Max W

Here is the article, cut and pasted. One thing to be aware of is that the author is known to use a lot of hyperbole. However, the basic substance is correct as it comes from IRS Pub 3744. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p3744.pdf By Daniel J. Pilla One of the reasons identify theft is considered by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to be the crime of the century is because of the IRS. The Internal Revenue Service makes growing demands for information about people’s businesses and private lives every day. There is no such thing as personal privacy these days. That the IRS sends citizens a so-called “Privacy Act Notice” in all its mailings is a farce. The IRS lays claim to your data without court authority more so than any other government agency. And to make matters worse, they share the data with any other federal, state or local government agency claiming an interest, including foreign governments. A river of data In 2019, there will be about 152 million individual tax returns filed with the IRS. There will be roughly another 100 million business tax returns filed. There will be millions more miscellaneous tax returns, including trust, estate and gift tax returns. On top of that, over 3.6 BILLION information returns (Forms W-2, 1099, etc.) will be filed. There is quite literally a river of data flowing into the agency. The flow cannot be stopped, and as far as the IRS is concerned, they need even more. For example, one of the six “Strategic Goals” presented in the IRS’ 2018-2022 Strategic Plan is to increase its access to data, and use that data more effectively to drive its agency-wide decision making, as well as case evaluations and selections for enforcement purposes. See: IRS Publication 3744 (4-2018). This is consistent with the IRS goal of becoming a “data driven agency.” The IRS is awash in data. The 2018-2022 Strategic Plan boasts that the IRS’ volume of data was 100 times larger in 2017 than it was 10 years prior. In 2018, the IRS Criminal Investigation unit alone collected 1.67 terabytes of data from various sources. A terabyte is 1,099,511,627,776 bytes, or 1,024 gigabytes of data. I’m told that approximately 900,000 plain text files can fit into a single gigabyte. The number of users in the IRS with access to that data has increased 23 times (Strategic Plan, p. 19) in the past 10 years. Managing massive data How do you manage, process and assimilate such a massive amount of data to the point where it becomes usable? The 2018-2022 Strategic Plan expresses the goal to “invest in analytics and visualization software and tools, and develop processes to support analytics in IRS operations” (p. 20). The end game is presented in these words: Advancements in how data is collected, stored, accessed and analyzed will allow us to deploy data better. We’ll standardize our data processes and protocols and encourage collaboration among all IRS business units. Increased interoperability of data systems and sources will enhance the secure and seamless flow of data to enable greater authorized access to information. We’ll invest in training to develop more advanced analytics skill sets across the IRS, and use data to improve our business processes. (Strategic Plan, p. 19.) The investment in analytics was recently undertaken – in a big way. Big Government, meet Big Data On Sept. 27, 2018, the IRS entered into a contract with Palantir Technologies of Palo Alto, California, to handle the task of data assimilation. The contract calls for Palantir to provide hardware, software and training to IRS employees to “capture, curate, store, search, share, transfer, perform deconfliction, analyze and visualize large amounts of disparate structured and unstructured data.” (IRS Contract Proposal, Performance Work Statement, Jan. 11, 2017, p. 1.) Palantir is to build and train the IRS to use a unified supercomputer to: search, analyze, visualize, and interact with a wide variety of disparate data sets so users will be able to leverage the platform to perform advanced analytics, such as link, pattern, statistical, behavioral, and geospatial analysis on an investigative platform that is scalable and interoperable with existing IRS equipment and systems. (Ibid, p. 2.) What kind of data are we talking about? The contract proposal specifies the following data formats: · Oracle, MySQL, and PostgreSQL databases; · Delimited files (.csv, .dsv, .log, or .txt); · Excel files (.xls, .xlsx); · GraphML files (.graphml, .xml); · IVML files; · Email files (.eml, .pst, .mbox, .msg, .ost, .txt); and · PCAP files (.pca, .pcap, .pcp). Ibid, pg 20. Ingesting massive amounts of data The contract proposal states that the IRS is looking for an “analytical platform with a strong storage and indexing power allowing for rapid integration and analysis of ultra-large scale data sources.” (Ibid, p. 2.) Specifically, the system must meet the following criteria: · Allow for the rapid ingestion of massive amounts of data. · Users should be able to immediately use the imported data in the imported format to perform queries, analysis and identify links. · Allow users to drill down on massive amounts of disparate data to find connections. · Allow users to visualize connections from millions of records with thousands of links by grouping data visualization by the commonalities and roles. (Ibid, p. 20.) This would allow the IRS to meaningfully link tens of millions of tax returns, billions of information returns, and trillions of bank and credit card transactions, phone records and even social media posts. For example, if a U.S. citizen moves money from a Swiss bank to some other offshore bank, then uses credit or debit cards to spend the money in the U.S., Palantir’s software can link those transactions. It could also flag a person whose tax return shows relatively low annual income but whose social-media posts indicate something entirely different. This is exactly the kind of data analysis it will take to establish the IRS’ so-called “up-front tax system,” which I describe in my book “How to Win Your Tax Audit.” Under that system, the taxpayer is essentially removed from the tax preparation process because the IRS knows everything there is to know about your personal, business and financial affairs to the point where the agency prepares the return for you. How’s that for tax simplification? The cost of spying The IRS began working with Palantir in 2013. The agency spent $30.8 million on a five-year contract and granted Palantir access to files for more than 1 million people, according to a July 28, 2015, audit report. That contract provides the IRS with access to spy software for use by special agents (criminal investigators) “to generate leads, identify schemes, uncover tax fraud, and conduct money laundering and forfeiture investigative activities.” (Case Lead Analysis, PIA ID No. 1120, July 28, 2015, p. 4.) Under the September 2018 deal, the government will pay Palantir $98,750,546.94 over seven years to fulfill the contract. My question is, why the extra 94 cents? If the IRS’ $99 million spy software works as promised, the agency will have unprecedented ability to track the lives and transactions of tens of millions of American citizens

Data collected from banks, credit cards and other sources without authorization. 100 times more data collected in 2017 than in 2007. Privacy - GONE. Audits to be made through data analytics. One can imagine all kinds of scenarios on the horizon. https://www.wnd.com/2019/01/big-data-meets-big-govt-new-irs-spy-software/

You will have to mail a paper return to the Austin, TX address in the W-7 instructions. In her SS box of the 1040, enter APPLIED FOR. All the required documents are sent along with the return. Figure on 6 months for processing.

