New Florida office location continues to serve local taxpayers in need of tax assistance.

Part of your Mid-Year Tax Checkup should include seeing whether you have any overdue tax returns and making sure you file them as soon as possible.  If you’re not sure whether you are required to file, you can use the IRS’s Interactive Tax Assistant Do I Need to File a Tax Return? to help figure it out.

A Spanish-speaking taxpayer providing childcare, a critical service in high demand, was audited by the IRS. During the examination, the IRS reviewed her tax return filed as a sole proprietor and disallowed various credits, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). For lower income sole proprietors, tax credits can be critically important in helping the proprietor pay their Social Security and Medicare taxes. For this taxpayer, the need was even more acute as the refund was earmarked to help her meet the needs for her own special needs child. Two of the LITC’s volunteer attorneys stepped in to represent this mother and childcare provider in the U.S. Tax Court. With the attorneys’ assistance, the IRS disallowance was reversed, and she received all the credits she claimed on her tax return.

Every year the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) helps thousands of people with tax problems. This success story is only one of many examples of how TAS helps resolve taxpayer issues.

When a taxpayer does not file a required tax return, the IRS has the option of preparing the return on their behalf, which is commonly called a Substitute for Return (SFR).

Every year the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) helps thousands of people with tax problems. This success story is only one of many examples of how TAS helps resolve taxpayer issues.

A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) representing a taxpayer contacted TAS for assistance. His client was extremely frustrated with trying to work with the IRS to resolve an issue with the processing of two of her tax returns.

If you receive information from the IRS that doesn’t belong to you, this is known as an inadvertent unauthorized disclosure.

There are many credits available for families with dependents, but sometimes the qualifications for these credits can be confusing. If you make an error when claiming credits on your federal tax return, it could result in a delay in receiving your refund, an audit, a denial of all or a portion of your credit, and you could be potentially liable for penalties and interest. To ensure a smooth process and receive your refund promptly, avoid these common mistakes made when claiming some of the more popular tax credits.   

For the third consecutive year, Erin M. Collins, the National Taxpayer Advocate, has been recognized by Accounting Today as one of the 100 Most Influential People shaping the future of the accounting profession. This prestigious list honors trailblazing leaders who are driving progress whether by leveraging emerging technologies or empowering the people who will define the profession’s future.

Starting in 2024, you can begin communicating with the IRS digitally; additional enhancements coming in 2025. 

If you are an employer who provides childcare services to your employees, you might be eligible for the Employer-Provided Childcare Credit. The credit is an incentive for taxpayers to provide childcare services to their employees.

Every year the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) helps thousands of people with tax problems. This success story is only one of many examples of how TAS helps resolve taxpayer issues.

The taxpayer and her children were in danger of being evicted. Although the taxpayer filed a tax return claiming a refund, she owed federal taxes from a previous year. The IRS normally applies overpayments to satisfy federal tax debts before issuing any refunds, but the taxpayer needed part of her overpayment to retain housing for her family.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service encourages you to use the Tax Withholding Estimator now.

With the 2023 filing season under way, taxpayers who owe tax with their 2022 tax return may be reluctant to file their returns by April 18 or may consider an extension to file. Taxpayers should know the consequences of late filing and payment.

For several years now, the Harvard Legal Services Center Tax Clinic (the clinic) litigated whether certain Tax Court filing deadlines are jurisdictional or claims processing rules subject to equitable tolling. Pursuing the issue across the country, the clinic directly represented clients and filed amicus briefs on which clinic students worked and volunteer counsel assisted. Shortly prior to oral argument in the Eighth Circuit, the petitioner’s counsel asked if the clinic would take on the oral argument as well. A recent clinic alumna, who argued the same issue in the Fourth Circuit, agreed to argue the case pro bono with the backing of her firm. She became part of an all-woman team at the firm that argued the merits of the case successfully before the Supreme Court. In reversing lower court rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court held unanimously in Boechler P.C. v. Commissioner, 142 S.Ct. 1493 (Apr. 21, 2022), that the time period for filing a Collection Due Process petition in the U.S. Tax Court is not jurisdictional and is subject to equitable tolling. The Boechler decision has the potential to impact future court filings of many low-income taxpayers who often face challenging life situations that create obstacles to meeting filing deadlines. The clinic’s persistence in fighting this access to justice issue will help ensure that taxpayers can make the case for tolling the time period for filing a Tax Court petition when appropriate.

Did you get a notification from IRS or the Social Security Administration (SSA) advising you that you might be a victim of tax-related identity (ID) theft?

Every year the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) helps thousands of people with tax problems. This success story is only one of many examples of how TAS helps resolve taxpayer issues.

A taxpayer entered into a Direct Debit Installment Agreement (DDIA) to pay her federal tax liability. She made her final payment outside of the DDIA process because the regularly scheduled payment would have overpaid the remaining amount owed and she was concerned that the overpayment may not be refunded quickly. She also worried her refund on a recently filed federal tax return would be delayed.