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Taxpayers who owe taxes can now choose among several quick and easy electronic payment options, including the following:

• Electronic funds withdrawal allows taxpayers to E-file and pay from their bank account when using tax preparation software or a tax professional.  EFW is only available when e-filing.
• Direct Pay. Available at IRS.gov/directpay, this free online tool allows individuals to securely pay their income tax directly from checking or savings accounts without any fees or pre-registration. Payments can be made 24 hours a day and scheduled up to 30 days in advance. Any taxpayer who uses the tool receives instant confirmation that their payment was submitted. Direct Pay has successfully processed more than 10 million payments totaling over $30 billion since its debut in 2014.
• Credit or debit card. Taxpayers can pay online, by phone or using their mobile device through any of the authorized debit and credit card processors. A convenience fee is charged by the processor. The IRS doesn’t receive or charge any fees for payments made with a debit or credit card. Go to www.IRS.gov/Payments for authorized card processors and their phone numbers.
• IRS2Go. TheIRS2Go mobile app is free and offers taxpayers the option to make a payment with Direct Pay, or by debit or credit card through an approved payment processor for a fee.
• Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. This free service gives taxpayers a safe and convenient way to pay individual and business taxes by phone or online. To enroll or for more information, call 800-316-6541 or visit www.eftps.gov.
• Cash. Taxpayers without bank accounts or if cash is their only option can pay using the new PayNearMe option. Payments are limited to $1,000 per day, and a $3.99 fee applies to each payment. Because PayNearMe involves a three-step process, the IRS urges taxpayers choosing this option to start the process well ahead of the tax deadline to avoid interest and penalty charges. The IRS offers this option in cooperation with OfficialPayments.com/fed and participating 7-Eleven stores in 34 states. Details, including answers to frequently-asked questions, are at IRS.gov/paywithcash.    

An automatic extension of time to file will be automatically processed for those taxpayers who choose to pay all or part of their taxes electronically by the April due date. An extension of time to file is not an extension to pay. Taxes are still due by the original due date. Taxpayers can get an automatic extension when making a payment with Direct Pay, Electronic Federal Tax Payment System or by debit or credit card and select Form 4868 as the payment type.

Taxpayers who choose to pay by check or money order should make the payment out to the “United States Treasury.” Also, print on the front of the check or money order: “2015 Form 1040”; name; address; daytime phone number; and Social Security number.

To help ensure that the payment is credited promptly, also enclose a Form 1040-V payment voucher.

The IRS advises taxpayers to file either a regular income tax return or a request for a tax-filing extension by this year’s April 18 deadline (April 19 for residents of Maine and Massachusetts) to avoid late-filing penalties. This penalty can be ten times as costly as the penalty for paying late.

Taxpayers who owe, but can’t pay the balance in full, do have options. Often, they qualify for one of several relief programs, including the following:

• Most people can set up a payment agreement with the IRS online in a matter of minutes. Those who owe $50,000 or less in combined tax, penalties and interest can use the Online Payment Agreement to set up a monthly payment agreement for up to 72 months. Taxpayers can choose this option even if they have not yet received a bill or notice from the IRS. With the Online Payment Agreement, no paperwork is required, there is no need to call, write or visit the IRS and qualified taxpayers can avoid the filing of a Notice of Federal Tax Lien if one was not previously filed. Alternatively, taxpayers can request a payment agreement by filing Form 9465. This form can be downloaded from IRS.gov and mailed along with a tax return, bill or notice.
• Some struggling taxpayers may qualify for an offer-in-compromise. This is an agreement between a taxpayer and the IRS that settles the taxpayer’s tax liabilities for less than the full amount owed. The IRS looks at the taxpayer’s income and assets to make a determination regarding the taxpayer’s ability to pay. To help determine eligibility, use the Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier, a free online tool available on IRS.gov. Details on all filing and payment options are on IRS.gov.

Owe Tax - Need Help?

Contact the Tax Lawyers at 
Marini & Associates, P.A.

 

for a FREE Tax Consultation

at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms

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

 

 

 

According to a FIBA Florida International Bankers Assoc. blog post entitled  U.S. Plans to Require Banks to Identify Owners of Shell Companies, the United States government is close to issuing a rule that will for the first time require banks and other financial institutions to find out the identities of people hidden behind shell companies.
 The rule is meant to close a major loophole in the American banking system that enables the sorts of secretive financial maneuvers that were thrust into the spotlight this week with the leak of millions of documents from a law firm in Panama.

