Is it legal to have a personal foreign bank account?
- April 12th, 2016
- David Greene
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It’s amazing the rumors that abound about the IRS. An individual will not get in trouble for merely having a foreign bank account, so long as he reports it properly on his tax return. Many people and businesses have such…
Are small business entities being audited more frequently by the IRS?
- April 6th, 2016
- David Greene
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It is still true that an S-corporation or partnership is less likely to be audited than a sole proprietorship. However, the IRS has recently increased pass-through entity audits and decreased audits of large C corporations. From 2014 to 2015 S-corporation…
Learn what to do if you can’t pay the tax due on your return.
- March 29th, 2016
- David Greene
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First you should file your return on time even if you cannot pay the amount due. What you do not want to do is ignore the tax due. There are several ways you can arrange to pay the tax to…
Can a wage levy be stopped by agreeing to a voluntary payment plan?
- March 25th, 2016
- David Greene
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The answer depends on who is levying the wages. The South Carolina Department of Revenue will not release a levy after it has attached until the levy is paid in full. They take 25% of the employee’s gross (before taxes)…
What are common mistakes made in S-Corporation tax returns?
- March 22nd, 2016
- David Greene
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Although many Form 1120 S-Corporation tax returns are prepared by paid tax preparers, many also run into audit trouble. Many preparers make mistakes from time to time for various reasons. In fact the IRS just released a study that found…
Is there any truth to the argument that personal income taxes are illegal?
- March 15th, 2016
- David Greene
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I get this kind of inquiry every couple of years. The argument is that the IRS only has authority to collect taxes from corporations, not individuals. Over the course of my practice, I have represented several individuals who tried to…
Can the IRS use private debt collectors to collect delinquent taxes?
- March 9th, 2016
- David Greene
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Yes, the IRS has begun that practice again, but only if certain criteria are met. If you remember, several years ago the IRS used private debt collectors on a wide variety of cases. They eventually stopped the practice due to…
Does a divorced person still owe the taxes generated in a previous marriage?
- March 3rd, 2016
- David Greene
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I have been asked this question many times before. The general answer is that he owes all of the taxes because he signed the return. For a joint return the signers are jointly and severally liable for the tax. This…
What exactly is the Trust Fund Penalty?
- February 23rd, 2016
- David Greene
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First let me clarify that the Trust Fund Penalty is not really a penalty added to tax owed but is a portion of the payroll taxes owed by a corporation. The Trust Fund Penalty only applies to corporations, not to…
Is a Personal Representative ever liable for the delinquent taxes of the deceased?
- February 17th, 2016
- David Greene
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If the deceased owes delinquent taxes at death, the IRS must file a claim for taxes owed by that decedent just as any other creditor must. They can collect out of the estate, but not from the Personal Representative’s personal…