One IRS Cafeteria Is Serving Musty Tax Documents For Lunch
When it comes to the IRS’s backlog of paper tax returns, a picture is worth a thousand words. This photo was tweeted last week by Natasha Sarin, an economist, law professor, and counselor for tax policy and implementation at the Treasury Department. At the IRS in Austin, cafeteria is overrun with paper returns awaiting processing […]
Reminders for The Idiots Out There Who Have Yet to Get Their Tax Stuff Together
Still busy, I see. Hello American Taxpayer, How are you? Good? Great, that’s swell. Hey, here’s a question — have you thought about your tax return? No? Oh, yes, I did hear that March Madness is going on. But did you also know that the tax return filing deadline is coming up soon? What’s that? […]
An Open Letter to Anyone Thinking of Asking the Accountant in Their Life for Help on a Tax Return
Dear friend, There’s an accountant in your life. He or she may be a relative, acquaintance, or someone who foolishly answered your terrible icebreaker “So, what do you do for a living?” honestly. It dawned on you that tax season will soon be upon us. You have probably received documentation informing you that a precise […]
Are You Preparing That Tax Return the Same Way You Did 5 Years Ago?
Most likely, the answer is no. Remember the days with paper client files, colorful sticky notes, and calculator tapes? If you think about it, the “old way” of preparing tax returns was not that long ago. Change is happening and it’s happening fast. In just 5 years, the tax preparation process has changed a lot. […]
Reminder: Donald Trump’s 2015 Tax Return Is (Probably) Done and (Probably) Not Being Audited
October 15th was on Saturday which means today is the final filling deadline for 2015 1040s. And as the Wall Street Journal's Richard Rubin reminds us, that includes a certain presidential candidate: Reminder: Trump's 2015 tax return is (probably) due today. https://t.co/PwPSjCgr0i via @WSJPolitics — Richard Rubin (@RichardRubinDC) October 17, 2016 The article Rubin's linking […]
Guy Who Tried to Ransom Mitt Romney’s Tax Returns Regretting His Choices Right About Now
Are you frustrated by Donald Trump's evasive attitude about releasing his tax returns? Were you and some co-conspirators considering a harebrained scheme to claim that you had obtained copies of his returns and would demand a ransom to prevent their release? While this may sound like foolproof plan, may I suggest you reconsider? I only […]
Tax Returns Among the Strange Things Seen at Coachella This Year
Among all the music, fashion, art and psychedelic wonder at Coachella this year, was something slightly more banal: tax returns! At least 10 people tried in the first day of the annual music festival, according to Megan Hampton, the tiny post office’s quasi-post master. “No, I can’t ‘just take it’,” Hampton said. “How do they […]
#TBT: PwC’s Letter to Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney About His Taxes
You may have heard that it's a presidential election year. And perhaps you've heard that one of the candidates is a carnival barker that spray tans with Krylon Pumpkin Orange. And maybe you've even heard that said carnival barker has not released his tax returns for public consumption despite decades of precedent. It's all good […]
A Short List of Things Donald Trump Has Said About Releasing His Tax Returns
As noted in the roundup this morning, the Wall Street Journal editorial page, never one to waste a self-righteous crusade, has demanded that burnt orange windbag Donald Trump to release "his returns going back at least a decade before Super Tuesday on March 1 so Republican voters can know what they’re voting for." The editorial […]
Hillary Clinton Could Use a Hand Here
Anyone with experience amending heavily scrutinized 990s is welcome to chime in: Hillary Clinton's family's charities are refiling at least five annual tax returns after a Reuters review found errors in how they reported donations from governments, and said they may audit other Clinton Foundation returns in case of other errors. What was the problem, […]
Friendly Reminder for CPAs Who Live By ‘Carpe Diem Cras’: Today Is a Major Filing Deadline
I'm sure that it doesn't apply to any of our readers, but just in case, be sure to get to those extended corporate, pass-through, and trust tax returns filed by the end of today. Joe Kristan reminds everyone that the penalty for late filing of pass-through returns is $195 per K-1, so that should help motivate the […]
Tax Professionals: Tell Us the Lame Last-minute Excuses Clients Are Giving You on This Extended Filing Deadline Day
It's circa 4:30 pm on the extended filing deadline day for trust, partnership, corporation, and S-corp tax returns and that means there some piss-poor excuses being thrown your way by your most forgetful and slovenly clients who STILL aren't ready to file. Back in April, if clients were behind on getting their books up to […]
Kirsten Gillibrand Shows Mitt Romney How It’s Done
Releasing tax returns, that is: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) has released five years of federal and state income tax returns on her website — the first senator to release returns from her entire public career, according to her office. Spokesman Glen Caplin said that Gillibrand wanted to contribute to the “ongoing national debate” about releasing returns. […]
