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The IRS Has A Billion Dollars to Hand Out

by

Steven A. Leahy

The IRS Has A Billion Dollars to Hand Out

You may have heard the news that the IRS is searching for over a million tax payers to hand out more than a billion dollars. Here is what is happening. The IRS has ten years to collect delinquent taxes from taxpayer. This is referred to as the Collection Statute Expiration Date (CSED). However, if the IRS owes taxpayers refunds for tax years with unfiled tax returns, the taxpayer only has three years from the due date to collect this refund. And, if the taxpayer is also entitled to an Earned Income Tax Credit, those funds too, must be claimed within three years of the tax return due date.

If taxpayers have unfiled tax returns and it appears to the IRS there will be a tax liability, the IRS takes it upon themselves to file a Substitute for Return (SFR). The SFR is not a service, it is a penalty! They prepare your taxes in order to assess a tax – the IRS can’t collect a tax that has yet to be assessed. Generally, the SFR overstates the true tax obligation of the taxpayer. However, the IRS begins collection efforts to collect the assessed tax. It may take the IRS some years to assess the tax for an unfiled return – and the CSED does not begin until the tax is assessed. So, the IRS has additional time, from the date of assessment – not from the date the tax return is due, to collect the assessed tax.

If it appears the taxpayer has a refund due, the IRS does not complete the SFR. Therefore, a tax is never assessed, so the IRS does not calculate what your refund would be. They leave it to the taxpayer to calculate that number.

This year, 2017, tax-day is April 18th. This is the second-year tax-day has landed on April 18th rather than April 15th. The reason that is revolves around a little-known Washington DC Holiday, Emancipation Day. Here is the rule:

Generally, if a due date for performing any act for tax purposes falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the act is considered to be performed timely if it is performed no later than the next day that isn’t a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. The term legal holiday means any legal holiday in the District of Columbia. The calendars provided in this publication make the adjustment for Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. But you must make any adjustments for statewide legal holidays, as discussed later.

Emancipation Day is a Washington DC holiday every April 16th. The holiday celebrates the DC Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862 that ended slavery in Washington DC. When April 16 falls on a Saturday, the holiday shifts to Friday. That’s why 2016 tax-day was moved to the next Monday, April 18th. This year, 2017, the holiday falls on a Sunday, so the holiday shifts to the next Monday, April 17th. And, because April 15th is a Saturday, the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or holiday is Tuesday April 18th.

Next year, 2018, April 15th will be on Sunday and Emancipation Day will fall on Monday Apirl 16th. Next year, tax-day will fall to Tuesday April 17th.
I have several clients with unfiled tax returns, many dating back before 2013. Several of these clients are W-2 employees, and likely have a refund due. So, we are concentrating on getting their 2013 tax returns completed and filed BEFORE Tuesday April 18, 2017 to make sure they receive credit for the refund they have coming.

If you owe the IRS for taxes pre-dating 2013, and you fail to claim your return timely, the IRS WILL NOT use the refund to offset those taxes. In this situation, Taxpayers are hit with a double whammy.

If you have unfiled tax returns dating back to 2013 – call my office today, right now! We can still complete those returns and get them filed so you can claim your refund. You should give me a call – Opem Tax Resolutions & The Law Office of Steven A. Leahy, PC (312) 664-6649. Call NOW to set up your FREE Consultation.

IRS 1099-A 1099-C Confused Yet?

by

Steven A. Leahy

IRS 1099-A 1099-C Confused Yet?

It’s tax season. Each year, at tax time, many taxpayers receive a 1099 A or a 1099 A and have no idea how to handle them. So, many just ignore the forms and go about filing (or not filing) their tax return. This is a BIG mistake!

Form 1099 C – Cancellation of Debt – is a form used by financial institutions to report cancelled debt to the IRS. “Cancelled Debt” is debt that has been cancelled or forgiven for less than the full amount.

Form 1099 A – Acquisition or Abandonment of Secured Property – is a form used by lenders if they acquire secured property in full or partial satisfaction of a debt, or they have reason to know that the property has been abandoned. Does that make it clear? Who must file? When do you “reasonably know” the property is abandoned? Trying to decipher these definitions is the subject of many Judges’ opinions.

As the borrower, you receive these forms and must respond. But how? Often, a lender will send a 1099 A and a 1099 C. What happens then? If there are multiple borrowers, each may receive a form for the full amount. Whom must report? A borrower may receive multiple forms, if there are multiple lenders to the same piece of property. All good questions – without straight forward answers.

First, Form 1099 A. Typically, a homeowner will receive a 1099 A from a lender(s) after a piece of property is foreclosed. For tax purposes, a foreclosure is treated as a sale. The borrower must calculate capital gains or losses. Since the property wasn’t sold, there isn’t a selling price. Instead, the borrower uses the information on 1099 A as the date of sale [Box 1] and the selling price of the property. The borrower may use the fair market value [Box 4], or the outstanding balance [Box 2]. How to report the foreclosure on your tax return depends on the nature of the property (primary residence?), the state the property is located, and the purchase price.

