Creating a work environment that you love. That is the goal of some of the top companies to work for – Google, Yahoo!, Zappos, GoDaddy. To create the ideal place for employees to work, a wealth of free employee perks are provided. Tax reform proposal may change how companies and employees view employee perks. Continue reading…
Companies with highly paid corporate executives may take a huge hit
Tax reform proposal may significantly reduce business deductions for highly paid corporate executives. Continue reading…
Next big topic is tax cuts. What is a tax cut?
Tax cuts are a hot topic. The impact of a tax cuts is not fully understood, which has lead to a number of questions. What will it do for the economy? How will the tax cut effect individuals? How will the tax cut effect businesses? Will it encourage people to spend more? What type of tax cut is it? Continue reading…
Understand a Profit & Loss Statement
Most people that work for a business may never think about the reports that aid owners and managers for making decision. One of those reports is the profit & loss statement. The profit & loss statement shows all of the company’s income from sales, services and any other sources. It also shows the companies expenses. These are good things to record to see if the company is making a profit or a loss. Continue reading…
ALG Tax Solutions Catches IRS Scammer Red-Handed (Remix)
The first video created was not the my complete conversation with the IRS scammer. Also, I thought it would be fun to make a less serious video. Here is the remix video with other ridiculous request not in the previous video.
IRS Scammer Caught Red Handed
For about a year, I received numerous calls from people that received a strange call from the IRS. The IRS scammer would demand money to pay back tax debt. If the person didn’t pay, the scammer would threaten to call the police and jail time. I thought it would be interesting to call a scammer and record the conversation.
IRS Starts New Private Third Party Debt Collection Program
You may have received a weird letter from the IRS. Is it a scam? How did this company get personal information about your back IRS tax balances? In December of 2015, Congress passed into law the use of third party debt collectors to collect old uncollected tax debt.
The IRS contracted with four different third party debt collectors to start the new Private Debt Collection Program. The new program authorizes third party debt collectors to collect outstanding inactive taxes for the government. The collecting agencies will be working on accounts that the IRS is no longer working on, but the taxpayer still owes back taxes. The factors for hiring four outside contractors to collect money are older, overdue taxes, and/or lack of resources for the IRS to continue working the case.
IRS Hires Four Third Party Debt Collection Companies
The four collection agencies are:
CBE
P.O. Box 2217
Waterloo, IA 50704
1-800-910-5837
ConServe
P.O. Box 307
Fairport, NY 14450-0307
1-844-853-4875
Performant
P.O. Box 9045
Pleasanton CA 94566-9045
1-844-807-9367
Pioneer
PO Box 500
Horseheads, NY 14845
1-800-448-3531
Letter from IRS Notifying of Collection Company
Because there are many different “Tax Scams” going around, the IRS is doing whatever they can to avoid confusion. The IRS will send effected taxpayers a letter about the account transfer. Then the private collection agency will send another letter about the transfer of debt collection from the IRS to the third party collector. If the taxpayer has a representative assisting them on the back tax balances, the representative will receive a copy of both the IRS letter and the agency’s follow up letter.
Your letter from the private collection agency will have certain information on it such as: Toll free telephone number to call with questions and your right to contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service. The letter may contain information on the different ways to pay outstanding and include explanations on how to notify the private collection agency if the taxpayer disputes the legitimacy of the debt or any portion of the debt.
Here is real an example of a letter from ConServe.
IRS. “New Private Debt Collection Program to Begin next Spring; IRS to Contract with Four Agencies; Taxpayer Rights Protected.” IRS. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 June 2017.
How to Handle the Inevitable Stress of Tax Season
It’s springtime, and you know what that means. Birds are chirping, flowers and blooming, and you’re staring at your W-2s. Tax season is an inevitable part of life, and so is the stress that comes with it. If you know how to help yourself, however, you can mitigate the stressful effects of reporting your income to Uncle Sam. Here are some ways to handle the stress of tax season.
Know your best option for help
Many of us will seek help when preparing our taxes – whether it’s in the form of online preparation software (or W-2 or 1099 software if you own a business), a professional tax preparation service, or a friend or family member.
If you’re looking for a professional, make sure you ask about their credentials. Also opt for services that have a set fee – not ones that base their fee on the size of your tax return.