If Mitt Romney Releases His Tax Returns He Could Be the Next Richard Nixon
As we all know, 1% posterboy and GOP presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney hasn't released any of his tax returns. Check that – he hasn't released in tax returns that anyone cares about. Mittens is of the opinion that 2010 and 2011 are the only tax returns we need to see. Many people disagree. As […]
FYI: Mitt Romney Doesn’t Get to Use Form 1040EZ
Have you heard? People want to see Mitt Romney's past tax returns ASAP. Some people are so desperate to get questions about his taxes answered that they're throwing digits at the presumptive GOP nominee. Mittens has said that he'll release his 2011 return just as soon as it's ready (that task presumably falls to PwC's David Feheley, […]
David Cay Johnston Would Just Like to Confirm That Mitt Romney Isn’t Like Richard Nixon, That’s All
And he's so excited to do it, he's throwing digits in Willard's face! Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy [via TaxProf]
Apparently Some People Filed Tax Returns In Their Pets’ Names
Everyone knows that the IRS makes silly mistakes from time to time, but presuming that the Service employees who look at these tax returns won't be fooled by a 1040 from "First Name: Mr." and "Last Name: Bojangles" seems a little reckless: According to an indictment obtained by CBS4, Mathew and Sandra Zuckerman are accused […]
POTUS and VPOTUS Have Released Their 2011 Tax Returns, Are Not As Rich As You Think
This just in from the White House blog: Today, the President released his 2011 federal income and gift tax returns. He and the First Lady filed their income tax returns jointly and reported adjusted gross income of $789,674. About half of the first family’s income is the President’s salary; the other half is from sales proceeds […]
Rick Santorum’s Tax Returns Reveal That He’s a Cheapskate on Charitable Giving
Champion of zygotes Rick Santorum released four of his tax returns today because he thought lots of people really cared about them. Maggie Haberman of Politico has the scoop and they reveal that, when compared to Mitt Romney, Rick is in the poor house but compared to the rest of us, he's doing all right for himself: […]
Rick Santorum Actually Believes That People Care About His Tax Returns
Ha! President of frozen-over hell, Rick Santorum told everyone that he had to get back to Pennsylvania, apparently, to get his tax returns thrown together. Rick Santorum will follow Mitt Romney’s lead and unveil his tax returns, telling reporters Wednesday that he would head home over the weekend to gather and prepare his tax documents […]
What Are People Saying About Mitt Romney’s Tax Returns?
By now, you've probably heard that ultra-rich dude Mitt Romney released his tax returns last night (and a 2011 estimate this morning) and everyone is jumping on the returns like his grandkids on a decapitated piñata. He's running for office, for Pete's sake, why wouldn't we want to take a peek? The most unsurprising thing […]
Oh, Mitt Romney, How You Tease Us with Your Approximate Effective Tax Rate
As we know, inevitable GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney hasn't been too forthcoming with his 1040, basically saying to hell with tradition and his own son Tripp Kip Skip Flip MATT! suggested (jokingly but sorta seriously) that just as soon as Imam Obama released his birth certificate, maybe dear ol' dad would dig out the […]
It Appears That the IRS Really Enjoys Auditing Millionaires
How do we know? Well for starters, the number audited tax returns with income over $1 million went up by nearly 50% last year. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service said it audited 12.48 percent of individual tax returns (USCBTAXR) with income exceeding $1 million during fiscal 2011, a high that was reached at a time […]
While You Were Out: Mitt Romney’s Son Was Kidding (Probably) When He Suggested Dad Would Match Obama’s Birth Certificate with His Tax Return
Since it's the first day back and many of you have spent the last week or so in alcohol and food-induced stupor (and are, therefore, unable to email us anything of interest), you won't mind that we throw out this little story from a few days ago. As you may have heard, eventual-GOP-presidential-candidate-that-no-one-wants Mitt Romney […]
General Electric Managed to Keep Their Tax Return Under 60,000 Pages
Recently, Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) was chattin’ up some citizens at a townhall meeting where he told a little anecdote about asking a GE “tax officer” how long the company’s tax return was for this year. He was told (and the Weekly Standard confirmed) that it was in the nabe of 57,000 pages. Granted, GE filed their return electronically, so there’s no way we can officially know what the count is but the combination of the world’s best tax law firm and a grip of savvy loaned KPMG employees managed to keep it under 60k. Nice job, everyone. [TWS via TaxProf]
Warren Buffett Takes a Burlesque Approach to Releasing Tax Return Info
The Oracle of O proves to be a master tease artist:
In a letter to Republican Rep. Tim Huelskamp Tuesday, Buffett revealed that his adjusted gross income last year was $62,855,038 and that his taxable income was $39,814,784.
