In the fall of 2020, the Internal Revenue Service announced that it was adding QR, or Quick Response, codes to some of the notices it sends taxpayers. Specifically, the codes are going on tax due notices. The goal, says the IRS, is to make it easier for taxpayers to deal with the notices. Recipients of the QR-coded…
The advance child tax credit allows qualifying families to receive early payments of the tax credit many people may claim on their 2021 tax return during the 2022 tax filing season. The IRS will disburse these advance payments monthly through December 2021. Here are some details to help people better understand these payments. Who is…
If the IRS does call a taxpayer, it should not be a surprise because the agency will generally send a notice or letter first. Understanding how the IRS communicates can help taxpayers protect themselves from scammers who pretend to be from the IRS with the goal of stealing personal information. Here are some facts about how…
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will send a notice or a letter for any number of reasons. It may be about a specific issue on your federal tax return or account or may tell you about changes to your account, ask you for more information, or request a payment. You can handle most of this correspondence…
Even with the extended tax filing deadline this year, some taxpayers may still have needed extra time to file their taxes. Most tax software companies make it easy to file Form 4868 to ensure their clients get the extension they need. Is it too late for my client to file a tax extension? Forms for filing…
The IRS is now making monthly child tax credit payments to eligible families. Depending on the age of your child, those payments can be as much as $300-per-kid each month from July to December. That’s an extra $1,800 per child in your pocket if you get the full amount for six months. But what if the…
The Biden administration has revised a controversial plan that would require banks and other financial services institutions to report account data to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in an effort to crackdown on tax cheats. The original proposal which sparked attention among banking trade groups, consumers, and even debt collectors would have required financial firms to report aggregate data…
Many individuals may not know they can request, receive, and review their tax records via a tax transcript from the IRS at no charge. Transcripts are often used to validate income and tax filing status for mortgage applications, student loans, social services, and small business loan applications and for responding to an IRS notice, filing…
The IRS announced a new webpage that provides information to taxpayers whose large refunds are subject to further review by the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT or Joint Committee). By law, when taxpayers claim a federal tax refund or credit of more than $2 million ($5 million for a C corporation), the IRS must review the refund…
Originally enacted on July 4, 1966, the Freedom of Information Act established a statutory right of public access to Executive Branch information held by the federal government. The FOIA provides that any person has a right, enforceable in court, to obtain access to federal agency records under the Act, except to the extent that any portions of…
