Questions tagged [irs]
Internal Revenue Service which is the US Federal Tax authority.
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In the USA, why is the Free File software only available for people earning less than $62k?
Free File is a software by the American IRS, which allows one to easily fill out their taxes as long as they earn less than $62k per year. Is there a particular reason for such a restriction?
I ...
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37
votes
3
answers
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Is one spouse responsible if other failed to file taxes
I have a friend who's in a unique situation. She has not worked since she and her husband were married 7 years ago. He has typically worked contract jobs receiving 1099's at the end of the year. She ...
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37
votes
3
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Taxes when transferring money
I'm a US taxpayer (non-resident alien) and I'm being pushed by a friend to do the following:
He will transfer 40k from a US bank account that he owns to my personal account.
I will withdraw this ...
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37
votes
3
answers
10k
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How do I deal with an erroneously large refund?
Alright, it's a weird complaint, I know. But I just checked on the status of my refund on the IRS Refund Status website, and the IRS had corrected upward the refund I filed for by a lot. Based on the ...
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36
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5
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IRS sent me a letter...I messed up by unwittingly taking money out of a Roth IRA and reporting it incorrectly
I recently received a letter from the IRS based on my taxes for 2015. I believe I did not understand the proper workings of a Roth IRA. I was under the impression I could pull my money out and only ...
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35
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5
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How to handle the Equifax Breach this tax season?
One of the most common forms of fraud is tax return fraud. Generally you don't find out until you go to file and someone has already been kind enough to file your tax return, AND take a payment for it....
user65616
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2
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How is the taxable value of a goat determined? [duplicate]
I was reading an answer over on Law.SE, and it made me wonder about how the IRS calculates tax on barter transactions.
Lets say that I do a job in January, and get paid for my work with 20 goats and ...
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28
votes
3
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Accountant/ lawyer will not return my call
I have an accountant who is also a lawyer who did my taxes for about 7 years. I received a notice from the IRS for the years that he filed the taxes saying that I owed $5,000. I sent him the notice ...
- 391
28
votes
3
answers
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Robocall claiming to be IRS saying they are about to sue - Is it legit?
We got a recorded call with a message claiming to be from the IRS. It said they were giving final notice and preparing to file a lawsuit against us. In our case, the message went to voicemail so the ...
user32479
27
votes
5
answers
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How does the government shutdown affect tax returns?
Has a government shutdown in the past affected tax returns? In terms of refunds, is there anything to be expected differently based on historical precedent?
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Can my employer limit my maximum 401k contribution amount (below the IRS limit)?
I contribute about 13% of my income to my company's 401k, which, at my salary, is well below the IRS limit of $17K/year (in 2012). However, with my raise this year, my benefits department told me that ...
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11
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What do I do if my income is just a little too high for "free file"?
I live in North Carolina and I'm using the H&R Block website to file my taxes and finally at the end of everything they informed me that there's a limit to how much I could make last year and ...
- 354
24
votes
1
answer
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Why would the IRS ask for birth certificates or even audit a small tax return?
My daughter and her boyfriend live together, and he is the sole earner in the home. They each have a kid plus 1 together. H&R Block told them that he didn't make enough to do his return and now ...
- 257
24
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2
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What is the best way to pay large tax amount owed to IRS?
I recently did a preliminary calculation of my taxes for 2018 and discovered that I am going to owe the IRS about $16,000. I do not have this amount of money in reserve.
My question pertains to ...
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1
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I am distributing an inheritance based on verbal bequests. Is this considered a gift that must be reported to the IRS?
Before my mother died recently she gave me a verbal list of bequests she wanted to make that were not in her will. Some of these exceed $14k. I will be paying them out of my own bank accounts with ...
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1
answer
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I haven't filed a return to the IRS in 10 years
My employers have always withheld taxes and for the most part I've assumed they've done it right. I have probably owed a bit some years and been owed a refund some years.
Anyhow, I want to get ...