Buffett said he paid $15,300 in payroll taxes. Buffett also said his federal income tax bill came to $6,923,494, or 17.4% of his taxable income — two points he revealed in a New York Times op-ed in August urging Congress to tax the wealthy more.
In another act of twirling his pasties, WB repeated his challenge to all his fellow “ultra-rich” peers to whip out their tax returns. Not sure if the OWS gang has jumped on this band wagon yet but it’s worth putting out there.
Warren Buffett Dares Rupert Murdoch to Whip It Out
His tax return, people. His tax return. Remember last week when the Journal told O^3 he should put up or shut up since he’s so gung ho about increasing taxes on the ultra-rich? Well, he sure does and he seemed delighted when someone asked him about it today:
Asked about the editorial on Tuesday at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit, Buffett said he was willing to release his tax returns, on one condition: “I think it might be a terrific idea if they would just ask their boss, Rupert Murdoch, and he and I will meet at Fortune, and we’ll both give you our tax returns and you can publish them,” Buffett said. “I’m ready tomorrow morning,” he added.
Your move, Rupes.
Let This Be a Lesson to All Billionaires That Give the Thumbs-up to a ‘Rule’ with Their Name Attached to It
The GOP is making a concerted effort to pressure billionaire investment guru Warren Buffett to release his tax returns to the public. Republicans say Buffett — the public face of Obama’s proposed “Buffett rule” to increase taxes on the wealthy — needs to reveal his finances if his views on tax rates are going to serve as the basis for Obama administration policy. “Will Warren Buffett release his tax returns so we can see why he should be the standard for tax policy?” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) questioned in a tweet Thursday. “If he’s going to be the gold standard, so to speak, in terms of what our tax policy should be, yeah, let’s look at it [his tax returns],” Cornyn told ABC News. [OTM/The Hill]
Some IRS Employees Living by the Motto ‘Do as I Say, Not as I Do’
There’s no shame in asking for help, IRS employees, if that’s what this is about. Don’t forget that the Commish isn’t too proud to ask for help.
In 2008, the year for which most recent data was available, IRS computer programs flagged compliance issues for more than 8,000 of its 109,469 employees and ultimately determined that almost 2.8% had not complied with the law. But those monitoring systems missed 133 additional employees who were potentially not compliant with tax law over a two-year period, according to the audit. The employees were flagged for potentially filing their tax returns late, paying their taxes late, not reporting all of their income and at least one example of a criminal investigation with an additional tax assessment.
Treasury Report: IRS Must Beef Up Oversight Of Its Own Employees [Dow Jones]
Did Anthony Weiner Pump Up His Itemized Deductions?
The Post reports that Anthony Weiner’s “2010 tax return shows he took $40,521 in unspecified itemized deductions on an income of $156,117.”
It quotes “Manhattan CPA” Jonathan Medows as saying “It’s definitely a very large deduction,” and “[they] appeared to include more than the standard writeoffs for state and local taxes and Weiner’s mortgage.” If you were to guess to where the “unspecified itemized deductions” of $40k were located, they are probably included on line 28 of Schedule A for “Other Miscellaneous Deductions.” Of course what exactly the deductions are, is a mystery. But if you’ve got some ideas, we’d love to hear them. [NYP]
A Government Shutdown Is Not an Acceptable Excuse for Blowing Off Your Tax Return
Doug Shulman wants you to put that notion right out of your mind:
Doug Shulman, the IRS commissioner, said that people who file electronically during a shutdown would likely not face any delays in having their returns – and potential refunds – processed. But taxpayers who file by paper, Shulman added, may see some delays. “We’ve got a 100,000 employees. Not all of them are going to be coming to work. But we’re going to have a complement here,” Shulman said. “The nuances of who is going to be doing what I’m not ready to get into. The most important thing for people to know is: We’re going to be accepting tax returns and people should file.”