The return (8879) was signed and dated before the client died. He preferred to have it efiled. I don't see any problem with this. The refund will go into his estate and the executor will be able to deposit it.

Yes! This is going to be a very taxing season.

This looks like a very amateurish document. The first thing I noticed is that a statement as to who the parties are is missing.Also, in some states, the signers name need to be printed under the signature. You can get all kinds of sample templates for theses letters and this site will adapt it to your state, as each state has different requirements. https://legaltemplates.net

It will be safe when the OIC section sends a letter acknowledging receipt of the the offer.

BD Tom, your question was abut processing. But you are really asking about the acknowledgment of receipt. That is when collections stops. That normally takes about 10 days after mailing the OIC. But under the current circumstances- who knows. If the client is making the 24 month installment offer, I would wait until the ack. of receipt letter is received and then resume the offer payments. That way the client won't be making double payments. If it is a lump sum payment offer, then there is only the 20% deposit with the offer.

I don't think I have ever had an OIC that took less than 6 months to be processed. Some have taken several months longer. So what is a few more weeks? I always tell my clients 6 to 8 months if it is an individual, and 8 to 12 months if it is a business, or Sch C.

NATP is promoting this web site. Has anyone had any experience with it and do you find it helpful?

Mail both to KC. It is the current address. https://www.irs.gov/filing/where-to-file-forms-beginning-with-the-number-7 The IRS frequently changes mailing addresses. Mailing it to an old address will only delay processing.

They are leaving enough on emergency service to process any payments that come in.

I don't think waiting is a good option. Better to file it as soon as possible. There is always a possibility that unreported income could surface later, wiping out the refund and resulting in a balance due with its accompanying P&I.

You can get a First Time Penalty Abatement (FTA) by phone, calling the PPL line, as long as the client has not had other issues in the past. Usually, though, the penalty has to be paid first. This is much faster than filing from 843 and you will get an answer while on the phone.

This is something that they have been doing for several years as an add on during tax season. They used to pay the advisors $20/hr, but maybe that has gone up, and they are required to sit for 8 hours a day in front of their computer screen with few breaks. I believe they also have a second level of advisors - CPA's - who are full time throughout the year, but no idea about their pay scale. Although, the advisors have to meet certain requirements and pass a short test, I'm wondering what kind of quality TT is getting for $20/hr. This points out the difficulty DIY'ers are having in using TT. The IRS loves these DIY tax programs. According the IRS, the average DIY return leaves over $400 in refunds on the table. Perhaps it won't be so much now with the higher Std. Ded.

If he has a US passport he is a US citizen. If he lives outside the country, he should be filing 1040NR. If he is using his brother's address on the TR, is should read "In care of ". Unless he has bank, retirement, of brokerage accounts, in IL, or RE property, there is not much IL can do to collect.

That article is almost three years old. Defender has improved considerably since then. https://www.tomsguide.com/us/windows-defender,review-2209.html

The NYC taxes are reported on page 3 of the IT-201. https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/2014/inc/it201_2014_fill_in.pdf

There are a number of cross-border tax preparers. Here are two of them with offices in the US and Canada. Buffalo Cross Border Tax Preparation & Accounting | Marlies Y ... https://www.hendricksusa.com/cross-border-tax-preparation-accounting Cross Border Tax Preparation & Accounting With Marlies Y. Hendricks: Who Files U.S. 1040 TaxReturns? ... USA (NY):, (716) 694-3500 ... 65); married filing separately $4,050 (any age); single dependents if dependent's unearned ... While they are also subject to Canadian taxes on the same income, the foreign tax credits ... US Tax Services www.ustaxservices.ca/ US TAX SERVICES: A Toronto-based company that successfully helps ... priced below competitive market rates for expert work and in Canadian dollars. We also ... Cross-border tax analysis and planning ... Toronto's "local" Social Security office Niagara Falls, NY & ONLY the SSA record name/TIN must be on a tax

FTB S-corp allows 10% of income to be taken as a charitable deduction on Line 11. Run your diagnostics and see if there as an error message. Otherwise, call customer service. They will help you right away. CA does not conform with the IRS in many aspect, so be aware of this.

There was a discussion about this 2 months ago. Click the heading EE Savings Bonds, to read the whole discussion.

If you want to get cash for them, you can place them with a consignment shop. Selling them on'line has a couple of downsides. Either you have to pack them up and ship them, or have to have some stranger come to your door to pick them up.

Yes, it qualifies with the exceptions that are outlined - the enlargement of the building, any elevator or escalator or the internal structural framework of the building. Roofs, HVAC, fire protection systems, alarm systems and security systems

The glitches won't affect most 1040's and those that might be affected would be a small number of Sch C filers , who are not usually early filers. https://taxfoundation.org/technical-corrections-tax-law-lame-duck-session/

My guess is that we will have efiling earlier in Jan than last year and some other years where there were last minute changes to the tax code. For TCJA they have had plenty of time to make and test the necessary software changes, at least for the 1040.