The office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration is one of over sixty federal IG offices, but it is one that shows up in the news more than most. Most recently it was mentioned in the New York Times as investigating the handling of the request for President Trump’s tax returns. There is

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin A Bernie Sanders presidency could be very bad news for U.S. billionaires. While Elizabeth Warren would levy taxes of up to 62% on America’s wealthiest individuals, Sanders would go a step further according to professors Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman from the University of California, Berkeley.

Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses payment of survivor’s benefits to multiple spouses, common-law marriage, potential effects of benefits based on a spouse’s public pension, what to do with benefits received on behalf of children and the earnings test. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president

Getty The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced that a new payment option has been added to the private debt collection program. The payment option is intended to make it easier for those who owe to pay their tax debts, although some practitioners, like me, fear that it could lead to abuse. Taxpayers can now

People drink beer on a patio before the arrival of Tropical Storm Dorian in Boqueron, Puerto Rico, … [+] Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) ASSOCIATED PRESS For most people in the U.S., it’s easy to forget Puerto Rico outside of the occasional still-in-trouble-after-hurricanes story you’ll see. But the picture is much worse than

Reducing taxable income can help prevent taxpayers from climbing into a higher tax bracket or … [+] triggering the 3.5% Medicare surtax. Your AGI and MAGI also help determine your eligibility for tax credits, retirement contributions and other deductions. Getty For most taxpayers, there isn’t a magic bullet to reduce taxable income to the extent

Getty Mrs. Jimmy Rogers of Houston, Texas, was disabled in 1996 in an aircraft accident while working for American Airlines. To this day she is unable to sit, stand, or walk for more than thirty minutes without extreme pain. After the accident, she applied for and received Social Security disability benefits. Four years later, she

WESTERVILLE, OHIO – OCTOBER 15: Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) look on during the Democratic Presidential Debate at Otterbein University on October 15, 2019.(Photo by Win Getty Images In a new report, my Urban Institute colleagues have estimated that a full-blown Medicare for All

I see from the National Review that Beto O’Rourke’s remarks about revoking tax-exempt status of religious institutions such as colleges, churches, etc. for opposing same-sex marriage is still a thing. I’m not going to try to review the response to this remark, which has been epic. My purpose is to get some expert comment into

Getty The largest dark web child pornography site in the world has been taken down. That was the word today from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), together with the National Crime

(Photo by Thomas Eisenhuth/picture alliance via Getty Images) picture alliance via Getty Images Many people are happy to lend money to their loved ones, especially to children and grandchildren. But before stroking the check, review the tax rules. The tax consequences vary greatly depending on the terms of the loan. A small change in the

Credit: Getty Royalty Free Getty Granting people gifts makes you and them happy. If you can tailor your generosity so not to pay tax on your largesse, you will be even happier. It pays to know the rules about the taxes that your magnanimity may trigger. Without incurring any taxes, you can give one person

Social Security may be one of your largest assets. What and when you collect will make a huge difference to your lifetime benefits. Today’s column addresses eligibility for spousal benefits if the other spouse hasn’t yet filed, the calculation of spousal benefit amounts, switching from spousal to retirement benefits, spousal benefits after retirement benefits and

Since passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, taxpayers and preparers have been adjusting strategy to optimize the significant changes of 2018. With one TCJA filing season down, I’ve taken stock of some of the not-so-common tax situations encountered and the strategies developed to work around them this year. While not all-encompassing, this list

Senator Chuck Grassley in his own letter is cautioning the IRS about Senator Ron Wyden’s letter urging the IRS to investigate the NRA. Wyden refers to a report by the Senate Finance Committee Minority Staff – The NRA And Russia – How A Tax-exempt Organization Became a Foreign Asset. Mariia Butina, leader of a pro-gun

Getty The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a reminder to taxpayers with an expiring Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to submit renewal applications. Failing to renew an ITIN by the end of the year may cause refund and processing delays in 2020. An ITIN is assigned to a taxpayer who is not eligible to obtain a

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin 3D Word IPO on Chalkboard Background – 3D Rendering Getty For both private company directors as well as CEOs as you begin to think about liquidity choices for your company you normally think of an IPO. There is of course another alternative you may want to

The recent GAO report IRS Could Better Leverage Existing Data to Identify Abusive Schemes Involving Tax-Exempt Entities is not nearly as boring as the title makes it sound. In order to get to its recommendations the report authors had to describe the shenanigans that the scoundrels are engaging in. The report might serve as a

Social Security may be one of your largest assets. What and when you collect will make a huge difference to your lifetime benefits. Today’s column addresses how early retirement benefits can affect later spousal benefits, survivor’s benefits before retirement benefits, the rate of reduction due to taking benefits early, the application of delayed retirement credits

internet banking network and cryptocurrency concept. Man hand using credit card for trade cryptocurrency. Getty Days after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released two new pieces of guidance for taxpayers who engage in transactions involving virtual currency, the IRS announced another compliance measure: a checkbox on form 1040. The checkbox, which appears on the early