The Blog

  Wishing you a Happy New Year from Professional Tax Resolution!   Wishing You a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous 2014 …   Professional Tax Resolution! If you have tax questions or a tax debt you are unable to pay, our tax settlement professionals are happy to discuss your tax resolution options free of charge. For more information about our services, visit us today at www.professionaltaxresolution.com or call us at 877.889.6527. With over 16 years in the business of resolving tax debt, we have a thorough understanding of tax law together with the experience to know which settlement option will be the best fit for your specific set of circumstances.

  Although tax planning is important for investors year round, it is most important as the calendar year draws to a close.  While investment decisions are made throughout the year, they are particularly critical at year end because of the potential tax implications. The United States tax code provides many tax planning opportunities for investors but the majority neglect to use what is available to their maximum advantage. The failure of investors to implement end of the year tax planning strategies (summarized below) can have a significant negative impact on overall investment performance. Realizing Capital Losses Consider the following points related to selling investments at a loss before the end of the year: Up to $3000 in capital losses can be used to offset ordinary … Continue reading →

Taxpayers Beware – IRS Scams! Every year the IRS publishes a list of the most popular tax scams so that taxpayers will be better able to protect themselves against schemes that develop in an around the preparation of tax returns. With the 2014 tax season fast approaching, it is a good time to be reminded of the some of the items that were on the list published by this past March. Although the IRS is aware of these problem areas, it is likely that some of these same issues will surface again once tax season gets underway at the beginning of the year. Summarized below are three of the culprits that appeared last year’s list of the “Dirty Dozen Tax Scams” published by the IRS: … Continue reading →

    Although the requirement for filing an annual Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) has technically been on the books since 1970, the compliance rate was less that 20% until 2001.  Since that time, the United States government has stepped up its efforts to identify and punish those individuals who are guilty of concealing foreign assets and income as well as the foreign banks who have participated in the cover up. Beginning in 2008, the IRS and the United States Department of Justice stepped up their game in the area of offshore tax evasion. In June of that year, the IRS issued a statement reminding taxpayers of their reporting obligations and the consequences of not meeting them. John DiCicco of the Justice … Continue reading →

FBAR Changes… Things are changing as the consequences of the FBAR Noncompliance are becoming stricter. Up to this point, the sentencing of offshore tax evaders has been fairly lenient. Although judges must attempt to follow sentencing guidelines written to ensure consistent punishment for defendants convicted of similar crimes, they have been given considerable leeway. Within these guidelines, the judges in these cases have been weighing such factors as the amount of financial loss or gain involved, whether the tax evader has assumed responsibility for the crime and whether they have provided information that has helped to build a case against others. They have also taken into account the defendant’s age, health and previous contributions to society.  The following high profile cases shed some light on … Continue reading →

Beware… IRS Tax Phone Scam: The IRS has identified a widespread phone scam that has popped up in nearly every state. Taxpayers who are victims of this scam receive phone calls from individuals impersonating IRS agents. During these calls, they are often told that they have a back tax balance which needs to be paid instantly either by charging the amount on a prepaid credit card or transferring the funds by wire. If the taxpayer disputes the request for payment, the scammers will often threaten to confiscate their business or their driver’s license or have them arrested or deported. These bogus IRS calls can be convincing due to the fact that the scammers use caller ID spoofing, which makes the toll-free phone number of the IRS show … Continue reading →

A recent study by Fidelity Investments revealed that individuals often lack adequate knowledge of family finances. The results of the study showed that a surprising number of marriage partners have insufficient information about important financial matters such as insurance policies, investment accounts, physical assets, beneficiary designations and income taxes, among other things.  While this lack of awareness may not be a problem when life is going smoothly, it can have unforeseen consequences there is a bump in the road. In the face of a death, a divorce or a sudden disability, a spouse who does not have a satisfactory understanding of family finances can find themselves at a serious disadvantage. The results of the recent Fidelity study showed that, while most couples reported that they … Continue reading →

In the face of increasingly strict asset disclosure legislation, more and more United States citizens are renouncing their citizenship in order to avoid potential tax consequences. In the second quarter of this year, the number of expatriates turning in their passports to United States embassies abroad was up almost 500% from that same time period the previous year. Compared to the first half of 2008, the number of renunciations in the first half of 2013 was up over 15 times! The United States is the only county of the 34 members of the Organization for Economic Development that taxes its citizens no matter where they reside. Although this has been the case for quite some time, the government’s fairly recent crackdown on the reporting of … Continue reading →

 The major news headlines everywhere are focused on the government shutdown. The government shutdown is the result of the recent vote by House of Representatives opposing funding for Obamacare (Obama’s healthcare law) as part of a bill to pay for government operations after the close of the fiscal year on September 30th. Questions remain as to how this government shutdown will affect the economy. When the government shuts down, it is estimated that about 800,000 federal employees will be out of work. Obviously the workers’ lost wages are a problem, but these lost wages will also bleed into other related areas. In particular, some businesses will be forced to reduce or even suspend their services until the shutdown is over. This will lead to cut back … Continue reading →

The creator of Beanie Babies, Ty Warner, has been accused of tax evasion due to the non-reporting of income earned on funds held in a secret Swiss bank account. Mr. Warner failed to report $3.2 million in income on an account which held as much as $93.6 million in assets. He will be assessed over $50 million in penalties for his oversight. U.S. attorney Gay Shapiro said that Warner, 69, will plead guilty in federal court to dishonestly recording his 2002 income as $49.1 million, overlooking money he made on his UBS account. His plea will take place on October 2nd. Once his plea is entered, he will be required to pay a civil penalty of $53.6 million for failing to file the required Report … Continue reading →