It happens to the best of us. We carefully prepare for an appointment with our accountant or we gather all our documents and go through the process of preparing our tax returns. A short while later we receive a notice from the IRS letting us know that we underreported our taxable income. Now what? Our
IRS Issues
Understanding IRS Audit Notices
The number of IRS audits actually went down in 2015-of course that is of little comfort to the people coming into our tax law offices in San Diego, Orange County and Los Angeles. The tax agency expects to complete approximately 1-million audits this year—which is down almost 400,000 from just three years ago. The reason—budget cuts
Orange County Tax Attorney-Tax Penalties For the Uninsured
One of the issues that we are starting to see more of at our tax law offices in Orange County and Los Angeles revolves around tax penalties for not having health insurance. It may have been easy to ignore the tax penalties for not having insurance in the past, but that is rapidly changing and
Stop Identity Theft-Part Two
As a Southern California tax law firm that deals with the IRS on a daily basis, we’ve seen first-hand the devastating effects of what can happen to unsuspecting people who are the victims of identity theft. It can take months and sometimes years to repair the damage done by thieves. We counsel people every day
How Traders Write Off Large Losses
One of the common problems we see in our tax law offices in San Diego, Beverly Hills and Orange County has to do with investors and financial traders who have improperly set-up their business and consequently are being audited after taking deductions under Section 475 of the mark-to-market securities tax code. The IRS established Section
Should You Hire a Tax Attorney?
It’s the kind of mail nobody wants to receive—a letter from the IRS. It’s pretty much given that any mail you get from the agency is most likely not going to contain good news. If you receive a letter from the IRS you have an important decision to make. Should you try to represent yourself
FBAR Requirements Part 2
To read part 1 of this post, click here. Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program The IRS reopened the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) in 2012 after taxpayers continued to express interest after the closure of the program in 2009 and 2011. The Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, also known as the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative, gives taxpayers
FBAR Requirements
Do you need to file a Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR)? Taxes are confusing, and international tax laws are even more complex. The IRS has been working diligently to create a better system to bring offshore accounts into compliance, and one way they have done this is through the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP)/Offshore Voluntary
IRS Innocent Spouse Relief Rules
When a married couple files their annual tax returns, both parties are jointly and severally liable for any unpaid taxes. This is based on the premise that a married couple jointly enjoys any income that is created by either of the parties within the marriage. If the IRS determines that additional taxes are due based
What are Informational Returns? | IRS Form 1099
1099 tax forms are some of the most recognizable tax forms to the average taxpayer. These forms are considered informational tax returns because the IRS requires filers of informational returns to provide this information to individuals they have completed potentially taxable transactions with and also to provide this information to the IRS. This allows the