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Standard Mileage Rate Increases Beginning July 1st June 9, 2022
The IRS announced today that the standard mileage rate for the second half of 2022 will be $0.625/mile, up from $0.585/mile. As the IRS notes: In recognition of recent gasoline price increases, the IRS made this special adjustment for the final months of 2022. The IRS normally updates the mileage rates once a year in […]
Russ
Contributing to the IRS’s Paper Backlog May 20, 2022
A client of ours has filed Form 2553 three times to elect S-Corporation status. The first time, his attorney sent the form to the IRS. The second time, my client mailed the form (right before the pandemic began). The third time, I faxed the form (now 13 months ago). As of today, the IRS has […]
Russ
Depressing May 5, 2022
TIGTA (the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration) came out this morning with its interim report on the 2022 Tax Filing Season. I would love to report statistics that make me feel warm and fuzzy; instead, we’re left with more of the same: lots and lots of items sitting around in bins (both virtual and […]
Russ
2022 Tax Season: The Tax Season From Hell (Part 2) May 4, 2022
In Part 1 of this series we looked at what went wrong with the IRS. (That post might have been shorter if I had written what went right.) Today, let’s look at what should be done by Congress and the IRS to fix this mess. 1. Simplify the Tax Code. Our Tax Code is a […]
Russ
2022 Tax Season: The Tax Season From Hell (Part 1) April 26, 2022
Mr. Murphy says, what can go wrong will go wrong. This was definitely the case for the 2022 Tax Season. In this four-part series, we’re going to cover IRS and government (Congress and the President) failures, our failures, and what we can do to get this right–or at least better–in the future. As for the […]
Russ
The Worst Written IRS Notice Ever? April 21, 2022
A client, living in a foreign country but who receives his mail in New Jersey (because mail to New Jersey is far more reliable than where he resides) received an IRS notice on his 2021 tax return: Your refund has been reduced We’ve reduced your penalty for failing to pay estimated taxes We reviewed your […]
Russ
Bozo Tax Tip #1: No Tax Form, No Income! April 15, 2022
A new client was on the phone with me last week: “Russ, I just found out that I don’t get a tax form for the income I earn. That means I don’t have to report it, right?” This individual is filing his first tax returns. He just graduated college, and is self-employed. He (thankfully) did […]
Russ
Bozo Tax Tip #5: Procrastinate! April 11, 2022
Today is April 11th. The tax deadline is just seven days away. What happens if you wake up and it’s April 18, 2022, and you can’t file your tax? File an extension. Download Form 4868, make an estimate of what you owe, pay that, and mail the voucher and check to the address noted for […]
Russ
Bozo Tax Tip #6: The $0.58 Solution April 8, 2022
With Tax Day fast approaching it’s time to examine yet another Bozo method of courting disaster. And it doesn’t, on the surface, seem to be a Bozo method. After all, this organization has the motto, Neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night can stay these messengers about their duty. Well, that’s not really the […]
Russ
The IRS Is Broken, Example #786 March 29, 2022
We received a letter for a client from the IRS on the 2016 tax year in yesterday’s mail: We made an error and sent you an interim letter for the tax period listed above. Please disregard the letter 2645C that was sent you on Jan. 20, 2022. We apologize for our error…. There’s only one […]
Russ