Tax problems? tax controversy representation and consulting for clients and tax firms
Worker status determinations – that is, whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor – is an issue in every IRS business audit. The costs of getting worker reclassification can be great. There are several IRS amnesty programs that businesses should consider. My AICPA CPA Insider article highlights these programs and alternatives.
Worker status issues – that is, whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor – can have detrimental tax effects if you get the classification wrong. My AICPA CPA Insider article gives you six myths that are often relied on to claim that a worker is incorrectly classified as an independent contractor.
The IRS gets almost 3 billion information statements (Forms W-2/1099, etc.) a year and uses them for compliance. Here my AICPA CPA Insider article on the IRS information statement matching programs and how they work.
If you owe taxes and cannot pay, here are the four alternatives with the IRS and how they work. My AICPA CPA Insider article is a overview of the options and what is often utilized by taxpayers and their tax pros.
Tax pros can use IRS e-services to get information and help their clients, especially with a tax problem. Here are my eight suggestions for the IRS to improve e-services. This article was highlighted by the Taxpayer Advocate in her annual report to Congress and many suggestions were also included in the 2014-2016 IRS Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee recommendations that I chaired for the 2015 and 2016 report years.
In all IRS office and field audits, unreported income is a primary issue. The IRS takes great effort and uses several techniques to find unreported income. Be prepared for an IRS and read my AICPA CPA Insider article to analyze whether the IRS will question whether your client has reported all of their income. Failing to do so can result in a very long audit with a very suspicious auditor. Be prepared with a proactive answer by simulating these 5 actions the IRS will take in an audit to see if there is unreported income.
If you are not in a collection agreement with the IRS on an unpaid balance, you can face a federal tax lien or a levy/garnishment. Here is my AICPA CPA Insider article on the rules of when the IRS issues a lien or levy and how to avoid tax liens and levies.
IRS wants to audit more S corporations and partnerships focusing on these areas:
My CPA Practice Advisor article focuses on IRS compliance efforts to audit more flow-through entities and what you can do to prepare for an IRS inquiry or audit of your S corp or partnership.
If you responsible for helping people with tax problem solving, here are the 5 must-know areas based on the number of people who have tax problems. Master these 5 essentials and you are a tax problem solver. My AICPA CPA Insider article educates tax pros on the 5 areas they need to know and why.
Many years of IRS budget cuts have put a damper in IRS customer service, access to your IRS information, and to compliance activity. The IRS has not lost a beat though. Compliance activity- and results- continue to increase. But the long term impact will be that the IRS will not provide the services needed for its taxpayers- and get to secure, online taxpayer accounts that will help taxpayers get their tax information and interact with the IRS easier. This AICPA CPA Insider article explores 5 sobering facts of IRS budget cuts.
