From Accounting Today: IRS Suspends Tax Refunds and Tax Court Closes during Government Shutdown  The Internal Revenue Service has temporarily stopped sending out tax refunds, and the Tax Court has suspended operations during the federal government shutdown, as lawmakers in Congress continue their battle over delaying or defunding “Obamacare” for a year. The IRS announced […]

As reported in Accounting Today: IRS Employees Disciplined for Bypassing Taxpayers’ Representatives Between October 2011 and September 2012, the Internal Revenue Service investigated 13 complaints of IRS personnel who directly contacted taxpayers instead of going through their designated representatives, but IRS managers disciplined or counseled only two of the employees because of their actions. The […]

The IRS can abate penalties for “reasonable cause.” That does not mean the IRS will abate penalties because a taxpayer did not have the money to pay the tax. The IRS takes the position that it should be paid first after the necessities (as the IRS views them) of life. However, events or conditions like […]

Can the IRS Take a Taxpayer’s Home?  Yes, but it is a lengthy process and court approval is required. First, the Revenue Officer must prepare a suit narrative report.  The suit narrative details the results of the investigation and contains the recommendation to seize the principal residence. The report must make a request for institution […]

The IRS uses its “Collection Financial Standards” to determine a taxpayer’s ability to pay a delinquent tax liability. Allowable living expenses include those expenses that meet the necessary expense test. The necessary expense test is defined as expenses that are necessary to provide for a taxpayer’s (and his or her family’s) health and welfare and/or […]

A taxpayer can appeal most collection actions. If the request for appeal is timely, in most cases, all collection activity will stop during the appeals process.  The main options for appeals are the following: Collection Due Process (CDP) The purpose of a Collection Due Process hearing is to review collection actions that were taken or […]

The Fresh Start provisions mean that more taxpayers will have the ability to use streamlined installment agreements to catch up on back taxes. Under the Fresh Start initiative, the maximum dollar criteria for streamlined installment agreements has been raised from $25,000 to $50,000 and the maximum term has been raised from 60 months to 72 […]