Next, Form 1099 C. If you receive a 1099 C for a foreclosed property, you should not (but may) receive a 1099 A. Because the 1099 C has the same information as 1099 A, and also includes the additional information that the debt has been cancelled. Cancelled debt may require the borrower to report the cancelled amount as income. That’s right – you couldn’t pay the debt, but the IRS may add the cancelled amount to your gross income and require you to pay income tax on that amount. Talk about kicking you when you’re down.

The good news is, sometimes there are exceptions and often the borrower may exclude the forgiven debt from income. For example, if the debt was discharged in Title 11 Bankruptcy, if the borrower was technically insolvent for an amount greater than the forgiven debt, or if the debt was forgiven on a qualified principal residence.

All this can get VERY complicated! If you receive one or more of these forms in any tax year, I suggest you find a good tax preparer. Do not ignore the forms AND do not prepare your own return. I help people get out of the trouble caused by those you take care to this matter themselves. Get help! Here’s an idea – Call Opem Tax Resolutions & The Law Office of Steven A. Leahy, PC (312) 664-6649. Call NOW to set up your FREE Consultation.

Cash is King! IRS Form 8300

by

Steven A. Leahy

Cash is King – IRS Form 8300

By Steven A Leahy

Recently, I received a telephone call from a business owner in his accountant’s office. They wanted some information about large cash payments the business received 18 months prior. I immediately shut the conversation down and insisted they come to my office if they wanted to discuss this matter with me. I did that because, with the accountant privy to our conversation, the conversation conflicted with the traditional doctrine of attorney-client privilege. What they were discussing possibly involved illegal activity, and not something you want to talk about in mixed company.

Federal law requires that all cash payments more than $10,000.00 must be reported to the IRS with Form 8300. In general, the law requires that anyone engaged in a trade or business – “in the course of such trade or business, receives more than $10,000.00 in cash in 1 transaction (or 2 or more related transactions)” shall file the proper cash transaction forms. If Form 8300 is required, it must be filed within 15 days after the date the cash transaction occurred. Form 8300 must include “the name, address, and TIN of the person from whom the cash was received.”

Not only must you file IRS Form 8300, you must furnish a “written statement” to each person “from whom the cash was received.” That written statement must be provided “on or before January 31 of the year following the calendar year for which [Form 8300] was required to be made.”

A transaction could be the sale of a machinery, construction work for a home owner, or repair work for a vehicle. The cash payment can be a lump sum of $10,000.00 or more; Installment payments that cause total cash received within one year of the initial payment to total more than $10,000.00, or; Previously unreported payments that cause the total cash received within 12-month period to total more than $10,000.00.

For example, let’s say a customer agrees to buy a piece of equipment for $14,000.00. He pays you $9000.00 in a cashier’s check and the balance 10 days later with $5,000.00 cash. This is a cash transaction and must be reported. You have received more than $10,000.00 cash. Because “Cash” may include cashier’s checks, bank drafts, travelers checks and money orders with a face value of $10,000.00 or less. Confused yet?

Wait, there’s more. The law also requires that you report suspicious transactions. For example, if you suspect the customer is attempting to prevent a Form 8300 from being filed – you must file Form 8300. What you must NOT do – EVER – is help the customer structure the transaction to avoid the Form 8300 reporting requirement.

Failure to file Form 8300, when required, may result in civil penalties. The penalties can amount to millions of dollars. Worse, a person may be subject to criminal penalties. The criminal penalties are generally for willful behavior, and include fines up to $100,000.00 and/or imprisonment up to 5 years, plus the cost of prosecution. The criminal penalties apply to those whom attempt to structure the transaction in such a way that would make it seem unnecessary to file Form 8300.

Receiving cash payments in a transaction can cause BIG problems. Who must file Form 8300, when that form must be filed, what constitutes cash, the transactions that trigger the requirement and the penalties that follow non-compliance are often difficult to understand. Don’t play games – get advice!

So, if you receive large cash payments, you should work with a local law firm that will work with you to stay in compliance with these complicated laws. You should give me a call – Opem Tax Resolutions & The Law Office of Steven A. Leahy, PC (312) 664-6649. Call NOW to set up your FREE Consultation.

Are You In A Vicious IRS Circle?

by

Steven A. Leahy

Are You In A Vicious IRS Circle?

By Steven A Leahy

Here is the problem I see all the time. Someone has an IRS problem. They work to solve the IRS problem themselves. While they work on fixing their problem, instead of going away, the problem grows. It grows because they fail to address their current IRS obligations.

I helped a family who owed the IRS more than $60,000.00. The father ran his own business. He was very good at his profession – but the paperwork got to be a problem. Several years ago, the April 15th deadline to file his tax return was approaching and he needed more time to complete his tax returns. So, he filed IRS Form 4868 – Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. As the name of the form indicates, the extension is automatic. The filing date is then extended to about October 15 of the same year (depending on the Washington DC holiday schedule).

