2018 Tax Law Changes
Are you wondering how the new IRS tax law changes will affect you? Be prepared with need-to-know answers to all your tax reform questions. We’ve been keeping track of all the tax law changes so…
IRS Changing Format of Tax Transcripts
A new transcript format is now in place to better protect your information from identity theft. This new transcript partially masks the personally identifiable information of everyone listed on the tax return. All financial entries…
2019 IRS E-File Tax Refund Direct Deposit Dates
The IRS will begin accepting tax returns on January 28, with nearly 155 million individual tax returns expected to be filed in 2019. The nation’s tax deadline will be April 15 this year. Many software companies…
2019 Tax Transcript Cycle Code Charts
A cycle code is an 8 digit code found on your account transcripts. The cycle code indicates the day your account posted to the IRS Master File. This date indicates the 4 digits of the…
IRS Modernized E-File to Close December 27, 2018
The IRS Modernized e-file, the system that processes electronically-filed business returns, will shut down after December 27, 2018, so the agency can perform annual maintenance and to enable the IRS to reprogram the system for…
The Government Shutdown Could Halt Many IRS Operations
Funding for many government agencies expired at midnight on Friday, which triggered a partial shutdown of the federal government. The IRS is affected by the shutdown because it is not already funded through September 2019.…
Tax Preparation – Frequently Asked Questions
What are tax preparation options? There are multiple tax preparation options you can choose from. Once you’ve gathered all the tax documents needed, you can now decide if you want to file your taxes by…
IRS budget cuts strain rollout of 2019 tax filing season
The IRS faces a particularly challenging rollout to the 2019 filing season, best summarized in four words: more work, fewer employees. President Donald Trump signed the latest tax reform law in December 2017, but the…
2018 is the Final year for the Insurance Coverage Penalty
Yes, the ACA’s individual mandate penalty is still in effect, and will continue to be in effect in 2018. If you’re uninsured in 2018 and not eligible for an exemption, you’ll owe a penalty when…
The IRS Integrity and Verification Operations
Integrity & Verification Operation (IVO) department provides leadership and direction to employees responsible for fraud detection and prevention, revenue protection, and account correction. Integrity and Verification Operation (IVO) is the department designated to screen individual…
How Do You Get Your W-2 Online?
When you’re doing your income taxes, you will require a number of forms and probably the most significant one is the W2 form. Every business that you were employed at in the course of the…
Tax Problems? Avoid These Tax Filing Mistakes
Taxpayers generally want to avoid filing errors because they lead to tax problems and inconveniences. There are times when a taxpayer might experience tax filing mistakes due to complicated and sometimes confusing forms, calculations, and filing…
What is the Dependent Tax Credit, Deduction and Exemption?
Are you wondering who can qualify as a dependent on your tax return? This is your guide to assessing whether one of your family members may be able to be classified as a qualifying dependent…
New form 1040 for 2019 Tax Season
The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have announced a redesign of the 1040 individual income tax return form that is being touted as one that will fit on a single postcard. The new,…
What Are The Penalties For Not Filing Your Tax Return?
Everybody knows the old saying about death and taxes, yet a surprising number of people fail to file an income tax return. If you’re one of those people and you think you’ll be able to…
Married Filing Separately Vs. Married Filing Jointly
If you’re married, you have the option to file one or two tax returns every year. While most people file together on one return due to the increased standard deduction, in some situations, it makes…
Tax Reform
After months of intense negotiations, the President signed the $1.5 trillion tax reform legislation known as the “Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Of 2017” (the “New Law”) on December 22, 2017 – the most significant tax…
Standard Deduction vs Itemized Deduction – What’s The Difference?
The Most Common Tax Question: Which Deduction Should You Take? Every taxpayer has the same decision to make when filing a federal return:Do you take the standard deduction or do you itemize? The right choice…
What Day Does Where’s My Refund Update?
Where’s My Refund? is an IRS online tool you can use to check the status of your tax return within 24 hours after the Internal Revenue Service has received your e-filed tax return or four…
Check withholding, make estimated payments now
Many taxpayers, at risk for having too little tax withheld from their pay, can avoid a surprise year-end tax bill by quickly updating the withholding form they give to their employer, according to the Internal…
Unpostable Tax Return
Every year, the IRS works a large batch of ”unpostable” tax returns. An Unpostable tax return happens when your tax return is unable to be posted to the master file. An unpostable condition occurs if…
More families will be able to get more money under the newly-revised Child Tax Credit
More families will be able to get more money under the newly revised Child Tax Credit, according to the Internal Revenue Service. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the tax reform legislation passed in…
Find a Tax Return Preparer
Before you start your search, you might be wondering about all the different kinds of tax pros out there or who can do your taxes. Basically, anyone can call himself a tax preparer and file…
Systemic Verification
Systemic verification is one element of the IRS’s Return Review Program (RRP), its primary system to detect fraud and noncompliance. The Return Review Program is a platform that runs individual tax returns through a set…
What Is An IRS Tax Transcript And How Can I Get A Copy
What Is an IRS Tax Transcript? An IRS tax transcript serves as a record of an individual’s tax-related information. This document contains details about one’s previous tax returns, with information such as the type of…
What Is The IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service And How Can It Help Me?
