Posts Tagged ‘filing taxes’

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Miami Resident Sentenced for Filing a False Tax Return

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

On February 24, 2010, in Miami, Fla., Jesus Mena was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay $391,714 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. Mena pleaded guilty on December 14, 2009 to filing a false U.S. Income Tax Return for an S Corporation.  According to court documents, Mena was the owner of Destiny Erectors, Inc., a construction company in Miami, Florida, that provided labor for the installation of steel concrete reinforcing bars.

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If I’ve Accurately Filed My Taxes Can I Get Sent to Jail?

Monday, September 5th, 2011

Question:  If  I’ve Accurately Filed My Taxes Can I Get Sent to Jail?

Answer: If You’ve Accurately Filed Your Taxes You Cannot Get Sent to Jail. However…

…Don’t be in a hurry to celebrate…Although jail time is arguably the worst thing that can happen, it’s not the only ‘punishment’ from the IRS that you should be wary of. By not taking action and facing your IRS debt problem, you could face any or all of the following severe consequences:

*Wage garnishment

* Seizure of your real estate

* Seizure of Social Security benefits

* Seizure of 401(k)’s, IRA’s

* Seizure of Cars / Boats / Houses

* Seizure of Accounts Receivable

* Seizure of Cash Loan Value of Your Life Insurance

* Seizure of Commissions Owed to You

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You Can Go to Jail if You Haven’t Filed Your Taxes

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

 

Good To Know:…You Can Go to Jail if You Haven’t Filed Your Taxes OR If You’ve Filed Your Taxes Inaccurately

Not filing your taxes is considered a crime by the IRS. You can receive one year of prison time for each year that you don’t file. Procrastinating only makes your chances of doing jail time that much worse.

The IRS doesn’t take kindly to those it has to “chase down”.…And they will eventually chase you down. It doesn’t matter if it’s been a few years and it seems like you’ve somehow “slipped through the cracks”.

 

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Accountant…Attorney…or IRS Specialist?

Monday, August 1st, 2011

Let me ask you a question. If you had cancer, who would you want to see first?

a) Nobody. I’ll go it alone.

b) a Nurse

c) a Doctor

d) an Oncologist—

An Oncologist, right? Why? Because an Oncologist is a physician that specializes in the treatment of cancer.

Along that same line of thinking, let me ask you this. If you had a problem with the IRS, would you want to see:

a) Nobody. I’ll go it alone.

b) an Accountant

c) an Attorney

d) an Attorney who focuses solely on in solving IRS problems.

I think you can see the point I’m trying to make.

Going It Alone With Cancer…or the IRS By Yourself. If you had a serious sickness like cancer, you would realize that your time might be limited. You don’t have an idea how long it will be before the sickness takes over your body – possibly making treatment futile. Would you go it alone?

If you knew you had a deadly illness, would you take the chance that you’ll somehow get better all on your own? I doubt it. So why would you go it alone with the IRS? Don’t believe for a second that reading a couple books, a website, or a couple emails about “how to deal with the IRS” will prepare you to deal with the IRS if you owe them money.

These are people who make a career out of extracting money from people who owe taxes. They deal with it every day. They’re good at it. This is something you deal with once in a lifetime (hopefully). Face it – you’re not good at it.

These people are trained to act like your friend and make you comfortable…and then use it to get you to say something you’ll regret. You wouldn’t “go it alone” with a deadly disease – don’t go it alone with the IRS. An attorney who focuses on IRS problems is specifically trained to thoroughly research any previous tax ruling and use it to his client’s favor in a case against the IRS.

If there’s a loophole to be found in a previous tax ruling or many of the published IRS papers, a good attorney can use it to their client’s advantage and make the IRS work hard for their money.

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Florida Prisoners Lead the Nation in IRS Payment Scam

Monday, July 4th, 2011

Inmates Received $39.1 Million by Filing Fraudulent Tax Returns…

Recently, Hillsborough County jails have been coming down hard on inmates that have been attempting to claim tax refunds for themselves by way of stolen identity. Several pages of employee tax information, which contained annual earnings information, SSAN (Social Security Account Number), and stacks of IRS Form 1040 EZs were found in their facilities.