So as Adrienne just mentioned, you can either ask the AICPA for help, call your tax advisor or simply curl up into a ball and shudder in the corner until the 18th passes.
IRS commissioner: You still have to file taxes during shutdown [The Hill]
Man Who Found $9 Million Lotto Ticket While Preparing His Tax Return Thinks Everyone Should Get Some Perspective
Last Irvin Przyborski found a year-old lotto ticket while he was preparing his tax return and wouldn’t you know, it just so happened to be winner worth $9 million. As if winning the lotto wasn’t lucky enough, Irv managed to cash it in just a few days before it expired. Now you might think to yourself, “$9 million! What a lucky guy! He must be feeling extremely lucky and grateful!” but then you wouldn’t know Irv Przyborski.
Przyborski, reached Thursday afternoon and weary from the day’s constant media attention, was unimpressed with the development. “What’s the big deal? It’s not even worth putting in your paper,” Przyborski said outside his East Side home. “It’s like watching paint dry.” Despite his nonchalance, the 61-year-old retired truck driver admitted he would have been upset had he missed the deadline. Nevertheless, he said the prize was hardly life-changing and he had no grand plans for the money. “Look at the people who are out of work,” he said. “People with Ph.D.s can’t find work. There’s nothing joyful about winning money in a situation like this.”
This seems appropriate.
Under the wire and into the money — $9 million winner: ‘What’s the big deal?’ [CT]
Do You Want Your CPA Filing Tax Returns From an iPad?
Technology is a beautiful thing. It makes our lives easier, including work. It gives us supremacy over our late-to-adopt friends and colleagues who are still stuck with clunky old company laptops. And apparently it makes it easier to lug around several devices than just sit at our desk with one. Somehow this is more convenient, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
Check out this revolutionary, wielding his iPad as a weapon in the war against April 15th 18th:
With the 2011 tax season in full swing, accountants and CPAs are searching for ways to save time and service geographically separated clients. A popular solution, QuickBooks hosting, allows for CPAs to securely access QuickBooks and client data remotely from any computer, phone or tablet with an internet connection. Recently, NovelASPect’s client, Scott Sanders, CPA, took QuickBooks hosting to the next level. Scott added his tax software to his QuickBooks hosting account on a NovelASPect virtual server. Using the Citrix receiver, Scott can now access his tax software from anywhere with his iPad. He then paired his iPad with his iPhone via Bluetooth to use the iPhone as a mouse for the iPad.
“Accessing my tax software and QuickBooks via my iPad has been a tremendous time saver,” says Scott Sanders. “Clients can review and sign their tax documents at their location. I can then efile the return with the government and email a copy of the tax return immediately to the client. I also have access to client financial information in Quickbooks anytime / anywhere.”
Quick question: can’t a laptop do the same exact thing?
Remember last June when 114,000 iPad user accounts were exposed by rogue Internet security group Goatse Security? Not to mention the fact that the iPad is not only a target of hacktivists looking to prove a point but also thieves who would love to get their hands on that overpriced toy you insist on playing with on the subway.
Here’s the issue I see with on-the-run tax preparers MacGyvering their iPads to shoot the data off to the client and then to the government from just about anywhere: WiFi is not always secure. We assume Scott Sanders knows a thing or two about protecting sensitive data if he’s knowledgeable enough to figure out how to use his iPhone as a mouse for his iPad (and what’s wrong with using a laptop and a, oh I don’t know, mouse?) but I would not want my tax preparer sending me my 1040 to sign; he can barely wash his grungy white dress shirt separate from his red socks.
I’m all for convenience but there’s a point when the work required to make it safe for all involved parties becomes inconvenient.
