Inmates Received $39.1 Million by Filing Fraudulent Tax Returns Recently, Hillsborough County jails have been coming down hard on inmates attempting to claim tax refunds for themselves by way of stolen identity. Several pages of employee tax information, which contained annual earnings information, SSAN’s (Social Security Account Numbers), and stacks of IRS Form 1040 EZs were found in their facilities. Officials have said that this has been an ongoing problem for years in state prisons and now the problem is trickling down into the county jails. A prisoner by the name of Brian Singletery was recently transferred to Hillsborough County for an appeal. While there, he taught his new fellow inmates how they could easily mislead the IRS into believing they were different individuals. Singletery had an entire instruction manual, which included detailed calculations, tax identification numbers, and instructions on how to steal the information. Officials from various jails in Hil... [Read More]

Did you know that you have the power as an individual taxpayer to appeal almost any decision made by the IRS? In fact, you can appeal audit findings, penalties and interest, rejected offers-in-compromise, liens, seizures, garnishments and other collection actions. When You CANNOT Appeal According to the IRS. “Appeals is not for you if: (a) your only concern is that you cannot afford to pay the amount you owe or (b) the correspondence you received from the IRS was a bill and there was no mention of Appeals.” So in these two instances, an appeal would be a premature action to take. If you are concerned that you cannot afford to pay the tax you owe, there are channels to go through before you begin the appeal process. For instance, you could work with a tax attorney to make a case to the IRS that your situation qualifies for one of these tax debt payment methods: Non-Collectible Status, Offer-in-Compromise, Installment Payment Plan, Partial Payment Installment Agreement or Tax Bankr... [Read More]

Let me ask you a question. If you had cancer, who would you want to see first? a) Nobody. I’ll go it alone. b) a Nurse. c) a Doctor. d) an Oncologist. An Oncologist, right? Why? Because an Oncologist is a physician that specializes in the treatment of cancer. Along that same line of thinking, let me ask you this. If you had a problem with the IRS, would you want to see: a) Nobody. I’ll go it alone. b) an Accountant. c) an Attorney. d) an Attorney who specializes in solving IRS problems. I think you can easily see the point I’m trying to make. Going it alone with Cancer…or with the IRS. If you had a serious sickness like cancer, you would realize that your time might be limited. You don’t have any idea how long it will be before the sickness takes over your body – possibly making treatment futile. Would you go it alone? If you knew you had a deadly illness, would you take the chance that you’ll somehow get better all on your own? I doubt it. So w... [Read More]