Officials have said this has been an ongoing problem for years in state  prisons , and now it’s trickling down into the county jails. A prisoner by the name of Brian Singletery was recently transferred to a  Hillsborough County for an appeal, where he taught his new fellow inmates how they could easily mislead the IRS into believing they were different individuals.

Singletery had an entire instruction manual, which included detailed calculations, tax identification numbers, and instructions on how to steal the information.

Officials from various jails in Hillsborough County have caught 12 inmates thus far, but it is hard to find the alleged unless they are caught in the act.

It’s tough to gather evidence until long after the damage has already been done.

So officials presented the information to the IRS, who, in turn, seemed to show little interest. Amounts are not huge, but dollars add up over time, and funds are then deposited into fake accounts. Inmates will also pad their personal canteen money in jail (money typically used for personal items that are typically capped out at specified amounts). That’s your hard-earned tax dollars at work.

Today it’s getting tough for anyone to get a job, and we are all out busting our backs while these guys are using another scam to skim more off Uncle Sam.

They have been convicted of crimes already, now they are taking up already valuable tax payer space in state prisons, and then they arrive at county jails to continue suckling off the government and getting refunds as if they were rewards for doing time.

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From Owing $10,000 to $15,600 in 5 Months?

Monday, June 13th, 2011

Do you have any credit cards that charge you 47.5% interest? If you answered “No ”…Don’t be so sure. ..you might end up paying the government this much in interest and penalties?

Did You Not File at All? If you didn’t file taxes this past year (or any other year for that matter), interest is being compounded daily on what you owe – the quarterly federal short-term tax rate, plus 3%. As of this writing, the IRS is charging 8% per year. Non-filers also pay a .5% late payment penalty plus a 4.5% late filing penalty, for a combined penalty of 5% for the first month your return is late. Every month that you don’t file – your penalties double…until 5 months when it caps at 47.5% (22.5% late filing penalty + 25% late payment penalty). 47.5%.

What You Should Do If You Haven’t Filed. By all means, file your taxes…even if you can’t afford to pay the tax that’s due. Here’s why: Every day you don’t file you’re getting charged the huge non-filing penalty I’ve described in the section above.

By filing your taxes and not paying them, you’ll at least go from Non-Filing to Non-Paying status. This will enable you to qualify for one of the 5 negotiating tactics:

-Be declared Non-Collectible Status

-Have the debt reduced through an -Offer In-Compromise

-Set up a monthly installment agreement plan

-Set up a partial installment agreement (where you pay less than the total owed)

-Declare Bankruptcy

 

If you don’t file your taxes, you won’t qualify for any of these ways to pay down your debt. You’ll be considered a non-filer.

Did You File and Not Pay? If you filed but didn’t pay the tax, that’s a little better, but don’t breathe easy just yet. If you don’t figure out a way to pay it soon, the IRS will start coming for their money in ways that you don’t want them to: like tax liens, wage garnishments, levies, and seizures. If you didn’t pay up, there’s interest being compounded daily on what you owe, which is the quarterly federal short-term tax rate, plus 3%. As of this writing, the IRS is charging 8% per year. That’s 11%. But remember that in addition to interest, you’re also being charged a Failure-to-Pay Penalty, which is .5% of the tax owed for each month. There is no maximum for the failure-to-pay penalty. If you’re sent a number of notices from the IRS and you still don’t pay, the penalty increases to 1%.

What You Should Do If You Filed and Didn’t Pay. The most obvious answer is to pay the debt. So what if you just can’t come up with the money? Here’s legal ways to negotiate with the IRS:

-Be declared Non-Collectible Status

-Have the debt reduced through an Offer-In-Compromise

-Set up a monthly installment agreement plan

Set up a partial installment agreement (where you pay less than the total owed)

-Declare Bankruptcy

All of these options have their pros and cons, and depending on your situation – one choice may be a lot better than the other.

