Rod's Blog

The IRS is seeing a decline in the number of tax returns filed and tax refunds issued to taxpayers this year. The drop comes in the week leading up to February 1^st.  The IRS saw a 24.3% drop in the amount of tax refunds paid in the first week of tax season. The drop could be due to the partial government shutdown which ended shortly before tax season began on January 28^th.

Every month, our tax attorneys and case managers work hard to help our clients settle their tax liability once and for all. Some of our clients struggle with bank levies or wage garnishments, while others owe money due to owning a small business. Here are just a few of the clients we were able to help this month.

International popstar Shakira is in more hot water with the Spanish government. The singer has been charged with tax evasion. Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll’s, known as Shakira, tax problems started because of where she was claiming her residency. Shakira claimed she was living in the Bahamas from 2011 through 2014, but Spanish authorities say the singer was residing in Spain. The authorities say this allowed Shakira to forgo paying millions of dollars in taxes. Spanish authorities say Shakira owes more than 14.5 million euros ($16.4 million U.S. dollars) in unpaid taxes and are trying to hold her criminally responsible for the unpaid taxes because she took steps to conceal her residency.

There are two guarantees in life; death and taxes and there is really no way to escape either of those. People have tried, but Uncle Sam always gets them in the end. Just like everyone has to pay taxes, anyone could get into serious tax trouble, even celebrity millionaires! In this Celebrity Tax Trouble round up, we’ll look at how one singer is getting charged with tax evasion and how the IRS is going after one singer’s estate.

If you’ve just gotten into tax trouble and you aren’t sure how to get yourself out of it, chances are you’ve looked into getting a tax lawyer. When hiring a tax lawyer, it’s important to make sure that your tax attorney has the proper experience and will help you through the whole process of resolving your tax issue. When you first meet with a potential tax lawyer, there are several questions you should ask before you decide to retain their services.

One nice offset of paying hundreds of dollars a year to your doctor and to the hospital, is the fact that you can use those expenses as a deduction on your tax return. If you are thinking about deducting your medical expenses, it’s important to know that your bills must add up to more that 7.5% of your tax year’s adjusted gross income. If your bills fall under that threshold, then you cannot deduct it on your tax return. If they are above the threshold, here are some things to keep in mind when deducting it!

As more and more states pass legislation either legalizing recreational marijuana or allowing medicinal marijuana, the more tax court cases we will see concerning marijuana businesses and their tax structure. Although marijuana may be legal in your state, the federal government considers it to be a Schedule 1 controlled substance and the sale of the drug is illegal.

Because the sale of marijuana is illegal federally, all marijuana businesses are subjected to Tax Code Section 280E which eliminates all business deductions except “Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). The code is applied to any business that consists of tracking a controlled substance and the IRS considers marijuana to be a controlled substance. This section of the code has created a great tax burden for marijuana businesses and has led to major decisions passed down from the U.S. Tax Court. We’re going to look at a few of these tax court decisions and how they will affect marijuana businesses across the country.

Between the government shutdown and the changes to the U.S. Tax Code, this year’s tax season will be a very busy and confusing time of year for most taxpayers. That’s why it’s important that you try to file your tax return as soon as possible. There are several reasons that it’s important to either file your taxes early or have then filed for you as soon as you can. Here’s just a few benefits that come with filing your 2018 tax return early.

Despite the terrible odds — you just won the lottery! You’re likely in shock, disbelief, and just overwhelmed with emotions or maybe you’re already excited to go into work to quit your job, but before you do anything, you’re likely asking yourself, “now what?”

Your 1040 form will be looking a little different this year! The tax form got a major makeover and has been reduced to about the size of a postcard. The changes come on the heels of major changes created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and will affect taxpayers this year. The new 1040 form will eliminate the 1040EZ and 1040A forms, meaning all taxpayers use the new form.