Rod's Blog

A new year means new tax deadlines!! Here is just a list of the major tax dates and deadlines for 2018!! Mark them down on your calendar so you don't forget!!

Check out just a few of the FANTASTIC results achieved for our clients! This month's round up includes a contractor who hired a national chain to fix his taxes and ended up owing more money to the IRS and a business man who got into tax trouble after his partner failed to file or pay the company's taxes.

There are two certainties in life; death and taxes. No matter if you make millions of dollars every year or if you only make a few thousand, you are going to get taxed. And just like us, celebrities can run into tax trouble too. Celebrities usually run into tax trouble when they don’t pay the taxes on their earnings, when they file fraudulent returns or lie about their income. Here are just a few of the celebrities who had their own run ins with the IRS.

How to Plan Ahead for the 2018 Filing Season to Avoid Delays

The end of the year brings on plenty of stresses and preparation for the new year. That includes preparing to file your 2017 tax return. By taking just a few steps, you can not only help avoid delays in getting your tax refund, you can make filing your taxes a smoother process.

Veterans across the nation are about to receive a permanent shopping perk. Beginning November 11th, honorably discharged veterans who aren’t retirees will get access to military exchanges through shopmyexhange.com, the online site for the Army and Air Force Exchange Services. Military retirees currently enjoy the tax-free shopping through the website.

November 11th, known nationally as Veterans Day, honors veterans around the world with events and specials at all kinds of restaurants and retailers. The IRS also offers veterans special benefits when it comes to filing and preparing their taxes. The IRS works with the community and other government partners to provide timely tax-related information to Veterans about tax credits and benefits.

Halloween might be over, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get any more knocks on your front door. Polston Tax clients, along with taxpayers across the nation, have been experiencing an increase in scam phone calls and even fake IRS people showing up at their front door. Recent scammers have come to our client’s door and said that they had their wife in jail and were going to arrest them as well if they didn’t pay the taxes immediately. To avoid taking the bait and making sure you don’t fall victim to a scam, it’s important to know when and how the IRS will contact you. This can help you easily determine if this is a scam or not.

This month's closed case round up features a company that had potential to grow but was stumped by back taxes and a client whose accountant forgot a 0 on their tax return which created a large tax liability for the client.

For those of you who have forgotten to file your 2016 tax return, time to file online is running out. For all taxpayers, including those in disaster areas, who are wanting to file electronically, you have to file by Saturday, November 18th. You can still file your tax return after November 18th, but you will have to file a paper return after the 18th. 
The E-File system will shut down after Nov. 18th so that the IRS can perform annual maintenance and to enable the IRS to reprogram the system for the upcoming 2018 tax-filing season. As a result, any taxpayer who is wanting to file after November 18th, will need to do so on paper.
While most taxpayers should have already filed their 2016 tax returns, certain taxpayers have qualified for an extension until January 31st, 2018. This includes taxpayers who live in federally declared disaster areas, have a U.S. Tax filing obligation or had previously obtained a valid 6-month extension of time to file their federal tax return. The federally declared disaster areas include hurricane and tropical storm victims in Georgia, Florida, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and parts of Texas, Louisiana and South Carolina, as well as the wildfire victims in California. You can find out if you qualify for disaster relief by visiting the IRS’s Disaster Relief Page.

The IRS is urging taxpayers to be on the lookout for scams as they continue to increase across the nation. Recent scams have involved current events and disasters in the news, with scammers taking advantage of those trying to help others. The IRS encourages taxpayers and tax preparers to be careful when receiving weird or suspicious emails. Scams evolve over time and can adjust to different events or news, but they all typically follow familiar theme.