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Do You Know What You’re Paying in Penalties?

Friday, December 10th, 2010

             Penalties and interest add up by the day if you haven’t paid the IRS what you owe them.  And they add up big-time if you haven’t filed at all.  Every day that you put off taking care of your IRS problem only makes it worse.

             Did You File and Not Pay?

If you did, there’s interest being compounded daily on what you owe, which is the quarterly federal short-term tax rate, plus 3%.  As of this writing, the IRS is charging 4% per year.

In addition to interest, you’re also being charged a Failure-to-Pay Penalty, which is .5% of the tax owed for each month. There is no maximum for the failure-to-pay penalty. If you’re sent a number of notices from the IRS and you still don’t pay, the penalty increases to 1%.

What should you do if you filed and didn’t pay?  The most obvious answer is to pay the debt.  The IRS has more power to collect in ‘mean and nasty’ ways than any collection agency you’ll ever deal with.  So what if you just can’t come up with the money?  If you just don’t have the money, and you cannot get it, there are legal ways to negotiate with the IRS:

-Be declared Non-Collectible Status

-Have the debt reduced through an Offer-In-Compromise

-Set up a monthly installment agreement plan

-Set up a partial installment agreement (where you pay less than the total owed)

-Declare Bankruptcy

Did You Not File at All?  If you didn’t file taxes this past year (or any other year for that matter), you have bigger problems. You still have the interest that’s being compounded daily on what you owe – the quarterly federal short-term tax rate, plus 3%.  As of this writing, the IRS is charging 4% per year.  But the penalty gets really harsh for non-filers.  You pay the .5% late payment penalty, plus a 4.5% late filing penalty, for a combined penalty of 5% for the first month your return is late.

It gets worse: Every month that you don’t file – your penalties double…until 5 months when it caps at 47.5% (22.5% late filing penalty + 25% late payment penalty).  47.5%…Ouch.  That’s double what even some of the worst credit cards would charge.

What should you do if you haven’t filed? By all means, file your taxes…even if you can’t afford to pay the tax that’s due. By filing your taxes and not paying them, you’ll at least go from Non-Filing to Non-Paying status.

If you don’t file your taxes, you won’t qualify for any of these ways to pay down your debt.  You’ll be considered a non-filer, which is against the law, and could eventually be punished with jail time if you let it go.

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IRS Begins Cleaning Up Congress’ New Tax Reporting Mess

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Again, in an effort to close the tax gap, the IRS is currently drafting new tax filing policies that will take effect at the beginning of 2012.

Among the new regulations is the filing of 1099 forms for vendors with any transaction over $600.

Although this may be easy for large companies currently employing computerized tracking systems, this may prove to be detrimental to small businesses in more ways than one.

One major disadvantage is that individuals and other businesses may opt to do business with large companies that can simply send them monthly reports that are 1099-compliant.

Also, businesses may try to reduce the number of companies they transact with overall, with small businesses most likely being removed from the list.

Another regulation being drafted, according to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman, is that credit and debit card transactions are not included in the filing of a 1099, and instead using a different form of reporting.

Major card companies can then use this advantage to encourage more businesses to switch to card transactions to limit the paperwork.

Small businesses would then be caught in the middle as credit/debit card transaction fees normally cost 2% to 3% or higher.

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson admitted that the IRS will face challenges upon the implementation of the new tax filing rules.

And it may not even be effective in the long run.  Olson went on to say “The new reporting burden, particularly as it falls on small businesses, may turn out to be disproportionate as compared with any resulting improvement in tax compliance.”

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Do You Know WHEN the IRS Has the Option Of Sending You to Jail?

Monday, August 16th, 2010

One of the first things that people ask me after I hear out their IRS problems is…

“Well…what do you think? Is the IRS going to send me to jail?” That’s an easy question, really, because the answer only really has two criteria:

Did you file your taxes…or did you not file your taxes?

