the number of exemptions you claim. The more exemptions you claim, the less tax your employer withholds from your wages, resulting in a smaller refund. Decreasing the number of exemptions results in more withholding and a larger refund.