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4
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Do altcoin trades count as like-kind exchanges? (Deferred capital gains tax)
2018 EDIT: Although this post was inspirational, US Congress addressed this issue in the Tax Reform law of 2017, and any trades after Jan 1st 2018 cannot have this treatment. The few years of ...
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1
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Do I pay gift taxes in US, if I send money (>$15000) to my father in India?
I am in the US on F1 visa - OPT, I need to send money to pay off my student loan in India. I have already sent about $25000 to my dad, who has paid it to the bank for my student loan and I am planning ...
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18
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4
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Will depositing $10k+ checks each month raise red flags with the IRS?
I am a freelancer that runs a small design business (LLC) and I have one client in particular that I regularly do more than $10k per month worth of business with. Sometimes I'll deposit a check for $...
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3
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Why would a previous year's tax deductions affect the current year's taxes?
For the first time in several years, I'm preparing the income tax filing for my family. Since a professional did the preparations last year, we had no electronic records to directly load into the ...
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2
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Get a human when calling the IRS hotline 800-829-1040 with a question about your taxes?
How do I get to a human when calling the IRS? I keep hitting automated robots.
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3
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How does IRS know if my dependent is an actual relative for Head of Household?
Long story short. Found out I had a half brother and he's been staying with me for the past year while going to a nearby community College.
Was doing my taxes and discovered he technically qualifies ...
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3
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What is the meaning about the IRS saying that "copy A" is scannable but the online version printed is not scannable?
The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) 1099 form says
"The official printed version of Copy A of this IRS form is
scannable, but the online version of it, printed from this website, is
not. Do not ...
user118302
16
votes
2
answers
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I e-filed my taxes ONE SECOND after the deadline - am I in trouble?
I am a US resident and last night I e-filed my 2019 federal income tax return with TurboTax and I owed money.
(I know you should NEVER wait for the last day but it's been a couple of crazy weeks so I ...
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votes
3
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What does an IRS interview request entail when called in to verify expenses for a sole proprietor small business?
I received an IRS audit for the following:
I had to call them within 10 days to confirm receiving the letter. And I've scheduled an appointment 2 weeks later.
They basically said I just need to ...
- 2,025
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2
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ITIN Application - IRS requesting original passport
I have filed joint tax return for 2012 tax year. My wife is not eligible for SSN (she's on H4 visa) so we included the W7 form (application for ITIN) into the package.
This year the rules became more ...
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14
votes
4
answers
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What could account for me owing exactly $6000 in taxes?
In preparing my taxes, my on-line tax software says I owe exactly $6000.
My wife and I make a combined income of around $140,000. We work for the same employer. On her W4, we didn't adjust taxes for ...
- 2,899
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Does the IRS reprieve those who have to commute for work?
Consider someone who for either family or affordability reasons is unable to live in San Francisco, where they make their living.
Their daily commute is long. The cost of the commute is nontrivial, ...
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Is it a gift or not?
IRS rules are not always black or white, and something that I find myself struggling with is what is considered a gift.
Hypothetically, suppose I am moving soon and have a broken leg so I cannot do ...
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When do dual citizens (Canadian & American citizenship) need to file U.S. income taxes?
I'm a Canadian-US dual citizen (born in the US to Canadian parents) but I've lived in Canada my whole life (aside from the first 3 weeks). I've never had an American passport or a SSN. I've never ...
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Does the IRS track every check deposited by me?
Is there a maximum amount limit on exceeding which the tracking starts? Or does each and every check deposited by me gets tracked by IRS for reconciliatory purposes?
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How can I avoid being fined or penalized because my accountant might have failed to file my taxes on time?
I decided to use a CPA because my tax situation got complicated this year. I have attempted to contact my accountant several times and cannot get a response from him at all. It is now after the ...
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Does IRS Direct Pay use Bank of America or is this a scam?
I went onto the IRS website today to make a payment. In the security part of the address bar it is written Bank of America:
My question is this: Is this truly the IRS payment site, or some kind of ...
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Figuring out the tax basis of property inherited 15 years ago
In 2008 my father died. 15 years later I just sold the property that I inherited from him. Now I need to pay capital gains on that property, but what do I use as the tax basis?
