Tax Tidbits

Tax Tidbits

H & R BLOCK AND TURBO TAX have been accused of steering taxpayers away from their free tax software to their more costly services. The media reported that both H & R Block and Turbo Tax tried to hide their free programs. So, for profit companies, under the guise of offering free services, persuaded people to pay to use their non-free services. Go figure!

Pay only pennies on the dollar of your past IRS debt! Seldom, if ever, does this promise come true. Never if you have unfiled returns or own property.

Amending a return? All individual amended returns must be mailed to the IRS. We have recommended since the beginning of (our) time to send ALL correspondence to the IRS by Certified Mail. You, the taxpayer, have the burden of proof that the amended return was mailed timely.

IRAs with hard to value assets are separately reported to the IRS. If you have an IRA investment in a non-publicly traded business or in real estate, your IRA trustee is required to report this to the IRS. The IRS uses this information to look for violations of the prohibited transaction rules. A word to the wise is sufficient.