IRS Turns Up the Heat on Bitcoin and Digital Currency Users
The IRS has taken a major step in the fight to obtain data on Bitcoin and other digital currency transactions. A federal court has authorized the IRS to serve a John Doe Summons on Coinbase, Inc., a digital currency transaction company. The IRS wants information on the site’s users and their transactions. Some Coinbase users, led […]
Tax News –Passport Revocation for Seriously Delinquent Taxpayers
The federal government recently signed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (“FAST Act”) into law allowing the Secretary of State to deny, revoke or limit the United States passports of individuals with “seriously delinquent” tax debt. This legislation allows the IRS and Department of Treasury to notify the Secretary of State where any individual taxpayer […]
Tax News: IRS Updates for FBAR Penalties
Any US taxpayer with an interest in, or signatory authority over, a foreign financial account must file FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) where the aggregate value of all foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 during a tax year. FBARs must be submitted to the IRS by June 30th of each […]
Tax News: Affordable Care Act
While the Affordable Care Act, or “ACA,” makes obtaining health care coverage accessible for many Americans, the law imposes additional obligations on many taxpayers who benefit from its provisions. As of July 1, 2014 most taxpayers are required to report qualified health care coverage on their federal income tax returns pursuant to the ACA. Certain taxpayers […]
Tax Tip: Are You A Household Employer?
Between full time jobs, children, and pets many people pay others to help them with household chores and related tasks. If you pay an individual to run errands for you, babysit your children, walk your dog, or do other types of work for your home, you may have additional tax obligations as a “household employer.” […]
IRS Targets Offshore Accounts and Income in Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2015
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) continues to remind taxpayers of the danger of hiding money or assets in unreported offshore accounts. The IRS has been very focused on this issue now for over 5 years. Violations of U.S. global tax reporting and FBAR filing laws can be criminal and there are severe civil penalties even for […]
IRS Increases Offshore ‘Amnesty’ Penalty From 27.5% To 50% for Certain Taxpayers Effective August 4, 2014
As discussed in our post on June 24, 2014, the IRS has announced important changes to its offshore voluntary account programs. These changes were announces as FATCA took hold worldwide on July 1, 2014. One of the biggest changes announced by the IRS was the changes made to the main disclosure program knows as the […]
Breaking Tax News: All Legal Same-Sex Marriages Will Be Recognized for Federal Tax Purposes
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today ruled that same-sex couples, legally married in jurisdictions that recognize their marriages, will be treated as married for federal tax purposes. The ruling applies regardless of whether the couple lives in a jurisdiction that recognizes same-sex marriage or a jurisdiction that does […]
TIGTA Finds IRS Does Not Always Comply With Legal Guidelines When Conducting Seizures of Taxpayers’ Property
In a draft report issued on June 12, 2013, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) found that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) did not always comply with certain statutory requirements of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 for conducting the seizures of taxpayers’ property. To ensure that taxpayers’ rights are protected […]
Whistleblower and Tax Cheat Receives $104m Reward from the IRS
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has awarded Bradley Birkenfeld – a tax cheat and whistleblower – $104 million for providing information about UBS’s promotion of secret offshore accounts to U.S. taxpayers. Mr. Birkenfeld had recently been released from jail after serving a portion of a 40-month sentence after pleading guilty to withholding information about his […]