"Navigate the rules of deducting interest like a pro for your 2023-2024 tax preparation! In this video, we break down the latest guidelines and strategies to help you optimize your deductions. Stay informed and make the most of your tax savings with expert advice in this essential guide." ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhkdK44v7KY

IRS warns taxpayers of Dirty Dozen tax scams for 2022 https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-warns-taxpayers-of-dirty-dozen-tax-scams-for-2022 http://accountinginstruction.com/ The Internal Revenue Service today began its "Dirty Dozen" list for 2022, which includes potentially abusive arrangements that taxpayers should avoid. The potentially abusive arrangements in this series focus on four transactions that are wrongfully promoted and will likely attract additional agency compliance efforts in the future. Those four abusive transactions involve charitable remainder annuity trusts, Maltese individual retirement arrangements, foreign captive insurance, and monetized installment sales. "Taxpayers should stop and think twice before including these questionable arrangements on their tax returns," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. "Taxpayers are legally responsible for what's on their return, not a promoter making promises and charging high fees. Taxpayers can help stop these arrangements by relying on reputable tax professionals they know they can trust." The four potentially abusive transactions on the list are the first four entries in this year's Dirty Dozen series. In coming days, the IRS will focus on eight additional scams, with some focused on the average taxpayer and others focused on more complex arrangements that promoters market to higher-income individuals. "A key job of the IRS is to identify emerging threats to compliance and inform the public so taxpayers are not victimized, and tax practitioners can provide their clients the best advice possible," Rettig said. "The IRS views the four transactions listed here as potentially abusive, and they are very much on our enforcement radar screen." The IRS reminds taxpayers to watch out for and avoid advertised schemes, many of which are now promoted online, that promise tax savings that are too good to be true and will likely cause taxpayers to legally compromise themselves. Taxpayers, tax professionals and financial institutions must be especially vigilant and watch out for all sorts of scams from simple emails and calls to highly questionable but enticing online advertisements. The first four on the "Dirty Dozen" list are described in more details as follows: Use of Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust (CRAT) to Eliminate Taxable Gain. In this transaction, appreciated property is transferred to a CRAT. Taxpayers improperly claim the transfer of the appreciated assets to the CRAT in and of itself gives those assets a step-up in basis to fair market value as if they had been sold to the trust. The CRAT then sells the property but does not recognize gain due to the claimed step-up in basis. The CRAT then uses the proceeds to purchase a single premium immediate annuity (SPIA). The beneficiary reports, as income, only a small portion of the annuity received from the SPIA. Through a misapplication of the law relating to CRATs, the beneficiary treats the remaining payment as an excluded portion representing a return of investment for which no tax is due. Taxpayers seek to achieve this inaccurate result by misapplying the rules under sections 72 and 664. Maltese (or Other Foreign) Pension Arrangements Misusing Treaty. In these transactions, U.S. citizens or U.S. residents attempt to avoid U.S. tax by making contributions to certain foreign individual retirement arrangements in Malta (or possibly other foreign countries). In these transactions, the individual typically lacks a local connection, and local law allows contributions in a form other than cash or does not limit the amount of contributions by reference to income earned from employment or self-employment activities. By improperly asserting the foreign arrangement is a "pension fund" for U.S. tax treaty purposes, the U.S. taxpayer misconstrues the relevant treaty to improperly claim an exemption from U.S. income tax on earnings in, and distributions from, the foreign arrangement. Puerto Rican and Other Foreign Captive Insurance. In these transactions, U.S owners of closely held entities participate in a purported insurance arrangement with a Puerto Rican or other foreign corporation with cell arrangements or segregated asset plans in which the U.S. owner has a financial interest. The U.S. based individual or entity claims deductions for the cost of "insurance coverage" provided by a fronting carrier, which reinsures the "coverage" with the foreign corporation. The characteristics of the purported insurance arrangements typically will include one or more of the following: implausible risks covered, non-arm's-length pricing, and lack of business purpose for entering into the arrangement. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-OvYFCC71k

IRS projects stimulus payments to non-filer Social Security and other federal beneficiaries will be disbursed later this week https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-projects-stimulus-payments-to-non-filer-social-security-and-other-federal-beneficiaries-will-be-disbursed-later-this-week https://accountinginstruction.info/ WASHINGTON — As work continues on issuing millions of Economic Impact Payments to Americans, the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department announced today that they anticipate payments will begin to be issued this weekend to Social Security recipients and other federal beneficiaries who do not normally file a tax return, with the projection that the majority of these payments would be sent electronically and received on April 7. After receiving data from the Social Security Administration on Thursday, March 25, the IRS began the multi-step process to review, validate, and test tens of millions of records to ensure eligibility and proper calculation of Economic Impact Payments. If no additional issues arise, the IRS currently expects to complete that work and to begin processing these payment files at the end of this week. Because the majority of these payments will be disbursed electronically – through direct deposits and payments to existing Direct Express cards – they would be received on the official payment date of April 7. Many federal beneficiaries who filed 2019 or 2020 returns or used the Non-Filers tool last year were issued Economic Impact Payments, if eligible, during the last three weeks. The update today applies to Social Security retirement, survivor or disability (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) beneficiaries who did not file a 2019 or 2020 tax return or did not use the Non-Filers tool. "IRS employees are working tirelessly to once again deliver Economic Impact Payments to the nation's taxpayers as quickly as possible," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. "Our teams immediately began processing data we received last week for federal benefit recipients. We know how important these payments are, and we are doing everything we can to make these payments as fast as possible to these important individuals." The Get My Payment tool is updated for eligible individuals once their payment is processed. The IRS notes that the Get My Payment tool on IRS.gov will not be updated until the weekend of April 3-4 with information for federal beneficiaries expecting payments next week. The IRS continues to review data received for Veterans Affairs (VA) benefit recipients and expects to determine a payment date and provide more details soon. Currently, the IRS estimates that Economic Impact Payments for VA beneficiaries who do not regularly file tax returns could be disbursed by ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_jLsGQuEWk

Understanding taxpayer rights: Every taxpayer has the right to privacy IRS Tax Tip https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/understanding-taxpayer-rights-every-taxpayer-has-the-right-to-privacy https://accountinginstruction.info/ The privacy of America's taxpayers is paramount at the IRS. The right to privacy is one of ten rights the Taxpayer Bill of Rights gives all taxpayers. Taxpayers have the right to expect that any IRS inquiry, examination, or enforcement action will comply with the law and be no more intrusive than necessary. Taxpayers can also expect that the IRS will respect all due process rights, including search and seizure protections and will provide, where applicable, a collection due process hearing. Here are a few more details about what a taxpayer's right to privacy means: The IRS cannot seize certain personal items, such as schoolbooks, clothing and undelivered mail. The IRS cannot seize a personal residence without first getting court approval, and the agency must show there is no reasonable alternative for collecting the tax debt. Sometimes, taxpayers submit offers to settle their tax debt that relate only to how much they owe. This is formally known as a Doubt as to Liability Offer in Compromise. Taxpayers who make this offer do not need to submit any financial documentation. During an audit, if the IRS finds no reasonable indication that a taxpayer has unreported income, the agency will not seek intrusive and extraneous information about the taxpayer's lifestyle. A taxpayer can expect that the IRS's collection actions are no more intrusive than necessary. During a collection due process hearing, the Office of Appeals must balance that expectation with the IRS's proposed collection action and the overall need for efficient tax collection. More information: Taxpayer Advocate Service IRS Privacy Policy Privacy Act of 1974 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRF6ie4wOEI