Tax Return of the Day: Four Pounds of Unadulterated Joy
Warren Mayer of Coyote Blog posted this photo of his four pound tax return:
Don’t forget that the picture above is direct result of this:
Tax reform anyone? If you’ve got a tax return that weighs more, feel free to send us the pics (on the scale of course).
[h/t TaxProf]
Tax Return of the Day | 04.15.10
On a day like today, words alone will simply not suffice. Things like “Thank God it’s over,” “I am getting cop-slugging drunk,” or “If I get asked to prepare one more extension I’m going to have a panic attack” are expected. Instead we’ll present you with the following clip of a certain taxpayer’s haul in 2009:
[Source]
TurboTax’s Bob Meighan: There’s No Sense in Panicking About the April 15th Deadline
With a little more than just 24 hours to go until the end of the traditional filing season for 2010, some taxpayers might be freaking out. To help prevent this we got the chance to speak with Bob Meighan, TurboTax VP and CPA yesterday morning about what to do with just a few short hours away from the deadline, what taxpayers have been struggling with this filing season and if he had any special advice for a certain customer:
And that extension form you need? It’s Form 4868. Even if your preparer got nabbed in Operation Brass Tax, just make it easy on yourself and file the extension (we did). You’ll feel better.
Accounting News Roundup: The Debate Over IRS-prepared Tax Returns; KPMG HK Senior Manager Arrested for Bribery; CFOs Starting to See Job Options | 04.09.10
• Should the IRS Fill Out Our Tax Returns? [TaxVox]
Some say, YES! At the very least the Service could get the ball rolling, “by filling in your wage income, exemptions, and standard deduction and perhaps even figuring some other deductions and credits. This…could be a huge benefit for those who file Forms 1040A and 1040EZ.” Naturally, the taxpayer has to approve the return prior the actual “filing” of it but this would potentially assist millions of Americans who are otherwise stumped by 1040s of any stripe.
The other side of this argument is that it will delay refunds:
Bob Weinberger, a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security and a former top executive at the tax prep firm H&R Block. Bob counters that the “fatal flaw” of such a system is that it could delay refunds for months. For many taxpayers, Bob argues, getting a check from IRS in April is a key to their annual financial planning, and postponing that refund would generate a huge backlash. Bob also said such a system would be a huge drain on IRS resources.
While this likely true, the root of the problem is the “check from the IRS is key to financial planning” part. If these people need the money so bad, they should adjust their withholding so they don’t pay in so much during the year. Perhaps that’s not an easy concept to grasp, so if we say “You’re giving the government an interest-free loan for 12 months,” that will help.
• HK charges KPMG man with bribery [FT]
Leung Sze-chit, a senior manager in the Hong Kong office, has been arrested on corruption charges after offering a co-worker a $12,280 bribe related to a client’s IPO. The FT reports that the firm learned of the situation via its internal hotline, “After investigation, the member of staff in question was suspended by KPMG and a report was then made . . . to the relevant authorities.” So yes, to answer some of you, people do call those internal hotlines.
• CFO Job Options Opening Up [FINS]
After hunkering down for the last couple of years or so, CFOs are starting to see some new job options. FINS reports that “Some felt loyalty to organizations in financial straits, while others hesitated to jump given uncertainty about potential landmines at other companies.” Now that growth is slowly creeping back, “some companies are likely to find they need a different type of executive in the role. And some CFOs may even find themselves in line for positions higher up the corporate ladder.”
The IRS Has Gotten Wise to Dead People Seeking Refunds
Pulling off tax fraud is a tough proposition. Hell, even the guys that are good at it get busted.
Plus, despite our low expectations, the IRS has managed to get wise to the filing of tax returns with huge refunds. To try and pull such a stunt will not help your burgeoning criminal career.
Another bad jig (seemingly) would be to attempt filing a tax return seeking a refund for a dead person. Despite what some might consider to be a no-brainer, a couple of guys in California still thought it was worth a shot. Web CPA Reports that Haroon Amin and his partner Ather Ali filed tax returns for 250 dead individuals in 2002 and 2003.
The IRS got wise to some of this but still managed to send out a few checks to addresses controlled by the two men. Mr. Amin pleaded guilty today and faces up to five years in prison where hopefully he can get some help improving his criminal instincts.
Man Pleads Guilty to Filing 250 Tax Returns for Dead People [Web CPA]