Does IRS’ Tea Party Targeting Admission Concern You?

Officials say the head of the government office knew his agency was targeting tea party groups in May 2012. Tell us what you think of the agency’s recent admissions.

It’s bound to be no party for Internal Revenue Officials in the coming days. The Associated Press reported Monday that IRS officials revealed that acting IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller knew back in May 2012 that the agency had targeted tea party groups by unfairly investigating them to see if they were violating their tax-exempt status. Monday’s revelation came on the heels of last week’s acknowledgment by the agency that the groups had been targeted during the 2012 election season. Organizations that faced IRS scrutiny included those that had “Tea Party” or  “Patriot” in their names. According to the AP’s report, about 300 groups were singled out for additional review; while about half of those cases had been closed and no group had …

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Brian

1:22 am on Monday, May 20, 2013

Andrew - as I mentioned before, your own comments show you to lack knowledge on the subject. I recommend you go read the ENTIRE leaked report that started this whole media frenzy in the first place, then come back when you know what you are talking about. You really don't even have the right to be discussing this with people who bothered to read the report. Even further: uninformed citizens are …   more ›

Taxpayers are Already Asking 'Where's My Refund?'

The Internal Revenue Service reports experiencing high traffic on its online “Where's My Refund?” tool.

 The deadline to file tax returns isn't until April but taxpayers appear to be filing early and are already asking, Where's my refund?"  “Due to the large number of inquiries and to avoid service disruptions, the IRS strongly urges taxpayers to only check on their refunds once a day,” the IRS said, according to a report by Accounting Today. “IRS systems are only updated once a day, usually overnight, and the same information is available whether on the Internet, IRS2go smartphone app or on IRS toll-free lines. While 'Where's My Refund?' is updated nightly, your account will not change that frequently.” According to the report, nine out of 10 taxpayers typically receive refunds in less than 21 days when they use e-file with direct deposit. …

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Scammers Want Your Tax Return

Read tips on how to protect yourself.

DailyFinance.com calls tax identity fraud a "specialized and sophisticated form of theft."  According to a post on the site, thieves are stealing year-end statements, W-2s and other income information to file returns on victims' behalf. The report says that during the 2011 tax processing year, roughly 940,000 tax returns were filed fraudulently, and this year, that number will likely increase to 1 million.  How do you protect yourself? First, shred any paperwork you don't need for tax preparation. Second, be wary of a slow-running computer or out-of-place pop-ups when filing taxes online. Also, be suspicious of any phone calls or e-mails claiming to be from the IRS, even with the appropriate logos. According to the IRS website: "The IRS …

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Could You Afford $20,000 for Health Care?

According to new rules released last week by the IRS, by 2016 you might have to.

Some conservative news organizations have taken a close look at new rules released by the IRS on Jan. 30 on the new health care regulations and found them wanting … wanting much more, in fact, by 2016. According to Breitbart.com, the IRS estimates that by 2016 the cheapest Obamacare plan will cost $20,000 for a family of five. That would be for a bronze plan.  Other plans offered go up from there to silver, gold and platinum. The IRS used as an example a family of five earning $120,000 a year. If no family members had insurance, they would be subject to a “shared responsibility” penalty putting them into the Bronze plan. The tax penalty for that is $2,400 a month or $20,000 a year.  Read the IRS regulations here. Alert, there is a lot of …

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When Will IRS Begin Processing 2012 Tax Returns?

The agency is retooling after the massive 'fiscal cliff' legislation.

Last-Minute Tax Tips

Today is the tax filing deadline.

April 17 is the last day you can file your 2011 tax returns or apply for an extension. Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until Oct. 15 to file their 2012 tax returns, according to the Internal Revenue Service website. If you are still searching for last-minute assistance, check out the Readers' Choice winner of local tax preparers. The IRS has also provided 10 last-minute tips to help taxpayers still working on their returns:

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Last Chance: Grab Your Tax Returns

April 17 is also the deadline to file from income three years ago, and if you don’t, you’ll never have the chance again.

As you probably are already well aware of, Tuesday, April 17, is the deadline to file your federal and state tax return. But here’s something you might not know: April 17 is also the deadline to file a return from 2008 income, and if you don’t, you’ll never have the chance again. There is about $1 billion in federal returns left over from 2008 for roughly 1 million Americans eligible, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. For Georgia income taxes, the numbers are $31 million for 36,000, the newspaper adds. The tax forms from past years are available here. While you’re on there, you can see what a tax form from 1864 said.

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Last-Minute Tax Tips

There is no time left to procrastinate as Monday's tax-filing deadline fast approaches. Use these last-minute tips to help get your tax returns done over the weekend.

  The tax-filing season is progressing smoothly as the April 18 filing deadline approaches, according to IRS spokesman Mark S. Green. “Georgians are e-filing in record numbers this year, up 8.7 percent thus far. We have received over 2.6 million E-File returns out of the estimate 4.1 million tax returns," he said. Green said the IRS expects 20 to 25 percent of the 4.1 million returns from Georgians to be filed during the last week of the filing season. In addition, the IRS estimates that more than 275,000 Georgians will request an extension this year. If you haven't filed your taxes, you have today, the weekend and until midnight Monday to meet the deadline. Here are some last-minute tips from the IRS to help make the process easier for …

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IRS Essentials: How to Find What You Need Before Tax Day

Here are some tips from IRS to help get you ready for April 18.

With the Monday, April 18 federal income tax deadline rapidly approaching, the IRS offers self-help tools to make filing taxes easier. Taxpayers seeking last minute help can find key information through the IRS website. The IRS daily filing season tax tips also available on the website provide plain language information to help taxpayers.  Here are a few of the available tax tips covering some of the most common taxpayer questions: Want to file your return electronically for free? Free File on IRS.gov is always open: See IRS Tax Tip 2011-11. Let Free File Do the Hard Work for You. Want to know more about filing electronically? Electronic filing is no longer the exception, it’s the norm. See IRS Tax Tip 2011-10. Prepare and File Your Taxes …

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Things You Need to Know Today

Get Your Taxes Done

Here are the things you need to know before heading out the door on April 11.

1. Weather. There is a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m., with the rest of the day expected to be partly sunny, according to the National Weather Service. High temp is near 81 degrees, with calm wind between 10 and 15 mph and gust as high as 20 mph. Going into tonight, showers and thunderstorms are in the forecast, mainly between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. Low temp is around 54 degrees with wind between 10 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. The NWS predicts new rainfall amount to be between a quarter and half of an inch. 2. In case you missed it. Letter Puts School System on Defense: The regional accrediting agency for the Cobb County School District has joined parents, teachers and the county grand jury in…