“Bigger isn’t always better. Be wary of tax preparation services that promise larger refunds than the competition, and avoid tax preparers who base their fee on a percentage of your refund,” says the Better Business Bureau. “Look for credentials. Ideally, your tax preparer should either be a certified public accountant, a tax attorney, an enrolled agent or a certified E-file provider. Also ask if they belong to any professional organizations or attend continuing education classes.”
If you make less than $54,000 a year, are elderly, or have trouble speaking English, the IRS has free programs to help you out.
Take steps to prevent scams and theft
One of the worst things about tax season is that it really brings out the criminals. In order to help yourself thwart their attempts, you should always make sure your internet connection is secure when e-filing. File early so thieves are unable to steal your social security number to file a fake return. Shred extra tax documents (after you organize and store what’s necessary).
Also, be aware of potential scams. Scammers can call, claiming to be the IRS, a certified tax preparer, or a charitable organization looking for tax info. Be aware that the IRS will never contact you by telephone or email – always by snail mail. If you feel you’ve been the target of a scam, contact the authorities.
Pay it forward
No, don’t pay more than you must to the IRS. Pay it forward to yourself, for next tax season. Think about what you can do this year to make next year’s filing easier. Most of the time, this starts with organization. Hang on to all relevant tax documents and set up a system for filing the new ones that come your way throughout the year.
“Start the year off right by putting all tax related documentation in a file folder. Each time you get a receipt or document to be used for your tax filing, place it into the folder. Consider keeping a master list of all items in your folder,” says Alt-Creative. “You will thank yourself later when you go to gather your tax documents next year and everything you need is conveniently located in one place. Instead of spending hours preparing documents for your tax professional, you can simply grab your folder and go.”
Take some time to de-stress
Money is stressful. There’s no getting around this. If tax season has you feeling the weight of the world, take a break and de-stress before jumping back in. Take your dog for a walk, do some yoga, or close your laptop, put away your documents, and practice some stress-relieving meditation. Have a beer. There’s no reason you have to stress yourself out this tax season. Start early enough that you can take your time.
Photo Credit: Pixabay.com
Author: Julie Morris
Important 2017 IRS Due Dates
New for 2017 are some changes to the due dates for various tax returns. For example, partnership tax returns are due on March 15 instead of April 15. Also, a couple of the due dates fall on a holiday and/or weekend. When this happens, the due date is the next business day.
January 23, 2017
Tax season starts. The IRS will start accepting and processing tax returns on this date.
January 31, 2017
– Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement; and
– Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income.
The due dates for Form W-2 and Form 1099-Misc includes filing necessary forms to the recipient, IRS and Social Security Administration. The requirements for filing these two forms were slightly different in previous years.
February 15, 2017
Tax refunds due to Earn Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit will be held until this date. A new law was put in place requiring the IRS to hold the refunds.
March 15, 2017
– Form 1065, U.S. Return of Partnership Income; and
– Form 1120S, U.S. Income Tax Return for S Corporation Return.
In previous years, partnership returns were due on April 15.
April 18, 2017
April 15 falls on a weekend in 2017 and Monday April 17 is Emancipation Day. Therefore, tax returns are due on Tuesday, April 18, 2017.
– Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return;
– Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts;
– Form 1120, U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return;
– Form 1040-ES, Q1 Estimated Tax for Individuals; and
– Form 1120-W, Q1 Estimated Tax for Corporations.
New this year, Form 1120 Corporation returns are due in April instead of March.
June 15, 2017
– Form 1040-ES, Q2 Estimated Tax for Individuals; and
– Form 1120-W, Q2 Estimated Tax for Corporations.
September 15, 2017
– Extended Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return;
– Extended Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts;
– Extended Form 1120, U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return;
– Form 1040-ES, Q3 Estimated Tax for Individuals; and
– Form 1120-W, Q3 Estimated Tax for Corporations.
October 2, 2017
– Extended Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts
December 15, 2017
– Form 1120-W, Q4 Estimated Tax for Corporations
January 15, 2018
– Form 1040-ES, Q4 Estimated Tax for Individuals
Fake IRS Tax Bill Scam
The IRS issued a warning about fake IRS tax bills being mailed to taxpayers. Scammers have created a fake version of a real notice used by the IRS, Notice CP2000. We suggest using our IRS Letter Decoder to check the authenticity of the letter you may have received before responding. Continue reading…