The Pappas Group - US and Florida Tax Law

Tax Scam Outfits: Taxpayer Beware

A tax preparation business called Mo’ Money Taxes, based in Memphis, Tennessee, has been sued by several state attorneys general. Illinois, for example, has charged the company with filing fraudulent returns without client authorization and illegally charging its clients millions of dollars in hidden fees. Many of the company’s clients had not received their refund checks. Also, a crime subcommittee of the [...]

Corporation Tax Returns Due March 15th

The deadline for calendar year corporations (C Corporations and S Corporations) to file their tax returns is Thursday, March 15th. If yoou don’t have your records in order or don’t think you can make the March 15th deadline you can get an extension. Russ Fox of Taxable Talk tells you how to do that: You [...]

Tax Crimes: What the IRS Looks For

There are certain tax crimes that the IRS criminal investigation division investigates and refers for prosecution more than others. Here are four of the most frequently prosecuted tax crimes: Failure to File Tax Returns The Law 26 U.S.C. § 7203 – Willful failure to file return, supply information, or pay tax Any person required under this [...]

Unfiled Returns? Back Taxes? What are Your Options?

In these bad economic times few of us have any extra cash laying around after we pay our monthly living expenses. The IRS doesn’t care about that, right? Wrong. If you can’t pay your debt and can prove it, the IRS will stop (at least temporarily) attempting to collect the debt from you. Non-Collectible Status [...]

IRS is Trying to Trick Delinquent Taxpayers into Not Hiring a Tax Professional

WARNING: The IRS has a vested interest in you not hiring a tax professional. That’s because when you are unrepresented it is easier for them to intimidate you and more likely that their procedural mistakes, over-assessments and violations of your rights will be undetected and unchallenged. I am a tax lawyer and a CPA. Based on my 25 years [...]

New York Times: Global Crackdown on Tax Crimes Intensifies

David Jolly of the New York Times reports that the United States, France, German and Great Britain are working together offshore and other types of tax evasion: The global body that sets standards for combating money laundering and terrorist financing said Thursday that governments should treat tax crimes as a red flag for other types [...]

Unincorporated Businesses are Audited More Frequently by IRS

CPA Joe Kristan tells us, one more time, why you should never use the sole proprietor form of business: A scary headline: “Freelance? An IRS audit may be in your future.” A Tax Court case yesterday shows why a Schedule C on your return might interest the tax man. A New York City taxpayer filed [...]

Beware of Tax Help Scammers

Eva Rosenberg of SmartMoney recently wrote about why you should avoid tax relief firms like Roni Deutch, Tax Masters and J.K. Harris and those unamed scammers (they just have 800 numbers because they don’t want you to know who they are because then you can do some research about them and discover the record of grievances [...]

More than a Quarter of a Million Federal Employees Owe Back Taxes

Paul Caron reports that more than a quarter of a million current and former federal workers are behind in their taxes: Over 279,000 federal workers and retirees owed more than $3.4 billion in back income taxes in 2010 (up from $3.3 billion in 2009, $3.0 billion in 2008, and $2.7 billion in 2007). The cabinet departments with [...]

J.K. Harris Shuts Down Operations

J.K. Harris is the second player in the tax resolution business to have been forced to shut down operations ss a result of thousands of consumer complaints and dozens of government investigations. Paul Caron of TaxProf Blog reports: JK Harris Tax Resolution Firm Closes its Doors Consumer Affairs, JK Harris Suspends Operations, Prepares to Liquidate: Tax-Preparation Firm Swamped by Consumer [...]

IRS Worker Classification Amnesty

The IRS is apparently so happy with the results of it’s offshore voluntary disclosure program that it has established a similar program in the area of worker classification. Michael Cohn of AccountingToday writes that the IRS has introduced a new voluntary compliance program Wednesday to convince employers to resolve their past issues with classifying employees [...]

Filing a False Return

It’s no secret that the IRS has greatly intensified the criminal prosecution of taxpayers who have filed false tax returns. The reason for this is evident: The federal government needs money but doesn’t want to raise taxes on law-abiding citizens in a weak ec0nomy. From day one, the Obama administration made it a priority to close the tax [...]

Can IRS Take My IRA

Many taxpayers wrongly believe that IRAs and other retirement accounts are protected from IRS seizure because the laws of their state exempt those assets from the reach of creditors. But since Federal law supersedes state law, the IRS is not bound by state exemptions as are other creditors. In short, the IRS can seize any property you own regardless of whether [...]

Can IRS Take My House?

One of the questions taxpayers with delinquent tax debts ask us most frequently is “can the IRS take my house?” The bad news is that the IRS can indeed take your house. The good news is that it’s not easy for the government to take your house and, therefore, it does so only as a last resort. The IRS will [...]

Audit Reconsideration

During an IRS audit the burden is placed on the taxpayer to prove that he made a deductible tax expenditure. Many taxpayers have been audited and because they were unable to provide receipts and records proving their deductions had taxes, penalties and interest assessed against them. But what happens if after the audit is over and the IRS has made its [...]