Problem solved, right? Wrong. His first mistake was he failed to estimate his tax liability and send a check with Form 4868. His next mistake was he didn’t file his tax return by the October due date. Once he filed the extension, he forgot about his tax returns. The beginning of the next year, he realized his mistake, he sent a portion of the tax he thought he would owe and promised himself to complete last year’s tax return and that year’s tax return by the April 15th deadline.

Now, completing the previous tax return became a big task. Many of the records were now hard to locate. So, as the April 15th deadline approached – you guessed it – he filed IRS Form 4868 for an automatic extension. This went on for several years. He would send some money to the IRS every so often to pay his back taxes he knew he would owe had he filed his tax return, but those payments left him no extra money to pay his current IRS obligation.

This family was in the Vicious IRS Circle, or a cascading tax problem. Instead of going away, the problem was growing because of the penalties and interest were growing, and becoming a real danger to their financial future. The problem was growing because they didn’t know how the IRS worked, so they couldn’t come up with a strategy to solve it. That’s when they heard me on the radio and decided to visit my office for a free consultation.

I explained to them that the first step to solving any IRS problem is getting into compliance. In this case, compliance meant filing past tax returns and paying current quarterly estimated taxes as they came due. Those with IRS problems need to focus on the future, rather than worrying about the past. If a taxpayer allows their current IRS obligations to be put aside in favor of paying the older taxes, the vicious circle begins and it becomes nearly impossible for taxpayers to solve the problem by themselves.

If you feel trapped by your IRS problem and want to stop the Vicious IRS Circle, you should contact me right away. My name is Attorney Steven A. Leahy and I help people solve their IRS problems Call me at 312-664-6649. Call now!

Achieve Full Financial Recovery

by

Steven A. Leahy

Achieve Full Financial Recovery

By Steven A Leahy

I have been helping people resolve their financial problems for more than fifteen years. I started my practice helping consumers file Chapter 7 bankruptcies. I quickly added Chapter 13 bankruptcy help. As part of my marketing, in the early 2000’s, when loan modifications were almost impossible, I targeted home owners facing foreclosure. Chapter 13 was really the only way to save someone’s home once they fell behind in mortgage payments, short of paying the full amount due, plus legal fees (reinstatement).

I should mention, I did help one homeowner with a loan modification before 2008 – only one. That case involved a cancer patient, who missed six months of mortgage payments while she underwent treatment. Once her treatment was complete and she was recovering, the mortgage company agreed to take the full amount she was behind and add it to the principle amount, then add time to the end of the loan. Her payment did not change, but she would have to pay on the loan longer. It was a sad, and happy, story. The story, I believe, was the only reason the mortgage company agreed to modify her loan.

In 2008, with the mortgage meltdown, the number and nature of the clients facing foreclosures changed. Many high income people lost their jobs or business owners suffered from the loss of their business. While Chapter 13 remained an option – loan modifications became a better option – because a loan modification often reduced the home owner’s monthly payments, in addition to resolving the foreclosure problem. I targeted my marketing to this segment of the market.

What I found out rather quickly, is that these clients were often facing IRS problems too. Around this time – 2009, I got involved with a national tax resolution group of attorneys who supported and educated me on how to solve IRS problems. Solving IRS problems fit perfectly with my skill set. In addition, it allowed me to help my clients achieve full financial recovery – help them save their home, resolve their IRS problems and end other credit problems. I have helped hundreds (thousands?) of Chicago area families and business resolve their financial problems and move on with their lives

This is what I have learned: People, mostly men – but not always, allow embarrassment and pride to get in the way of seeking help. Most of us believe everyone else is financially sound – we are the only one facing financial trouble. Not true.

One of my favorite stories to emphasis the falsity of this view involves a client I had in Chapter 13. Under Chapter 13, the debtor (homeowner) pays a monthly payment to a Trustee under a plan approved by the courts. At the time, the only form of payments the Trustee accepted were cashier’s checks, money orders or payroll deduction (recently, some form of online payments have been approved).

Every month my client went to the local branch of his bank and purchased a cashier’s check made payable to his Trustee Tom Vaughn (one of two Chapter 13 Trustees for Cook County). He often purchased the cashier’s check from the same Teller. After some months, the Teller said, “Do you mind if I ask you a question?” He said “sure.” The Teller asked, “I have customers come in here every day asking for cashier’s checks for this guy, Tom Vaughn. What the heck does Tom Vaughn do?”

That’s how many people in his neighborhood were in an active Chapter 13 bankruptcy. It leaves out those with an active Chapter 13 with another Trustee, those who sought protection under Chapter 7 bankruptcy, those facing IRS trouble, or those simply having financial problems. So, you aren’t alone.

If you need help solving your financial troubles, you should contact me right away. My name is Attorney Steven A. Leahy and I help people achieve full financial recovery. Call me at 312-664-6649. Call now!

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