Take a global pandemic that forces millions of millennials to stay home with nothing but the internet and boredom to guide their behavior, and you get situations like the recent snafu with Robinhood and GameStop. Whatever your position on Robinhood’s decision to limit trading of certain securities and the ensuing outcry, the reality is that hundreds of thousands of U.S. taxpayers will need to get acquainted with Form Read More

The IRS received attention when it sent letters to thousands of taxpayers in August 2020 reminding them of cryptocurrency reporting requirements. That batch of letters was just one clue that the IRS is ramping up interest in bitcoin and other virtual currency. Sure enough, the first page of the updated 2020 Form 1040, Individual Income Tax Return, includes a question about acquiring “any financial interest in any Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic ground much of 2020 to a halt, and that includes countless judicial venues that dispense hearings on civil and criminal matters. Even before coronavirus hit the Pacific Coast, though, prosecutions for white-collar crime were at historic lows. At the conclusion of 2020, the number of white-collar prosecutions totaled around half of the 2011 peak for the Obama administration. With yet another new Read More

In the interests of due process, the Internal Revenue Service has a procedure for taxpayers to protest certain tax matters. This option is often triggered by taxpayers to protest the findings of a tax examiner or IRS audit. After you have received some type of notice from the IRS regarding your tax situation, you may follow the instructions on the form to request a conference with the IRS Office of Appeals. Read More

Though taxpayers, in theory, voluntarily file and pay federal income tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service each year, failure to timely and accurately volunteer your income tax returns and payment to the IRS means you will be facing monetary penalties. The agency commonly assesses penalties against taxpayers for failure to file, failure to pay, failure to make estimated quarterly payments, negligence, and other Read More

At a time when a large number of small businesses are already experiencing difficult economic circumstances, representatives from the Internal Revenue Service have signaled that audits of partnerships and pass-through entities will increase in 2021. More granularly, the IRS has hired 50 new specialized auditors who are expected to be installed sometime in February 2021.  If you currently own or operate a small Read More

The low-interest, forgivable loans available through the Paycheck Protection Program have been lifelines for millions of small and mid-sized businesses across the U.S. The statistics underscore that statement; more than five million PPP loans have been distributed since the program was established in late March 2020. The original funding quickly dried up, leading to multiple rounds of funding.  There’s no denying, Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated countless big-picture trends across the world. One important area that showed significant change is the telemedicine universe. To illustrate the explosive growth in telemedicine visits, consider that, by April 2020, around 44 percent of doctor’s visits by Medicare recipients were conducted virtually. Just two months earlier, that figure hovered around 0.1 percent.  In Read More

Some taxpayers may not know about the IRS’s FBAR requirement. It does not apply to all taxpayers, but the consequences of ignoring it could be horrific for those it does concern. FBAR, or the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, is a form to report foreign bank accounts. It states that all U.S. taxpayers (whether citizen, resident, or entity) must disclose any foreign bank account or accounts they have that Read More

For most taxpayers, taxes can be a somewhat obscure thing. They can be tough to wrap your head around or be certain you’ve done everything correctly down to the letter. You may not think you’ve done anything wrong, but if you see the IRS trying to communicate with you, you may question your tax returns. There may have been some box left unchecked. The problem is, many of these communications are not Read More