Notice of IRS Levy

A levy is a legal seizure of your property to satisfy a tax debt. Levies are different from liens. A lien is a claim used as security for the tax debt, while a levy actually takes the property to satisfy the tax debt. If you do not pay your taxes (or make arrangements to settle [...]

Innocent Spouse Writes Memoir About Tax Experience

When Carol Ross Joynt’s husband died she was consumed by grief. Then she learned that her husband owed $3,000,000 to the IRS and was now pursuing her for it. The experience was so traumatic she wrote a book about it and titled it Innocent Spouse: A Memoir. Here’s a short synopsis: Carol Ross Joynt was a successful television [...]

Client Reviews

I hadn’t filed a tax return in eight years and the IRS filed them for me and said I owed more than $200,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest. The Pappas Group prepared and filed my returns and was able to reduce my liability to $30,000.00. Terry W. – Orlando, FL I was charged with [...]

Tax Tip: Keep Proof that You Filed Your Tax Return

Some old, but great, advice from Joe Kristan about how to document the filing of an IRS tax return or extension: If you paper file at the post office, use Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested. Get the postmarked paper receipt, because the postal service purges its computer records after two years. Certified mail adds $2.70 [...]

IRS Liens and How to Get Rid of Them

The IRS will place a lien on your property to secure payment of your tax debt. A Notice of Federal Tax Lien may be legally issued by the IRS only after the following 3 requirements are met: The IRS makes an assessment against the taxpayer; The IRS sends the taxpayer a written Notice and Demand for Payment; and The [...]

Unfiled Returns? Come Forward Now to Avoid Criminal Charges

The IRS has recently stepped up its non filer program and is now aggressively seeking to bring them into compliance. Many taxpayers are unaware that it is a crime not to file a tax return. Non filers often make the mistake of assuming that if they dont have the money to pay their taxes they [...]

IRS Financial Statements: How to Complete Them

If you can’t pay your tax debt in full, you will have to completely disclose your financial circumstances to the IRS. There is no way to avoid this disclosure requirement other than making full payment. A taxpayer’s financial information is provided on one or more of the following prescribed IRS forms: IRS Form Number Description [...]

File Your Unfiled Returns Before the IRS Does it for You

The New York Daily News reports that day-trader Marcos Esparza Bofill has been hit with a $172,000,000 IRS tax bill: He failed as a day-trader and barely survived in New York on a beer budget, but Marcos Esparza Bofill has been hit with a $172 million tax bill by the IRS. Esparza Bofill didn’t file an income [...]

Tax Crimes: Most Frequent Prosecutions

There are a number of possible federal tax crimes with which the United States Department of Justice may charge a delinquent taxpayer. Here are the most frequently brought charges. Failure to File Tax Returns The Law 26 U.S.C. § 7203 – Willful failure to file return, supply information, or pay tax Any person required under this title [...]

IRS Penalties: How to Eliminate Them

The IRS assesses penalties against taxpayers for, among other things, the following: late filing of a tax return; late payment of tax; the negligent preparation of a tax return; the substantial underpayment of tax; and civil fraud. Penalties range from 5 percent per month in the case of late filing of a return to 75 [...]

Tax Crimes: Warning to Delinquent Taxpayers

If an IRS official believes that you might have broken the law or are currently breaking the law, he or she will refer the matter to the IRS Criminal Investigation Division (CID). The Top Criminal Violations Investigated by CID The most frequently investigated criminal violations are: Failure to file an income tax return Structuring transactions [...]

Famous Quotes About Taxes

America’s founding fathers – Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams - had some very wise things to say about taxes and government. Here are several that I think we would do well to consider today: Thomas Jefferson: The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work [...]

Top 10 Most Challenged Tax Issues

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson has issued her annual report on the most frequently litigated tax issues: Internal Revenue Code § 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii)(X) requires the National Taxpayer Advocate to identify the ten tax issues most often litigated in the federal courts, classified by the types of taxpayer affected. Through analysis of these issues, the National Taxpayer Advocate [...]

Florida Man With Extraordinary Family Circumstances Avoids Prison in False Tax Return Case

Press Release: The Pappas Law Group, P.A. February 24, 2011 On Wednesday Judge Kendall Sharp of the Middle District of Florida agreed with attorney Peter C. Pappas of The Pappas Group, P.A., that his client, James Lloyd Martin, III, should not receive a prison sentence for filing a false tax return even though the federal sentencing guidelines called for [...]

Avoid Penalties & Criminal Charges Via New IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program

Contact us for a free and confidential consultation about the new Voluntary Disclosure Program and whether it is right for you. The Internal Revenue Service announced today a special voluntary disclosure initiative designed to bring offshore money back into the U.S. tax system and help people with undisclosed income from hidden offshore accounts get current with their [...]