This is something that every tax professional knew was going to happen after the IRS announced budget cuts. Where is the first problem going to be – a slow down in customer service. See this article in USAToday by Kevin McCoy that gives details on the total breakdown in IRS phone service for the last tax filing season: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/07/15/irs-taxpayer-service-2015/30181465/?utm_campaign=Daily+Clips&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20612080&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–wq-9K5PETkUeJhoTFg_z2CPz782Agh4yTB2kHC6C06DfWKNOhiV0PHxfQKG1bDp-nVg9SNDS_UarBjemlFIXEdoCVHQ&_hsmi=20612080 Since my feeling is that you should not depend on IRS telephone advice anyway (you can get 3 different answers to the same question with three different phone calls), it is better to talk to a tax professional for this type of information than a telephone person who is probably being paid close to minimum wage and now is not available most of the time. For financial, accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net Phone: 818-317-6035 Website: www.briantstonercpa.com Android and the IPhone: Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa
Tax Musings of a Burbank CPA: Reporting Gambling Income and Losses on Your Tax Return
If you are someone who likes to gamble, you need to be aware of the IRS requirements of reporting gambling winnings and deducting gambling losses. See this tip from the IRS about gambling winnings, reporting and how to deduct your losses (even if you can): http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USIRS/bulletins/10d0fd9#.VZrT-j12yRA.twitter … Always keep in mind that all gambling losses can only be deducted as a miscellaneous itemized deduction and only up to your gambling winnings, so if you don’t itemize you may not even be able to deduct your gambling losses. It might be wise to discuss this with your tax preparer (or if you use turbotax hire someone to discuss it with) so you know what deductions you even qualify for. For financial, accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net Phone: 818-317-6035 Website: www.briantstonercpa.com Android and the IPhone: Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa
Financial Musings of a Burbank CPA: Social Security check disappears because of old student loan
If you have an old student loan you defaulted on, don’t be surprised if The Department of Education starts taking part of your social security check to pay it off. Look at this article by Jillian Berman in MarketWatch for more details on this: www.marketwatch.com/story/when-your-social-security-check-disappears-because-of-an-old-student-loan-2015-06-25 As unfair as this might be, just remember that you took out a loan for college and it is fair to expect the government to want that loan to be paid back. There may be some remedies as the article says, but a debt is a debt and this may be the best way to get rid of it unless you can make a better deal with the Department of Education. For financial, accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net Phone: 818-317-6035 Website: www.briantstonercpa.com Android and the IPhone: Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa