Fluent in English, Spanish & Italian | 888-882-9243

call us toll free: 888-8TAXAID

Yearly Archives: 2020

Physical Presence Tests for 2019 Waived for Several Countries

In a Rev Proc 2020-14, 2020-16 IRB 661, the IRS has waived the residency and presence tests that apply for purposes of the 2019 Code Sec. 911 foreign earned income and foreign housing cost exclusions with respect to certain U.S. individuals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Sudan and Venezuela, due to adverse conditions in those countries.
For 2019, the Treasury Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, has determined that war, civil unrest, or similar adverse conditions precluded the normal conduct of business in the following countries beginning on the specified date:
  • Congo, Democratic Republic of the – January 13, 2019;
  • Haiti – February 14, 2019; 
  • Iraq – May 14, 2019; 
  • Sudan – April 11, 2019; and
  • Venezuela – January 24, 2019. 
For purposes of Code Sec. 911, an individual who left the Democratic Republic of Congo on or after January 13, 2019, will be treated as a qualified individual for the period during which that individual was present in, or was a bona fide resident of, the Democratic Republic of Congo if the individual establishes a reasonable expectation that he or she would have met the requirements of Code Sec. 911(d) but for those conditions.
To qualify for relief under section Code Sec. 911(d)(4), an individual must have established residency, or have been physically present, in the foreign country on or before the date that the Treasury Secretary determines that individuals were required to leave the foreign country. Thus, for example, individuals who were first physically present or established residency in the Democratic Republic of Congo after January 13, 2019, are not eligible to qualify for the exception provided in Code Sec. 911(d)(4) for tax year 2019.
 
Have an International Tax Problem?
 Contact the Tax Lawyers at 

Marini & Associates, P.A.
 
for a FREE Tax Consultation
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243)

Read more at: Tax Times blog

Did You Receive a Semi-Automated Penalty Assessments For Late Filed Form 3520's & 3520-A's – We Can Help!

On April 10, 2019, we posted US Taxpayers Are Receiving Automated Penalty Assessments For Late Filed Form 5471's & 5472's - We Can Help!  where we discussed that we have been receiving a many calls from businesses who have received penalty notices regarding late filed or non-filed Form 5471 & 5472's and that we discussed ways to defend against these automatic assessments and request penalty abatement including the Reasonable Cause Defense and First-Time Offender Abatement (FTA) Defense.

The same arguments are equally as effective when defending the even more egregious late filing penalties, associated with Form 3520 & Form 3520-A. 

We Recently Successfully Represented A Taxpayer
In Having Abated $325,178.70 in Late Filed
Form 3520–A Penalty, On March 30, 2020.

 

The key to successfully having these penalties abated, more so today than ever before, is to hire an Experienced Tax Attorney, to develop the facts and distinguish adverse case law, especially when requesting penalty abatement based upon "Reasonable Cause".

Penalties for Late Filing or Failure to File Form 3520

IRC section 6677 provides for stiff penalties if Form 3520 is not timely filed or is incomplete or incorrect. The initial penalty is the greater of $10,000 or—

  • 35% of the gross value of any property transferred to a foreign trust if a U.S. person fails to report the creation of or transfer to a foreign trust;
  • 35% of the gross value of the distributions received from a foreign trust by a U.S. person who fails to report receipt of the distribution; and
  • 5% of the gross value of all of a foreign trust’s assets treated as owned by a U.S. person under the grantor trust rules (IRC sections 671–679) if the U.S. owner fails to report required information. The owner is also subject to an additional 5% penalty if the foreign trust itself fails to file a timely Form 3520-A [“Annual Information Return of Foreign Trust With a U.S. Owner”; see IRC section 6048(b)], does not provide all required information, or provides incorrect information. 

Penalties for Late Filing or Failure to File Form 3520-A

The U.S. owner is subject to an initial penalty equal to the greater of $10,000 or 5% of the gross value of the portion of the trust's assets treated as owned by the U.S. person at the close of that tax year if the foreign trust (a) fails to file a timely Form 3520-A, or (b) does not furnish all of the information required by section 6048(b) or includes incorrect information. Criminal penalties may be imposed under sections 7203, 7206, and 7207 for failure to file on time and for filing a false or fraudulent return.

 

Have You Been Assessed a Semi-Automatic Penalty
for a Late Form 
3520 or 3520-A?

Contact the Tax Lawyers at 
Marini & Associates, P.A.
 
for a FREE Tax Consultation
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243)
 

 





Read more at: Tax Times blog

Private Collectors Still Collecting Tax Debts

On March 25, 2020 we postedIRS Unveils New COVID-19 Temporarily Suspension of Key Compliance Efforts in People First Initiative where we discussed that in order to help people facing the challenges of COVID-19 issues, the Internal Revenue Service announced in IR-2020-59 on March 25, 2020 a sweeping series of steps to assist taxpayers by providing relief on a variety of issues ranging from easing payment guidelines to postponing compliance actions.
 
Now according to Law360,although the IRS suspended collection activities on new cases of hard-to-settle unpaid tax liabilities during the novel coronavirus pandemic, taxpayers already targeted by the agency’s private debt collection agencies may not get a break, a taxpayer rights advocate said Friday.

The Internal Revenue Service pledged not to transfer any new cases to its network of private debt collectors until July 15 as part of its People First Initiative announced in March. However, the agency’s failure to clearly address the status of existing cases in the pipeline has drawn attention from tax lawyers and taxpayer advocates. 

Nina Olson, executive director of the Center for Taxpayer Rights, said the IRS should make it clear that low-income, elderly and disabled taxpayers will not face collection activities by IRS debt collectors.

“That There Is Even The Remotest Possibility In The Course of This Economic and Health Crisis A Private Collection Agency Employee Would Contact A Taxpayer Who Is Low Income, or Receiving Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Is Unconscionable,”

Said Olson, The Former National Taxpayer Advocate
Who Retired In 2019. 

Olson said the IRS' lack of clarity about how it’s treating existing cases held by private debt collection agencies is particularly troubling because it hasn’t implemented the Taxpayer First Act requirement to exclude from referrals people who receive SSDI or SSI.

 

The ABA Section of Taxation recommended in a Monday comment letter that the IRS should instruct private collection agencies to suspend all private debt collection, not merely “new” delinquent accounts. Alternatively, the IRS could transfer from the private collection agency to the agency, pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, any account where the taxpayer has been affected by COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, the ABA tax section letter said.

The transfer should take place “if the service determines that private collection agencies are not prepared to respond adequately to the medical and financial issues affecting taxpayers impacted by the COVID-19 emergency,” the letter said.

Olson said low-income taxpayers could see their $1,200 economic recovery payments threatened by private collection agencies.

“What is to stop a PCA employee from saying to the taxpayer, ‘Well, now you can make a one-time payment toward the debt,’” Olson said. “Folks are afraid and will agree to pay.”

She added, “Since the IRS hasn’t implemented the low income/SSDI/SSI filters, the right thing to do is tell the PCAs to stand down until July 15 at the earliest.”

 Can't Pay Your Taxes?

Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.
  
 
for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or
Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

IRS Extends Deadlines to Previously Non-Extended Forms and Procedures

On March 25, 2020 we posted, IRS Unveils New COVID-19 Temporarily Suspension of Key Compliance Efforts in People First Initiative, where we discussed that to help people facing the challenges of COVID-19 issues, the Internal Revenue Service announced in IR-2020-59 on March 25, 2020 a sweeping series of steps to assist taxpayers by providing relief on a variety of issues ranging from easing payment guidelines to postponing compliance actions.

Since then we have had the following developments in tax collection due to the COVID-19:

  • 3/27/2020: President signs the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” (“CARES Act”), which suspends offsets for stimulus payments
  • 3/27/2020: IRS begins temporarily accepting scanned or photographed images of signatures and digital signatures on certain documents related to collection
  • 3/31/2020: IRS issues Notice 2020-22 providing relief from penalty for failure to deposit employment taxes
  • 4/1/2020: IRS officially announces the closure of Priority Practitioner Service (“PPS”), the closure of most offices, the cancellation of almost all face-to-face assistance, and the temporary reduction of live telephone assistance 
  • 4/3/2020: IRS issues Frequently Asked Questions regarding Direct Debit Installment Agreements

Now the IRS has extended more tax deadlines to cover individuals, trusts, estates, corporations in IR 2020-66, 4/9/2020 & Notice 2020-23, 2020-18 IRB. The IRS has extended more tax deadlines to cover individuals, estates, corporations and others. This extension includes a variety of tax form filings and payment obligations that are due between April 1, 2020 and July 15, 2020, including estimated tax payments due June 15 and the deadline to claim refunds from 2016. The Notice also suspends associated interest, additions to tax, and penalties for late filing or late payment until July 15, 2020.

The new relief includes extending the following filing and payment deadlines:

  • Individual income tax payments and return filings on 1040-NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return, 1040-NR-EZ, U.S. Income Tax Return for Certain Nonresident Aliens With No Dependents, 1040-PR, Self-Employment Tax Return - Puerto Rico, and 1040-SS, U.S. Self-Employment Tax Return (Including the Additional Child Tax Credit for Bona Fide Residents of Puerto Rico); 

  • Calendar year or fiscal year corporate income tax payments and return filings on Form 1120, U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return, 1120-C, U.S. Income Tax Return for Cooperative Associations, 1120-F, U.S. Income Tax Return of a Foreign Corporation, 1120-FSC, U.S. Income Tax Return of a Foreign Sales Corporation, 1120-H, U.S. Income Tax Return for Homeowners Associations, 1120-L, U.S. Life Insurance Company Income Tax Return, 1120-ND, Return for Nuclear Decommissioning Funds and Certain Related Persons, 1120-PC, U.S. Property and Casualty Insurance Company Income Tax Return, 1120-POL, U.S. Income Tax Return for Certain Political Organizations, 1120-REIT, U.S. Income Tax Return for Real Estate Investment Trusts, 1120-RIC, U.S. Income Tax Return for Regulated Investment Companies, 1120-S, U.S. Income Tax Return for an S Corporation, and 1120-SF, U.S. Income Tax Return for Settlement Funds (Under Code Sec. 468B); 

  • Calendar year or fiscal year partnership return filings on Form 1065, U.S. Return of Partnership Income, and Form 1066, U.S. Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit (REMIC) Income Tax Return;

  • Estate and trust income tax payments and return filings on Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts, 1041-N, U.S. Income Tax Return for Electing Alaska Native Settlement Trusts, and 1041-QFT, U.S. Income Tax Return for Qualified Funeral Trusts;

  • Estate and generation-skipping transfer tax payments and return filings on Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, 706-NA, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, 706-A, United States Additional Estate Tax Return, 706-QDT, U.S. Estate Tax Return for Qualified Domestic Trusts, 706-GS(T), Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Return for Terminations, 706-GS(D), Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Return for Distributions, and 706-GS(D-1), Notification of Distribution from a Generation-Skipping Trust (including the due date for providing such form to a beneficiary);

  • Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return filed pursuant to Revenue Procedure 2017-34; 

  • Form 8971, Information Regarding Beneficiaries Acquiring Property from a Decedent and any supplemental Form 8971, including all requirements contained in Code Sec. 6035(a); 

  • Gift and generation-skipping transfer tax payments and return filings on Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return that are due on the date an estate is required to file Form 706 or Form 706-NA;

  • Estate tax payments of principal or interest due as a result of an election made under Code Sec. 6166, Code Sec. 6161, or Code Sec. 6163 and annual recertification requirements under  Code Sec. 6166;

  • Exempt organization business income tax and other payments and return filings on Form 990-T, Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return (and proxy tax under Code Sec. 6033(e));

  • Excise tax payments on investment income and return filings on Form 990-PF, Return of Private Foundation or Code Sec. 4947(a)(1) Trust Treated as Private Foundation, and excise tax payments and return filings on Form 4720, Return of Certain Excise Taxes under Chapters 41 and 42 of the Internal Revenue Code; and 

  • Quarterly estimated income tax payments calculated on or submitted with Form 990-W, Estimated Tax on Unrelated Business Taxable Income for Tax-Exempt Organizations, 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals, 1040-ES (NR), U.S. Estimated Tax for Nonresident Alien Individuals, 1040-ES (PR), Estimated Federal Tax on Self Employment Income and on Household Employees (Residents of Puerto Rico), 1041-ES, Estimated Income Tax for Estates and Trusts, and 1120-W, Estimated Tax for Corporations.

This relief includes not just the filing of Specified Forms, but also all schedules, returns, and other forms that are filed as attachments to Specified Forms or are required to be filed by the due date of Specified Forms, including, for example, Schedule H and Schedule SE, as well as Forms 3520, 5471, 5472, 8621, 8858, 8865, and 8938.


This relief also includes any installment payments under section 965(h) due on or after April 1, 2020, and before July 15, 2020. Finally, elections that are made or required to be made on a timely filed Specified Form (or attachment to a Specified Form) shall be timely made if filed on such Specified Form or attachment, as appropriate, on or before July 15, 2020. 

This relief is automatic. Taxpayers do not have to call the IRS or file any extension forms, or send letters or other documents to receive this relief. 

The relief provided in the Notice includes extending the time for filing all petitions with the Tax Court, or for review of a decision rendered by the Tax Court, filing a claim for credit or refund of any tax, and bringing suit upon a claim for credit or refund of any tax. However, the Notice does not provide relief for the time period for filing a petition with the Tax Court, or for filing a claim or bringing a suit for credit or refund if that period expired before April 1, 2020.
In the Notice, the IRS has also provided additional time for the IRS to perform certain time-sensitive actions during this period and the application date to participate in the Annual Filing Season Program. 
The Notice also suspends associated interest, additions to tax, and penalties for late filing or late payment until July 15, 2020.

Can't Pay Your Taxes?

Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.
  
 
for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or
Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid


 

 
 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

Live Help