I can say without hesitation that no government agency will do any of the following: (1) ask you to pay a debt to a government agency with a prepaid debit card or a gift card. (2) demand payment of a debt to a government agency without having told you first, in writing, how much they […]
Posts Tagged ‘IRS’
Tax Law Special Report: January 2019 Individual Income Tax Filing Season Brings Changes
The IRS has announced, in its first news release of the year (January 7, 2019, IR-2019-1), that it will begin accepting 2018 individual income tax returns on January 28, 2019. I had heard that the due date for individual returns would be delayed this year because April 15 is a legal holiday in some places, […]
Tax Law Special Report: June 2018 Why Can’t There Be More Opportunities for Tax-Advantaged Savings?
I have previously presented the following question to you, my loyal readers: should the income earned on savings be exempt from income tax regardless of the purpose of the savings? I think so, and I’m not alone, but the idea doesn’t seem to have gained much traction, yet. Under the federal tax code, there are […]
Tax Law Special Report: November 2017 All The Hullaballoo Over The Home Mortgage Interest Deduction Comes Down To Changing One Amount
I usually don’t bother writing about, or even spend too much time thinking about, proposed tax legislation. I figure I can’t do anything about it except to try to understand it after it is enacted. I’m going to make an exception for the proposed change to the dollar limit on the home mortgage interest deduction because […]
Tax Law Special Report If Someone Calls You And Says They Are From The IRS, Then Says Any Of These Things, They Are Trying To Rob You
The IRS will not do any of the following: (1) ask you to pay a tax debt with a prepaid debit card or a gift card. (2) demand payment of a tax debt without having told you first, in writing, how much they think you owe them. (3) threaten to have the local police arrest […]
Tax Law Special Report Federal Individual Income Tax Filing Season Runs From January 23 Through April 18, 2017
The IRS announced in its first news release of the year that it will begin accepting 2016 individual income tax returns via electronic filing, and will start processing paper returns, on January 23, 2017. The same announcement says that the deadline for filing 2016 returns is April 18, 2017. Yes, the filing deadline is April […]
ESTATE PLANNING LAW REPORT: Beware of Telephone Callers Asking For Valuable Information
A story that appeared in The Arizona Republic on June 30 caught my eye. The story is about an all-too-prevalent scam: elderly people receive a phone call from someone claiming to be their grandchild, or claiming to be calling about their grandchild. The caller says that the grandchild is in trouble in some faraway place […]
TAX LAW SPECIAL REPORT What Is That Notice I Receive From The County Assessor Every February, and What Am I Supposed To Do About It?
Sometime soon, meaning before March 1, the County Assessor of each county in Arizona will be mailing to all property owners the annual notice of the valuation of property for purposes of property tax assessment. It’s that letter you get every year that says “NOTICE OF VALUATION” at the top. It used to be a […]
TAX LAW SPECIAL REPORT: August 2014 If You Were Paying Attention, You Could See This Tax (and Financial) Disaster Coming From A Mile Away
“In May 2004, Plaintiff hired Ra Shonda Kay Marshall… to ‘assist [him] in budgeting [his] income and expenses and to provide bill payment services.’ Marshall was previously employed at Omni Elite, a financial management firm in Ohio, where she had provided bill payment and other financial services to Plaintiff. However, she left the firm to […]
TAX LAW SPECIAL REPORT: July 2014 Wesley Snipes Released From Prison After Serving 3 Years For Willful Failure To File Tax Returns – An Object Lesson?
I wrote in May, 2009, about the travails of the actor Wesley Snipes resulting from his criminal conviction for three counts of willful failure to file income tax returns. I mentioned in April, 2012, that he was still in prison for claiming that he didn’t have to file income tax returns. More recently, I was […]
Estate Planning Law Report: May 2014
Writing Down Your Last Instructions is No Fun, But It Can Avoid a Bad Scene
I’m a little wary of getting into this topic, but it is a situation that comes up with enough frequency that it’s worth discussing. I’ll try to discuss it in a sensitive fashion. What happens when there is a disagreement among family members about how to handle the remains of a deceased person? The question […]