Need Help with Your Tax Troubles? Dealing with tax issues can be frustrating, confusing, and frightening. The IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service is made up of individuals who are knowledgeable about the inner workings of the IRS…
Tax Advocate Service
The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an organization within the Internal Revenue Service that is designed to help taxpayers resolve problems with the IRS. HOW IT WORKS The TAS was first formed in 1978. Over time, it gained more…
Tax Refund Offsets for Unpaid Child Support
The Department of Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS) issues IRS tax refunds and Congress authorizes BFS to conduct the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). Through the TOP program, BFS may reduce your refund (overpayment) and offset…
IRS Fraud Filters Delay Tax Refunds
The IRS’s Failure to Establish Goals to Reduce High False Positive Rates for Its Fraud Detection Programs Increases Taxpayer Burden and Compromises Taxpayer Rights Over the past decade, the IRS has been significantly impacted by…
Return Review Program
A system the IRS uses to identify potentially fraudulent electronically filed tax returns. It enhances the IRS’s capabilities to detect, resolve, and prevent criminal and civil noncompliance and reduces issuance of fraudulent tax refunds. The…
IRS Still Being Processed vs. Being Processed
There are two different being processed messages. One is “still being processed” and the other is “being processed” and they both have different meanings. What does “Your tax return is still being processed” mean? The…
Being Processed vs. Still Being Processed Tax Refund Status
There are two different being processed messages. One is “still being processed” and the other is “being processed” and they both have different meanings. What does “Your tax return is still being processed” mean? The…
Bank’s, Cards, & Credit Unions that offer customers early Direct Deposits on Tax Refunds?
When tax season rolls around, everyone wants one thing — that refund in their account as fast as possible. While the IRS sets the refund release date, how quickly your money actually shows up depends on where it’s deposited.…
Today will be the End of the 2018 PATH HOLD
The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (the PATH Act), was enacted on December 18, 2015. The PATH Act contains several changes to the tax law that affect individuals, families, and businesses, and…
Avoid the Rush: Track Tax Refunds Online at IRS.gov
With millions of tax refunds being processed, the Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers they can get fast answers about their refund by using the “Where’s My Refund?” tool available on IRS.gov and through the IRS2Go app. …
You Can Forget Trying to Call the IRS and Find Your Answers Online
Even without a government shutdown, taxpayers are having trouble getting through to the IRS at the start of the 2018 tax filing season. Busy signals and long hold times are leading to frustration. We’ve even…
Key IRS Identity Theft Indicators Continue Dramatic Decline in 2017; Security Summit Marks 2017 Progress Against Identity Theft
The Internal Revenue Service today announced steep declines in tax-related identity theft in 2017, attributing the success to the Security Summit initiatives that help safeguard the nation’s taxpayers. Key indicators of identity theft dropped for…
Avoid the Rush over Presidents Day Holiday; Online Tools, Resources Can Help
With the surge of tax returns expected during the upcoming Presidents Day weekend, the Internal Revenue Service is offering taxpayers several tips and various time-saving resources to get them the help they need from the…
Seven Things to Do When an IRS Letter Arrives
The IRS mails millions of letters to taxpayers every year for many reasons. Here are seven simple suggestions on how individuals can handle a letter or notice from the IRS: 1. Don’t panic. Simply responding…
2018 Tax Transcript Cycle Code Chart
If your Where’s My Refund? Status Bars Have Disappeared PLEASE READ! One way to determine what is going on with your tax return is to go to the IRS website and request an Account Transcript.…
IRS Transcript Transaction Codes
Transaction Codes (TC) consist of three digits. They are used to identify a transaction being processed and to maintain a history of actions posted to a taxpayer’s account on the Master File. Every transaction processed by the IRS…
What Should You Do If Someone Claims Your Children On Their Tax Return?
No matter how hard you try to safeguard personal information, there is still a chance that someone could steal or otherwise misuse your dependent’s Social Security number. Often, the use of another taxpayer’s Social Security…
Tax Transcripts Don’t Order Them View Them
Millions of taxpayers are going transcript crazy right now and wasting the IRS time that they could be processing our returns. We all need to slow down if you order your transcripts by mail the…
How many people received and update in the first batch of 2018 updates!
Congratulations, Wednesday, January 24 marks the First day for movement on some taxpayers accounts in the 2018 tax filing season. Many taxpayers woke up this morning with a change to their refund status. If your…
How many have received emails that tax returns are being accepted!
Congratulations! Accepted means your e-filed tax return has passed the initial inspection (Social Security numbers are correct, dependents haven’t already been claimed, etc.) and the government has your tax return. Consider acceptance as your official government delivery receipt.…
How Long Can the IRS Delay Your Tax Refund?
It turns out that there is no set time schedule for when refunds have to be given to people who file taxes (and who qualify). This is probably not the answer that you wanted and is…
How Long Does it Take to Get Your Tax Refund Back?
When filing tax returns, the second question everyone asks is “How long does it take to get my tax refund back?” Of course, the first question everyone asks is “How much is my refund?” Tax…
How Much Money Do You Have to Make to File Taxes?
How much money do you have to make to file taxes? What is the minimum income to file taxes? Let’s take a look at the requirements for the minimum income to file taxes in 2017…
How Much is the Penalty for No Health Insurance?
Which States Still Charge a Penalty? As of the most recent filing year, these states have their own individual mandate penalties: These penalties are collected through your state tax return, not the federal return. How…
What Does The Government Shutdown Mean For Taxes?
The government shut down early Saturday, January 20th after Congress failed to agree on a funding bill. That triggered automatic furloughs for government employees deemed “non-essential.” That means only a portion of each federal agency’s…