This year conversions from Traditional to Roth IRA’s were way up due to the elimination of income limitations that were previously applied to the conversions.  But is converting to a Roth IRA a good idea when it comes to your income taxes?  In some cases it is a smart move to convert now and in… Continue reading

The IRS has confirmed that the proposed New Requirements for Federal Tax Return Preparers will begin by the end of this year and will be enforced for the coming tax season in 2011. Tax Return Preparers will be required to register with the IRS by obtaining a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) which is unique… Continue reading

Last week, I did a blog post about Mr. Charles Freret who went on a one-man crusade to expose a flaw in the popular do-it-yourself tax program: Intuit’s TurboTax.  You can read that article & post here.   After Mr. Freret read the aforementioned post, he contacted R&G Brenner and agreed to sit down for… Continue reading

TurboTax–the leading do-it-yourself tax software estimated to be used by 40 million taxpayers in 2010–is miscalculating tax returns:
A flaw in the most recent version of TurboTax, the nation’s most popular tax-preparation software, may have caused thousands of retired federal employees to overstate their medical deductions and unwittingly underpay the Internal Revenue Service, according to federal officials.
Overstating… Continue reading

All is not well at the IRS.  According to the Tax Policy Center–and what is surely to exacerbate the Federal budget crisis-47% of American households will pay ZERO federal income taxes this year.
Either their incomes were too low, or they qualified for enough credits, deductions and exemptions to eliminate their liability…In recent years, credits for… Continue reading

The States are getting desperate.   New York & Connecticut (among others) are gearing up to enforce a tax law usually reserved for the rich and famous.  Athletes, for example, make millions upon millions of dollars and their travel schedules are well known. Therefore, when they travel to another state to play, that particular state… Continue reading

The income tax refund checks will be in the mail, but with a two-and-a-half week delay.
Gov. David Paterson has temporarily halted income tax refund checks, with the last batch going out March 12 and no more scheduled to be sent until April 1.
“We paid all the way up until we hit $1.25 billion (in refunds)”… Continue reading

The Internal Revenue Service is intensifying its scrutiny of wealthy Americans.
The federal agency increased its audits of taxpayers who earned $1 million to $5 million by 33 percent last year compared with 2008, new I.R.S. figures show.
The numbers, released late Thursday in the agency’s 2009 annual data book, also show that the I.R.S. increased its audits… Continue reading

In an effort to shame those that owe the state taxes, New York has taken the extraordinary (and desperate) measure to name the 500 biggest tax delinquents (individuals & businesses) on their website www.nystax.gov.
The move by the state Department of Taxation and Finance is part of a more aggressive effort to recoup some of the… Continue reading

The IRS has reported that more than 1.4 million tax payers are due over $1.3 BILLION in unclaimed refunds because they have not filed a 2006 tax return.  These refunds are still available, but only if a 2006 tax return is filed before April 15th, 2010.  After that, the government gets to keep your refunds.
Some… Continue reading