The report says inadequate funding for the IRS contributes to many of these problems and means the IRS cannot adequately pursue unpaid tax liabilities. The report points out that the IRS functions as the “accounts receivable” department of the federal government, as it collects more than 90% of all federal revenue and therefore provides the [...]
Read More federal budgeting rules, Income Tax Planning, Income Tax Preparation, IRS Audit, irs budget, IRS Help, IRS Letters, Tallahassee Tax Service, TallyTaxManTwo key indicators of taxpayer service are the IRS’ ability to answer taxpayer telephone calls and the IRS’ ability to respond to taxpayer correspondence. From FY 2004 to FY 2011, the percentage of calls that the IRS answered from taxpayers seeking to speak with a telephone assistor dropped from 87% to 70%. Over the same [...]
Read More Income Tax Planning, Income Tax Preparation, IRS Help, IRS not answering telephone calls, IRS not responding to correspondence, Tallahassee Tax Service, TallyTaxManAmong taxpayers who sought assistance from TAS after their refunds were withheld on a suspicion of fraud, 75% received relief. These taxpayers had to wait an average of nearly six months overall to receive their refunds. The average refund amount was $5,600, a significant sum for most households. Thus, these delays can create significant financial [...]
Read More Income Tax Planning, Income Tax Preparation, Refund held on Suspicion of Fraud, Tallahassee Tax Service, TallyTaxManThe IRS determines some taxpayers have committed fraud without notifying them and giving them an opportunity to respond. Under a program designed to detect returns relating to a scheme known as “Operation Mass Mail,” the IRS declined to process about 900,000 returns in 2011. In most situations where the IRS identifies questionable claims, it sends [...]
Read More auto-Void Procedure, Income Tax Planning, Income Tax Preparation, IRS Audit, IRS Letters, Operation Mass Mail, Tallahassee Tax Service, TallyTaxMan, Taxpayers Fraud
Some “math errors” may be corrected using IRS data. In 2010, the IRS issued notices correcting 10.6 million “math errors,” up from four million in 2005. These notices are tax assessments that presumably result from mathematical or clerical errors. Unless a taxpayer disputes the IRS assessment within a limited timeframe, it may not be appealed [...]
Read More disagreement over facts and circumstances, Income Tax Planning, Income Tax Preparation, IRS Letters, math error notices are vague, Tallahassee Tax Service, TallyTaxMan, why was my return changed
In 2010 alone, the IRS made about 15 million contacts with individual taxpayers to adjust their tax liabilities, but it treated only about 10% (1.6 million) as audits. Thus, in the majority of cases, the IRS’ actions did not give rise to traditional audit protections, including the right to avoid repetitive and unnecessary examinations and [...]
Read More audit protections, audits by correspondence, computer automated audits, difficult for taxpayer to communicate with IRS, Income Tax Planning, Income Tax Preparation, IRS Audit, IRS Letters, Tallahassee Tax Service, TallyTaxMan
“Shortcuts” shortcut taxpayer rights: “Non-audits,” IRS math errors, lack of notice, and delays. To keep up with its rising workload, the IRS is increasingly relying on automated data-matching procedures to identify potentially inaccurate claims and adjust tax liabilities. However, automated processes are inherently imperfect so the taxpayer’s return position often turns out to be correct. [...]
Read More assumptions of noncompliance, Income Tax Planning, Income Tax Preparation, IRS Audit, math errors, non audits, Tallahassee Tax Service, TallyTaxMan, taxpayer rights protection