I could just assume the ...
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1
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Paid for education in previous year, became a student in this one
Me and my wife moved to the US in the 2016 and she enrolled in the community college in the end of the 2016 for spring term 2017.
So I paid the tuition in 2016, but she became a student in 2017.
...
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11
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1
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What should I use as the cost basis for stock that was purchased before becoming a US resident?
I held some stock in Australia for 14 years and 4 months that has enjoyed some healthy long term capital gains in that time.
Recently I became a US Resident for Tax Purposes under the Substantial ...
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If I never cash my $1,200 stimulus check, can I claim it as a tax credit on my 2020 return?
The United States IRS does not have my direct deposit information (because I have never given it for a tax refund) or my current mailing address (because I have moved since my last return was filed). ...
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How To Report Cryptocurrency Earnings?
I invested in a decentralized bitcoin business and earned about BTC 0.4 this year in interest from it, but there is no official business - it's purely autonomous (very hard to explain). I also "mined"...
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2
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I overpaid the IRS. Can I ask for a refund or credit next year?
For US federal tax this year, I mistakenly paid more to IRS than the amount I owe. I don't have a way to change the payment.
Is it possible to ask for a refund or credit next year?
Edit: I am owing ...
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3
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Can you be penalized for setting an arbitrarily high number of allowances on your W-4?
I withheld too much in taxes this year. I will benefit a good amount from the Lifetime Learning Credit, which I hadn't heard about until today. Even if I don't pay a cent in taxes for the rest of the ...
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1
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How can I self report and undo Roth IRA contributions, due to exceeding the AGI limit?
Contributions for Roth IRAs can be made through April 15 of the following year. Without getting into philosophical arguments about dollar cost averaging, my general principle has been to put the money ...
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1
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If the IRS asks for a proof for a medical expenditure, can we provide a scan, or do we have to provide the original receipts?
In the United States, one can deduct part of the expenses a taxpayer paid for medical and dental care for themselves, their spouse, and their dependents. In case the IRS asks for a proof, are scans of ...
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If IRS instructions for Form 1040 are not available, should taxpayers wait to file until they are published?
Apparently the IRS has not yet published the instructions for Form 1040 for the tax year 2019 yet (as of January 7, 2020). When I go to the standard form instruction index page it just lists the ...
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Can yearly tax free gifts to a person in the U.S. be sent in multiple checks?
I'd like to give someone a monetary gift, well under the current $14,000 Annual Gift Tax Exclusion limit; however, I'd like to send them multiple checks throughout the year. I'd heard about this in my ...
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1
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Correct way to get paid from a web design?
I did a website design for another company (Basically, I sold them a completed website) for a flat $500. They're telling me I need to file a W-9, but I don't see why because I'm not a contractor for ...
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Am I really required to set up an Inherited IRA?
Due to death of a parent, I am beneficiary to a defined contribution employer retirement plan of type 403(b). The assets are pre-tax, a dozen or so mutual funds with names like "Stock Index Fund&...
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4
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Are tax deductions voluntary?
If I did something that I know is a deductible expense and did not deduct it, is that a sanctioned tax filing?
The result is that I would end up paying MORE tax. This also results in me reporting a ...
- 20.2k
9
votes
1
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ITIN application rejected, and IRS lost one of our passports. How to get back the lost passport?
I have filed my 2012 tax return jointly with my wife, along with my wife's ITIN application, back in late March.
In April, I got a letter for IRS ITIN department saying that we should send my wife's ...
9
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2
answers
662
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What increases your chance of being audited?
What increases your chances of being audited? Having a home office? Small business?
what decreases your chances? Does hiring an accountant do your taxes makes it look more credible to IRS agents?
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Does the postponed tax-filing deadline affect Roth IRA contribution deadline?
Since Mnuchin has pushed back the filing deadline to July 15th this year (IRS announcement and Notice 2020-18), does that also push back the deadline to contribute to a Roth IRA?
irs.gov says this ...
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