Articles Posted in Tax Controversy

IRS posts Q&As on the Making Work Pay Credit

Making Work Pay Credit: Questions and Answers, IRS Web Site

IRS has posted a number of questions and answers (Q&As) on the Making Work Pay Credit (MWPC) on its web site. They are grouped into four categories: general issues, Form W-4, new withholding tables, and economic recovery payments. The most widely applicable information from each of the four categories is summarized below.

Roundup of recent employment tax related cases of interest

Mike Habib, EA Tax Relief & Tax Problem Resolution

Federal courts have recently issued rulings on: (1) whether medical residents may qualify for the student FICA exception, (2) whether an employee’s embezzlement was reasonable cause for failing to remit withholding taxes, and (3) whether the sole owner of a limited liability company (LLC) may be held liable for the LLC’s unpaid employment taxes.

Adverse conditions may allow certain U.S. citizens to claim foreign earned income and housing cost exclusions [Rev Proc 2009-22]:

Individuals who were forced to leave certain foreign countries in 2008 because of adverse conditions may still qualify as bona fide residents of that country for purposes of the IRC §911 foreign income tax exclusion. Under IRC §911(a), qualified individuals may exclude foreign earned income and housing expenses from their gross income for tax purposes.

To qualify for the exclusion, an individual must prove that he has lived in a foreign country for at least 330 full days during any period of 12 consecutive months. However, if instances of war, civil unrest, or other adverse conditions force an individual to leave a country before the 330-day requirement is met, that individual can still qualify for the exclusion if he can prove that he would have otherwise stayed in the country.

Subsidiary’s employment tax liability cannot be collected from the parent corporation [Chief Counsel Advice 200913052]:

The IRS Office of Chief Council has expressed its opinion in a new Chief Council Advice (CCA) that the employment tax liability of a subsidiary corporation in a consolidated group cannot be collected from the parent corporation.

A “subsidiary” is defined under Reg. § 1.1502-1(c) as a corporation that is a member of a consolidated group, but is not the common parent of the group. In a consolidated group, (1) the parent corporation must directly own at least 80% of the total voting power and 80% of the total value of the stock in at least one other “includible” corporation in the group, and (2) one or more of the other includible corporations in the group must directly own at least 80% of the stock (by vote or value) in each of the remaining includible corporations.

IRS announces settlement offer for those that voluntarily disclose unreported offshore income

Mike Habib, EA Tax Relief & Tax Resolution Services

IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman has announced what is in effect a settlement offer for those that voluntarily and timely disclose unreported offshore income. Those meeting the terms of the offer will have to pay back-taxes and interest for six years, and pay either an accuracy or delinquency penalty on all six years. They will also pay a penalty of 20% of the amount in the foreign bank accounts in the year with the highest aggregate account or asset value. In other words, 20% of the highest asset value of an account anytime in the past six years. However, those who come forward on a timely basis will not face criminal prosecution.

Linked trusts were eligible to be S shareholders PLR 200912005

Mike Habib, EA Tax Relief & Tax Resolution Services

IRS has privately ruled that a trust having a second trust as a remainder beneficiary could choose to be treated as an electing small business trust (ESBT) and thus was eligible to be a shareholder of an S corporation. IRS also concluded that the second trust was not a charitable remainder trust. As a result, the second trust will be eligible to be treated as an ESBT when it becomes a potential current beneficiary of the first trust.

IRS wage garnishment levy and IRS bank levy tax relief

Collecting tax revenue in the face of recession has been – and will continue to be – a challenge for the IRS. There is an increase in the number of taxpayers unable to pay their back taxes due to loss of main income and other such economic hardships. Are you one of these people? Don’t worry – there’s IRS collection help, wage and bank levy release, and other tax relief assistance available for you from this website. Mike Habib has the expertise to help affected taxpayers like you defend their rights and take advantage of the appropriate IRS tax relief options.

Wage and bank levy release

When wage garnishment, wage levy occurs, the employer keeps a sizeable part of an employee’s salary or wage in order to pay the employee’s tax debts. So what debts qualify for a wage garnishment? The most common ones are unpaid taxes, unpaid court fines, child support, unpaid student loans, and many more. If the person has more than one debt, then there is a big chance that his salary won’t be able to cover them all. What the employer does is to prioritise which debt demands solutions first. In most cases, of course, the federal tax would be paid first.

Solve Your 941 Payroll Tax Problems

It’s fairly common for businesses – no matter what size – to struggle with some sort of 941 tax issue or another. Even companies that use good payroll software to sort out their entire payroll related taxes are still prone to errors. The IRS implements strict guidelines when it comes to filing and paying payroll taxes in a timely manner. Are you a business owner with 941 payroll tax problems? It’s going to be difficult to obtain tax relief if you have been found guilty of deliberately failing to meet your obligations.

Late filing and payment

Late payment of payroll taxes causes your business to incur penalties and additional fees, which can be a huge problem especially if your business is already contending with cash flow issues to begin with. Small businesses, for instance, rarely have ample capital to run their operations, so when unexpected fees like these come up, cash flow is compromised.

badge
badge
badge
badge
badge
badge
Contact Information