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 [...]

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 [...]

One of the more talked about provisions of the tax bill signed into law yesterday by President Obama is the temporary payroll tax reduction. WebCPA reports that the IRS has already issued guidance on the relief measure: Millions of workers will see their take-home pay rise during 2011 because the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation [...]

If you own and operate a trade or business and have a history of losses, there is a very good chance the IRS will at some point disallow those losses, especially if you keep poor records. Although good bookkeeping is important in all cases, it is especially important for taxpayer’s with businesses that have shown a [...]

Because in any given year the IRS is able to select for audit only a small percentage of tax returns, it employs a sophisticated system for choosing which returns to examine and which returns to accept as filed. The IRS assigns a numeric value to each tax return known as a DIF score. Returns with [...]

An IRS audit is painful. Even if your return is 100% accurate and the IRS compliments you on your diligence and honesty, it will require a lot of your time and cause you a lot of stress. But there are things you can do to minimize the pain and the stress. Here are our top [...]

We generally recommend that our self-employed clients incorporate their businesses and hire themselves as employees. We do this for two reasons: Putting owner/operators on the payroll significantly reduces the chances of future tax problems; and The IRS Audits form Schedule “C” much more frequently than it Audits corporate returns. But even if you are not [...]

In the great majority of cases, we recommend that our small business clients do business either as an “S” Corporation or a Limited Liability Company because these two forms avoid double taxation and limit the personal liability of owners. There are occasions, however, when a C Corporation or Partnership form of doing business is appropriate. We [...]

The Best Way of Doing Business The Best Way to Prepare Schedule “C” of Form 1040 The Best Way to Organizing Your Tax Records The Best Way to Keep Track of Your Business Mileage The Best Way to Survive a Tax Audit The Best Way to Avoid a Tax Lien

How to Deal With an IRS Collection Notice IRS Last Known Address Rule Ignoring IRS Notices Makes Matters Worse IRS Collection Notices: How Serious is Yours? Taxpayer Rights and the IRS Collection Process What To Do If You Think the IRS is Wrong How to Deal With an IRS Auditor Why You Shouldn’t Handle an [...]