That firm, Mossack Fonseca, is one of the largest incorporators of shell companies in the world. The trove of leaked documents, analyzed by more than 100 news organizations worldwide, revealed offshore companies tied to 143 politicians, their families and close associates.

The documents also showed scores of shell companies doing business with major international banks, including UBS, Credit Suisse and HSBC, that rely on access to the American banking system.

 

 

Have a Tax Problem?

Contact the Tax Lawyers at 
Marini & Associates, P.A.

 

for a FREE Tax Consultation

at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms

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

 

 

We have been receiving a lot of calls from businesses who have recently received penalty notices regarding late filed or non-filed Form 5472's. 

The reason that US taxpayers are currently receiving these automatic assessments is that the IRS updated its IRM 20.1.9, Penalty Handbook, International Penalties on March 21, 2013 to now include and Automatic Assessment of this $10,000 Penalty for Form 5472, Information Return of a 25% Foreign-Owned U.S. Corporation or a Foreign Corporation Engaged in a U.S. Trade or Business.

The Form 5472, Information Return of a 25% Foreign-Owned U.S. Corporation or a Foreign Corporation Engaged in a U.S. Trade or Business (Under Sections 6038A and 6038C of the Internal Revenue Code), is filed as an attachment to the U.S. income tax return by the due date of that return, including extensions. If the reporting corporation’s income tax return is not timely filed, Form 5472 nonetheless must be timely filed at the campus where the return is due. When the income tax return is ultimately filed, a copy of Form 5472 must be attached.

The IRM 20.1.9, Penalty Handbook, International Penalties also provides:

1. Pattern Letter for Failure to File Form 5472 ( Form Letter) See Exhibit 20.1.9-8     
2. Penalty Assertion   (20.1.9.5.3) (03-21-2013) An initial penalty is asserted on Form 8278 using PRN 625 when the examiner determines that a U.S. corporation that is 25 percent foreign-owned during a taxable year has had transaction(s) with a related party and:   
• Has failed to timely file Form 5472,
• Has filed a Form 5472 which is inaccurate or incomplete, or
• Has failed to maintain records of transactions with related parties.
3. Penalty Computation (20.1.9.5.4) (03-21-2013) Initial Penalty—The initial penalty is $10,000 for each failure during a taxable year of a reporting corporation to:                    
• Timely file a separate Form 5472 with respect to each related party with which it had a reportable transaction during such taxable year,
• Maintain the required records relating to a reportable transaction, or
• In the case of records maintained outside the U.S., meet the non-U.S. record maintenance requirements.
4. Continuation Penalty—If any failure continues more than 90 days after the day on which the notice of such failure was mailed to the taxpayer (90-day period), additional penalties will apply. The continuation penalty is $10,000 for each 30-day period (or fraction thereof) during which such failure continues after the expiration of the 90-day period. These additional penalties are also asserted on Form 8278 using PRN 701 (prior to January 2013, PRN 619 was used for this continuation penalty).       

Reasonable Cause     

Our Experienced Tax Attorneys at M&A have extensive experience with obtaining waivers of penalty based upon "Reasonable Cause" and have been able to get such automatic assessments of the $10,000 Penalty for Form 5471's, waived after their assessment; either by the issuing IRS Service Center or at Appeals!

 

Other Defenses

 

Depending on the facts in your case, there are other defenses, both legal and factual, which also will result in the taxpayer obtaining a waiver of this $10,000 form 5472 late filing penalty.

 

Has  Your Company  Been Assessed an
Automatic $10,000 Penalty for a Late Form 5472?

Contact the Tax Lawyers at 
Marini & Associates, P.A.

 

for a FREE Tax Consultation

at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms

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

 

 

 

As originally announced by IRS in May 2015, in Rev Rul 2015-13, 2015-22 IRB, the due date for returns for which the due date would otherwise be April 15, 2016 will instead be April 18, 2016 or April 19, 2016 for residents of Maine and Massachusetts.

Based on the reasoning in an example in Rev Rul 2015-13 and on the instructions to 2016 Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals, the due date for the first 2016 estimate for individual taxpayers will be Monday, April 18, 2016, regardless of your state of residence.