Americans who work overseas are entitled to exclude $80,000 of annual income from their tax return. It’s called the “foreign earned income exclusion.” Read more >>
January 19, 2018
Military Contractors Working Abroad Taxed Unfairly
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The Idiocy of Privatizing IRS Tax Debt Collection
The private collectors are not as well trained as IRS employees, and generally violate taxpayer rights much more often than the federal employees. Read more >>
May 30, 2017
Could I Go to Jail For Lying On My Taxes?
My client’s shaking, horrified. She lied on her tax return and worries the IRS will find out when they open the audit. She thinks she’ll end up in handcuffs if she even talks to the IRS. She won’t. But the IRS will be happy that she is scared. Read more >>
May 26, 2017
IRS Tax Debt Ten-Year Clock
Most people don’t know that the IRS stops trying to collect on tax debt after 10 years. This 10-year statute of limitations can be valuable to people who owe back taxes from several years ago. Read more >>
May 13, 2017
Taxation is Extortion . . . and I Can Help You
If you are having problems getting the IRS to understand you, please call me. I can probably help you. I say this because I understand how the IRS works, how its agents think, and the logic of taxation. Read more >>
May 3, 2017
IRS Private Letter Rulings
Sometimes a taxpayer makes a seemingly minor technical mistake on his return that ends up with large consequences down the line. Shocking, yes, but it’s been known to occur. Read more >>
May 2, 2017
A Dream Job
I love what I do. Intervening on behalf of my clients in tax audits, or helping people shed crippling debt, allows me to (1) draw on prior professional experience at the IRS and elsewhere, Read more >>
May 2, 2017
Fewer Tax Audits by IRS
I attended the USC Tax Institute, a gathering of tax geeks in downtown Los Angeles, last month. Among the more accessible topics was a presentation on tax audits given by Ted Meyer, a former territory manager for IRS auditors. Read more >>
February 18, 2016
Ministers, “Love Gifts” & Income Taxation
Churches and ministers receive many tax breaks: churches do not need to withhold social security taxes from their ministers’ pay; churches receive income tax-free; and ministers do not pay tax on the cash value of church-provided housing. But receiving a tax-free salary is not one of the breaks ministers receive. Read more >>
February 14, 2016
Tax Season is Phishing & Scam Season
I recently received an email — purportedly from the IRS — claiming I have a refund coming and asking me to follow a link to file my return and process the refund. Read more >>
February 2, 2016