IRS and Telemundo Host Tax Information Program in Spanish

In their newest press release, the IRS announced they are going to team up with national TV network Telemundo for a special one-hour tax program for Spanish-speaking taxpayers set to air on Sunday, January 30. Be sure to check your local listings for exact times.

“Los Impuestos y Usted” will help viewers determine whether they qualify for many tax benefits, including the Earned Income Tax Credit or EITC. Workers who earned $48,362 or less from wages, self-employment or farming last year could receive larger refunds if they qualify to receive EITC.

IRS estimates four of five eligible taxpayers claimed their EITC last year, obtaining an average $2,200 from the credit. To qualify, taxpayers must meet certain criteria and file a tax return, even if they do not have a filing requirement.

Among other topics, the program features Free File, a program that allows individuals to file their taxes online at no cost, how to get free tax help at local community centers and other services available at www.irs.gov/espanol.

Mónica Noguera, host for many of Telemundo’s specials, will present the IRS program, which features in-studio interviews with IRS tax experts. IRS tax experts will also be available during the airing of the program to answer questions.

Continue reading at IRS.gov…

Top 10 Reasons To Visit IRS.gov

Finding updated and reliable tax information is not always easy. These days any one can publish an article online, and it does not necessarily mean the information is based in fact. However, the IRS’ official website has pages and pages of up to date content. NJToday.net even put together list of the top 10 reasons to visit IRS.gov. You can find a few items from their list below, or check out the full article here.

1. Unlimited access – get answers 24 hours a day seven days a week. There’s no need to wait to get a tax form or an answer to a tax question – visit the IRS website anytime. IRS.gov is accessible all day, every day.

2. Find out all about electronic filing. You can e-file your 2009 federal income tax return through October 15, 2010 from the comfort of your home. Available in English or Spanish, E-file is fast, easy and there are free options for everyone.

3. Check the status of your tax refund. Whether you chose direct deposit or asked IRS to mail you a check, you can check the status of your refund through Where’s my Refund? at IRS.gov.

4. Find out how to make payments electronically. You can authorize an electronic funds withdrawal, use a credit or debit card, or enroll in the U.S. Treasury’s Electronic Federal Tax Payment System to pay your federal taxes. Electronic payment options are a convenient, safe and secure way to pay taxes.

Continue reading at NJToday.net…

5 Things to Know About Getting Audited

Getting audited is not fun for anyone, but being aware of new trends can help taxpayers avoid a potential audit. CNNMoney.com recently put together a helpful list of five things you know about getting audited, check out a section of their article below or find the full text here.

1. Audits are on the rise

Now that your 1040 is out the door, you may be second-guessing yourself: Will the IRS come a-calling?

Well, the number of audits has risen every year over the past 10. And experts expect that trend to continue, what with the ballooning federal deficit and the additional $400 million earmarked for tax enforcement in 2010.

Even so, your audit risk in any one year is slim -- about 1% if your income is under $200,000, 2% from there to $1 million, and 6% for the über-rich, based on 2009 data. Those selected tend to be self-employed or have unusually large write-offs, says Trudy Moore, an enrolled agent in Stevensville, Montana. If you do get hit this year, it's likely to be for 2008 taxes: Audit letters typically go out 18 months after the filing date.

2. Delaying can cost you the right to fight

If you are one of the unlucky few to get the dreaded letter from the IRS, be sure to take the action required within the time frame allotted, usually 30 days. Otherwise the dispute becomes a final assessment and moves on to the collections department, with no grace period.

Tax Bills Won’t Rise for Parents Who Keep Older Kids on Health Insurance

After millions of taxpayers expressed anger over concerns they might be hit with additional taxes for children under the age of 27 still receiving health benefits, both the IRS and Obama administration have spoken up regarding the issue. According to LA Times.com, the Federal government announced that tax bills will NOT increase for these families.

The president and his congressional allies have billed the new benefit for older children as one of the most immediate advantages of health legislation that in other respects remains highly controversial.

And last week, after prodding from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, several leading national insurance companies said they would offer the extended coverage immediately to parents who buy plans on their own.

But the healthcare bill did not make clear if employees would have to pay taxes on the additional benefit if they receive health insurance through work, as most Americans do.

Tuesday, the IRS issued a 12-page notice explaining that the added insurance for children under 27 would be tax-free, like other employer-provided health benefits, and that employers with some kinds of plans could begin offering the benefit immediately.

Continue reading at LA Times.com…

The Tax Code on your iPhone

Earlier today, I came across this useful iPhone application and I wanted to share it with all of my readers. It was created by LawToGo and it is basically the full IRS tax code displayed in an easy to use iPhone application. Check out the following review of the app from iPhone JD.

The app's website says that this app is up to date as of December 31, 2008, and says that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will be included in the next (free) update. Nevertheless, from what I can tell, the app seems quite solid. You can use the app many different ways. First, you can just browse through sections, tapping to drill down to a specific section.

Additionally, you can search for a particular section. You can search for words, including AND search, OR search, and /n (within a certain number of words) search. Search terms are clearly highlighted in yellow in the search results.

If you know the particular section that you are looking for, you can also use the Search by Section Number feature. For example, like many Americans, I've recently been thinking quite a bit about my dwindling 401K. If I want to read Section 401(k) itself while I drown my sorrows, I can jump right to Section 401 and then scroll down to (k).

The app includes lots of additional features. You can use the arrows to browse back and forth through sections. You can e-mail a section of the tax code, you can add a section that you use frequently to your Bookmarks, and you can turn your iPhone screen on its side to view everything a little bit larger in landscape mode.

If you want to see this app in action before you buy it, there is a video overview on the LawToGo website. The developer has done a nice job with this app. I am sure that any tax attorney would find it very useful, and for the rest of us, it may serve as a useful sleep aid.

Can You Believe...? Tax Information for Business

A new article from Reuters.com broke down some of the most interesting tax facts for business owners. You can find a portion of the text below, but the full article can be read here.

The IRS may recognize your business as one entity for tax purposes but your home state or a state that you are doing business in may not. As a result the protections that you think you have (e.g., personal liability protection) may not be in place in the event you are sued.

Some states require partnership registration fees that may go as high as $120,000.

Owners, members, officers, and partners who are protected against "personal liability" for the entity obligations may still be held personally liable for obligations that result from their failure to conform to tax rules and regulations.

Failure to comply with the tax laws in the states where you do business may subject your business to paying full taxes in your home state and additional taxes in the states where you do business.

There is a way for a business in economic trouble to avoid paying IRS penalties for delinquent taxes if the business can prove that it made the IRS its top priority by expending only absolutely necessary funds to complete work that would generate the income to make federal tax payments.

You may have to pay the entire tax debt or obligation of your business even though you have partners, fellow members, or other associates who were incompetent or dishonest and created the situation that caused the obligation.