If you’ve accurately filed your taxes, but you just haven’t paid the tax, you cannot be sent to jail. Owing the IRS money is not considered a crime. But don’t break out the bubbly just yet…

Although jail time is arguably the worst thing that can happen, it’s not the only ‘punishment’ from the IRS that you should be wary of. By not taking action and facing your IRS debt problem, you could be looking into the ugly eyes of…

-Wage garnishment

-Seizure of your real estate

-Seizure of Social Security benefits

-Seizure of 401(k)’s, IRA’s,

-Seizure of Cars / Boats / Houses

-Seizure of Accounts Receivable

-Seizure of Cash Loan Value of Your Life Insurance

-Seizure of Commissions Owed to You

Not too pretty, is it? If you’ve filed your taxes accurately, but you just can’t pay them…there is hope for you.

There are six ways you can get yourself out of hot water, pay your debt to the IRS, and avoid the particularly nasty consequences mentioned above.

Not filing your taxes is considered a crime by the IRS. You can receive one year of prison time for each year that you don’t file. Procrastinating only makes your chances of doing jail time that much worse. The IRS doesn’t take kindly to those it has to “chase down”.…And they will eventually chase you down, trust me.

It doesn’t matter if it’s been a few years and it seems like you’ve somehow “slipped through the cracks”.  You haven’t.

Don’t believe that you can somehow get off “footloose & fancy-free” if you haven’t filed your taxes. Slipping through the cracks just doesn’t happen.

However, the more willing you are to face up to your problem and seek a solution, the more likely it is that the IRS won’t even threaten prosecution. Why go through life being paranoid, looking over your shoulder, wondering when the IRS is going to jump out from the bushes and finally “call in your chips”? Life’s too short to live this way.

Even if it’s been years since you’ve filed, you can get the IRS “monkey” off your back, once and for all…even if you feel your situation is hopeless. However, in this situation, it’s a very bad idea to go it alone without legal help. Chances are good if you waltz into an IRS office and try to work out a “deal”’, you’ll say something that you may regret later.

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“Will The IRS Send Me To Jail???”

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

One of the first things that people ask me after I hear out their IRS problems is…“Well…what do you think? Is the IRS going to send me to jail?”

That’s an easy question, really.  Because the answer only really has two criteria: Did you file your taxes…or did you not file your taxes?

If You’ve Accurately Filed Your Taxes You Cannot Be Sent to Jail.

If you’ve accurately filed your taxes, but you just haven’t paid the tax, you cannot get sent to jail.  Owing the IRS money is not considered a crime.

However, although jail time is arguably the worst thing that can happen, it’s not the only ‘punishment’ from the IRS that you should be wary of.  By not taking action and facing your IRS debt problem, you could be looking into the ugly eyes of…

* Wage garnishment

* Seizure of your real estate

* Seizure of Social Security benefits

* Seizure of 401(k)’s / IRA’s

* Seizure of Cars / Boats / Houses

* Seizure of Accounts Receivable

* Seizure of Cash Loan Value of Your Life Insurance

* Seizure of Commissions Owed to You

If you’ve filed your taxes accurately, but you just can’t pay them…there is hope.

There are six ways you can get yourself out of hot water, pay your debt to the IRS, and avoid the particularly nasty consequences mentioned above.

1. Pay the tax

2. Be Declared Non-Collectible Status

3. An Offer in Compromise

4. An Installment Agreement

5. A Partial Installment Agreement

6. A Bankruptcy

You Can Go to Jail if You Haven’t Filed Your Taxes OR If You’ve Filed Your Taxes Inaccurately.

Not filing your taxes is considered a crime by the IRS.  You can receive one year of prison time for each year that you don’t file.

If you haven’t filed your taxes, file them immediately.  Even if you don’t have one red cent to pay, file the taxes anyway.

The worst thing you can possibly do is to avoid taking action and act like it will go away.  You cannot qualify for any of the IRS payment plans if you have not filed your taxes.

However, by taking the correct action, you can avoid going to prison.  In fact, in most cases the IRS won’t even threaten prosecution if the non-filer takes steps to resolve the problem correctly.

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