Well, the President has signed the tax extender bill, extending certain tax credits and deductions until the end of the year. All this work for another week and a half of tax savings. See this article in Forbes by Ashlea Ebeling for the final breakdown: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleaebeling/2014/12/19/obama-signs-2014-tax-extenders-money-in-your-pocket/ So now the new Congress is going to have to pass these same deductions and tax credits next year since they will expire again on New Years 2015. Here we go again. It would make sense to really work on getting these things either permanent or at least extend them for five years or so so we don’t have to go through this every year. 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
Musings of a Burbank CPA: N.J. Tax Preparer Sentenced for Using Dead Colleague’s ID to File Taxes
Another fraudulent tax preparer bites the dust! This preparer created false returns using the preparer ID of a dead colleage who he bought the tax practice from. See the details in Accounting Today by Michael Cohn: http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/legal-watch/nj-tax-preparer-sentenced-using-dead-colleagues-id-file-taxes-73084-1.html This is the worst. The reason he used the dead preparer’s ID was that he couldn’t get one himself because of his past criminal record! 57 months doesn’t seem like enough time for this guy! 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
Burbank CPA Tax Musings: Congress Requires Self-Preparers and Consumer Tax Software to Check for Improper Tax Credits
A provision in the new 1.1 trillion dollar spending bill passed by Congress and signed into law by the President standardizes the need for everyone who files, paid preparers and self prepared returns alike, to fill out the standardized checklists and worksheets to claim the Additional Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Credit. Before this, self prepared returns were not required to fill out the checklists and worksheets. Some paid preparers were complaining that other competitors were avoiding filling the documents out by not signing the returns and filing the returns as self prepared by the taxpayer. See the details in this posting in Accounting Today by Michael Cohn: http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/government-news/congress-requires-consumer-tax-software-improper-tax-credits-73058-1.html?utm_campaign=daily-dec%2018%202014&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&ET=webcpa%3Ae3513258%3A2498807a%3A&st=email While I am happy at every attempt by the IRS to try and combat tax fraud, I question how effective this will be. If a paid preparer is unscrupulous enough to file the return as self prepared by the taxpayer, what will prevent him or her from falsifying the checklists and worksheets so the taxpayer can still claim the credits. They are filing the returns as self prepared so they do not have to take responsibility for the return preparation in the first place. Still it is a step in the [...]