Monthly Archives: August 2018

This new transcript replaces the previous format and will be the default format available via Get Transcript Online, Get Transcript by Mail or the Transcript Delivery System for tax professionals as of September 23. Financial entries will remain visible, which will give taxpayers and third-parties the data they need for tax preparation or income verification.

Additionally, based on stakeholder feedback, the IRS also has created a new Customer File Number that lenders, colleges and other third parties that order transcripts for non-tax purposes can use as an identifying number instead of the taxpayer’s SSN.

As the IRS has made inroads, criminals need more taxpayer details to better impersonate their victims, making the tax transcript a sought-after document. Criminals attempt to pose as taxpayers accessing their own account or as tax preparers or third parties requesting client information.

The following information will be provided on the new transcript:

• Last 4 digits of any SSN listed on the transcript: XXX-XX-1234
• Last 4 digits of any EIN listed on the transcript:  XX-XXX-1234
• Last 4 digits of any account or telephone number
• First 4 characters of the last name for any individual
• First 4 characters of a business name
• First 6 characters of the street address, including spaces
• All money amounts, including balance due, interest and penalties

On September 23, the IRS also will post an updated Form 4506-T and Form 4506T-EZ, Request for Transcript of Tax Return, that will have a new Line 5b for a 10-digit Customer File Number. Legitimate third parties with a need for income verification or tax data often request taxpayers complete a Form 4506-T.

As of September 23, third parties or taxpayers can create any 10-digit number, except for the taxpayer’s SSN, for use as an identifier. The Customer File Number listed on the 4506-T automatically will be posted and visible on the requested tax transcript, allowing the third party to match the document to the taxpayer. A Customer File Number can be, for example, a loan account number Line 5b is an optional line, intended for those third parties that request high volumes of transcripts.

There is no change in the process for students seeking income verification through Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or disaster victims seeking FEMA assistance. Nor will business tax transcripts change.



Now according to Law360, a Virginia federal jury on August 21, 2018 convicted former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on some charges of filing false tax returns and lying to banks in order to secure tens of millions of dollars in loans. Paul Manafort was found guilty on 8 counts of filing false tax returns and lying to banks, while the jury deadlocked on 10 more counts. (AP)

Returning guilty verdicts on 8 counts of bank fraud, subscribing to False Tax Returns, and failure to Disclose Foreign Bank Accounts, jurors largely rejected Manafort’s claim that his protege and onetime co-defendant Rick Gates was responsible for false claims about the longtime GOP operative’s finances and a network of offshore bank accounts that were the source of millions of dollars in payments to U.S. vendors to support Manafort’s luxurious lifestyle. The jurors deadlocked on the other 10 counts.

The government at trial elicited testimony from Manafort’s bookkeeper and tax preparers who said he was deeply involved with matters relating to his personal finances, even though Gates was often their point of contact for day-to-day matters. Gates cut a deal with prosecutors to testify against his former boss and admitted that he embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from Manafort.

Manafort’s attorneys unloaded on Gates at trial, painting the individual described by multiple witnesses as Manafort’s “right-hand man” as a liar and thief who embezzled money to fund a transnational extramarital affair.

But ultimately, the jury either rejected defense’s claims that Gates’ was too untrustworthy to rely on as a witness, or they decided the remaining balance of evidence was sufficient to prove the government’s claims.

 Do You Have Undeclared Income from Offshore Banks?

 

 

Don’t Want to Wind up like Paul Manafort?  

 

Want to Know if the OVDP Program is Right for You?

 

 

Contact the Tax Lawyers at 

Marini & Associates, P.A.  

  

 

for a FREE Tax Consultation

at: www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com or

Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888) 882-9243