Tax Lawyer's Blog

Alan Berube writing for Brookings thinks its a good thing that poor people can no longer get refund anticipation loans (RALs) (emphasis is mine):
Last week’s… positive EITC development was IRS’ decision to suspend availability of the “debt indicator” next tax filing season.
This indicator, provided to tax professionals, enables preparers to identify whether or not the taxpayer’s [...]

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Kay Bell reports that the extension of the homebuyer credit was passed last night in the Senate:
If you went to be last night freaking out that you wouldn’t be able to claim the first-time homebuyer credit, here’s some welcome wake-up news.
It’s official. You now have three more months to finalize your home purchase.
With the tax credit’s [...]

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We have written before how refundable tax credits always seem to bring the bottom-feeders to the surface. Well, it’s happened again with the first-time homebuyer credit.
According to Paul Caron the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration today released a report titled Additional Steps Are Needed to Prevent and Recover Erroneous Claims for the First-Time Homebuyer Credit.
Here are the major findings:
In [...]

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Shirl Kennedy of Docuticker reports that the IRS has issued Notice 2010-44 Tax Credit for Employee Health Insurance Expenses of Small Employers:
The Internal Revenue Service today issued new guidance to make it easier for small businesses to determine whether they are eligible for the new health care tax credit under the Affordable Care Act and how large a [...]

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And we thought only the rich were greedy and dishonest.
Paul Caron reports:
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration yesterday [said] that 372,000 taxpayers erroneously claimed education tax credits in 2006 and 2007, totaling $532 million (an average of over $1,400 improper credit per taxpayer).  Improvements Are Needed in the Administration of Education Credits and Reporting Requirements for Educational [...]

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HSH’s Tim Manni has another interesting blog post about the effectiveness of the new homebuyer credit:
According to [a survey by the National Association of Realtors (NAR)], only 6% of home buyers said that the homebuyer tax credit was the main reason behind their decision to purchase a home.
Tim quotes Luke Mullins of U.S. News & World [...]

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USA Today reports that millions of American taxpayers might get an unexpected tax bill in 2010:
More than 15 million taxpayers could unexpectedly owe taxes when they file their federal returns next spring because the government was too generous with their new Making Work Pay tax credit.
Taxpayers are at risk if they have more than one [...]

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Tucked into a corner of the Stimulus plan approved by Congress in February are tax incentives for homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient:
Uncle Sam is offering up to $1,500 in tax credit for energy-efficiency upgrades like new insulation and windows. The credits are worth 30 percent of the total cost for the upgrades. For example, [...]

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The Wall Street Journal reports in an article titled AIG’s Tax Dispute With U.S. has Twist of Irony that,
American International Group Inc. is in a battle with the Internal Revenue Service over $329 million in back taxes and penalties in part stemming from the company’s use of a type of transaction the IRS has called “abusive,” [...]

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Cynthia G. Wilcox v. Commissioner- This case involved a taxpayer who claimed foreign tax credits on her individual income tax returns.  The IRS denied the credits because the taxpayer failed to prove that the foreign taxes were actually paid to the foreign taxing authority and assessed a § 6663 (civil fraud) penalty against her for claiming [...]

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