The IRS audited close to a million tax returns in calendar year 2017. This was about .5% of the total returns filed. While this is a pretty small number of audits, being audited is no small matter for those who are subject to an IRS examination. If the very prospect of being audited fills you … Read more
The IRS audits the working poor at about the same rate as the wealthiest 1%. Now, in response to questions from a U.S. senator, the IRS has acknowledged that’s true but professes it can’t change anything unless it is given more money. ProPublica reported the disproportionate audit focus on lower-income families in April. Lawmakers confronted … Read more
In the summer of 2008, William Pfeil made a startling discovery: Hundreds of foreign companies that operated in the U.S. weren’t paying U.S. taxes, and his employer, the Internal Revenue Service, had no idea. Under U.S. law, companies that do business in the Gulf of Mexico owe the American government a piece of what they … Read more
When Natassia Smick, 28, filed her family’s taxes in January, she already had plans for the refund she and her husband expected to receive. Mainly, she wanted to catch up on her credit card debt. And she was pregnant with their second child, so there were plenty of extra expenses ahead. Since Smick, who is … Read more
A friend forwarded me a copy of the Core Analysis Tool (CAT) the IRS auditors use to review IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit credit counseling organizations. As part of that document the IRS states what to look for when evaluating credit counseling sessions. They say: “Information about what counselors do in sessions with clients can generally be … Read more