In a major hostage swap between the U.S. and Russia, four American detainees were released. Evan Gershgovitch, Alsu Kurmasheva, Paul Whelan, and Vladimir Kara-Kurza came home after several years of captivity.
But they may be coming home to a reality that might make them want to go back; The IRS.
Jason Reizan, a journalist who was held in Iran for over a year and released in 2016, ended up paying almost $6K in automatic penalties and interest to the Service upon his release. After speaking to the White House, Members of Congress, and of course our friends at The Service, he gave up one day, sat down, and wrote the check.
The same unconscionable fate might be waiting for our other recently released hostages. Automatic IRS penalties along with the problems of not paying other bills such as phone bills, mortgages, and credit cards have forced other hostages into outrageous and preposterous situations to rebuild their credit and even not lose their homes.
Senator Chris Coons, (Dem, DE), has introduced Senate Bill 4057 currently sitting in appropriations, that would put an end to this abject stupidity. The new law would. “postpone tax deadlines, and reimburse paid late fees for United States nationals who are unlawfully or wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad…”
Take a moment and imagine the conversation you might have with an IRS Revenue Officer. You’re on the 16th floor of the Kluczynski Federal Building in one of the private conference rooms telling them how there was no possible way you could file your return because you were stuck in a cage somewhere in the Middle East.
And the IRS Officer with a banal look on their face says something like, “Gee, I’m really sorry about that. It’s a real shame, but there’s no mechanism I could possibly use to reduce the penalties and interest on your late returns.”
And they’d be right. We can only hope that Senate Bill 4057 will grow some legs and get passed.
Let me leave you with this…
The Internal Revenue Service recently sent out another round of letters to individuals who haven’t filed their income tax returns in recent years.
I’ve written recently about how the IRS was tracking down and forcing individuals with more than $1M in income to file their returns. Now, they’re lowering the bar and going after people who make over $400K.
The communication also stated that in certain instances, many of their new targets are earning even less than that benchmark.
One might ask how the Service would be able to target any individual. Since the return is yet to be filed, how would they possibly know how much was earned?
The IRS has a copy of most of your records even before you file. Employers, Mortgage Companies and even Investment Houses are required to provide them with a copy of your W-2’s, 1099’s and even 1098’s.
That’s how they can target any specific group, and how they check your returns for validity. If the return you file is substantially different from what they have on file, the return will red-flag many times result in an audit.
If you haven’t filed a return in several years, it’s always better to be proactive than reactive. Once a Revenue Officer is assigned, we might lose several options in getting you back into compliance.
Please contact us today so that we can get you off of their radar.
We’re all going to get through this. Let’s get through it together.
Accounting Solutions Ltd. stands ready to complete our mission and purpose of protecting you, your family, and your business. Whether you need Payroll Services, or Accounting and Tax Work, you have but to ask. I’m here and I remain,
Sincerely yours,
Chris Amundson
President
Accounting Solutions Ltd.
773-267-7500
888-310-0300
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