Thursday May 26, 2022 – The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Data Book is published annually by the IRS and contains statistical tables and organizational information on a fiscal year basis. The report provides data on collecting the revenue, issuing refunds, enforcing the law, assisting the taxpayer, and the budget and workforce.

The IRS is very good at compiling statistics, and breaking those statistics down into categories. The 2021 Data Book was released today. It will take some weeks for me to review all that data.

Because my practice focuses on helping people with tax problems, the first table I look at is Table 25. Delinquent Collection Activities, Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021. This chart breaks down the collection numbers.

Attorney Steven A. Leahy looks at the new IRS numbers on Today’s Tax Talk.

https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-irs-data-book

Steven A. Leahy is a tax attorney in Illinois. He is the host of the long-running popular Radio Show “The IRS Radio Hour” heard every Sunday evening on AM 560 The Answer. Attorney Leahy is also the author of the book “Deal With Your IRS Problems Today!” You can get a FREE copy of this important book at FreeIRSBook.com. Or Call 24/7 (312)664-6649

Tuesday May 24, 2022 – Have you noticed – Cryptocurrency is volatile? Back in 2014 the IRS announced that crypto is property for tax purposes. Not currency, not securities, but property. So, some tax rules that apply to currency or securities do not apply to cryptocurrency.

Rules like the Wash Sale Rule. You can sell your crypto and buy it right back without a 30 day waiting period. Each trade is a taxable event.

The IRS is still inventing the rules for Cryptocurrency. The IRS believes that as much as 10% of the Tax Gap (the difference between how much the IRS collects and how much the IRS should collect), or more than $50 billion, is the result of crypto traders avoiding reporting.

Attorney Steven A. Leahy reports on Cryptocurrency and the IRS on Today’s Tax Talk.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2022/05/19/do-crypto-losses-trigger-tax-losses-with-irs/?sh=18dd83e24419

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/18/irs-may-be-missing-out-on-50-billion-dollars-a-year-in-unpaid-crypto-taxes.html

https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/5/11/23065956/detectives-crypto-cops-irs-fbi-cyber-bitcoin

Steven A. Leahy is a tax attorney in Illinois. He is the host of the long-running popular Radio Show “The IRS Radio Hour” heard every Sunday evening on AM 560 The Answer. Attorney Leahy is also the author of the book “Deal With Your IRS Problems Today!” You can get a FREE copy of this important book at FreeIRSBook.com. Or Call 24/7 (312)664-6649

Thursday May 19, 2022 – The IRS is accused of wasting billions of dollars in taxpayer money and failing to protect taxpayer data. Can this be true?

A recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported 1,694 investigations into the willful unauthorized access of tax data by IRS employee at the same time lawmakers in a Congressional Hearing accused the IRS of billions in misspent funds, huge processing backlogs, and complaints over poor customer service.

The IRS budget is over $14BILLION dollars this year (plus any supplemental funding). No matter the issue, taxpayers are told these problems should be expected given that the IRS is drastically underfunded and understaffed. A mantra repeated so often, it must be true.

Attorney Steven A. Leahy reports on these matters, and more, on Today’s Tax Talk.

https://www.wataugademocrat.com/news/national/irs-under-fire-over-wasted-billions-of-dollars-and-millions-in-backlogs/article_a152f37f-8585-50dc-a239-f89ccca5380e.html

https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/irs-probed-hundreds-of-cases-of-employees-getting-unauthorized-access-to-taxpayer-data

https://www.kabc.com/2022/05/18/did-you-know-the-irs-budget-is-12000000000-a-year-thats-billion-with-a-b/

https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-22-105872.pdf

Steven A. Leahy is a tax attorney in Illinois. He is the host of the long-running popular Radio Show “The IRS Radio Hour” heard every Sunday evening on AM 560 The Answer. Attorney Leahy is also the author of the book “Deal With Your IRS Problems Today!” You can get a FREE copy of this important book at FreeIRSBook.com. Or Call 24/7 (312)664-6649

Wednesday May 18, 2022 – The United States Government Accountability Office recently released Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight, Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives titled “TAX COMPLIANCE Trends of IRS Audit Rates and Results for Individual Taxpayers by Income.”

The Report found that In recent years, IRS has examined, or audited, a decreasing proportion of individual tax returns. This trend has raised concerns about the potential for
declining taxpayer compliance, as well as whether IRS is equitably selecting taxpayers for audit, as audit rates for
higher-income taxpayers have decreased more than audit rates for lower-income taxpayers.

Attorney Steven A. Leahy reviews this recent report and details how these changes may effect taxpayers on Today’s Tax Talk.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleaebeling/2022/05/18/irs-tax-return-audit-rates-plummet/?sh=2a46301d1cca

https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/irs-audit-rates-plummet-especially-for-wealthy

https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-22-104960.pdf

Steven A. Leahy is a tax attorney in Illinois. He is the host of the long-running popular Radio Show “The IRS Radio Hour” heard every Sunday evening on AM 560 The Answer. Attorney Leahy is also the author of the book “Deal With Your IRS Problems Today!” You can get a FREE copy of this important book at FreeIRSBook.com. Or Call 24/7 (312)664-6649