Barbara L. Mix, EA

This year seems to be pretty violent so far. From Tax Today: Deerfield Beach, Fla.: A bullet narrowly missed the ear of preparer Michelle Merced as she sat in the office of Dixie Fast Tax in late February. I wanted [tax season] to be busy with people, not bullets, coming in, she told news outlets. The shooting was connected to a dispute outside her office and police confirmed that Merced and her staff were not intended targets. The incidents come on the heels of reports of gunfire and the beating of a preparer in the Detroit office of Tax City Tax Service on February 28 by a 19-year-old local man after the woman he was in the office with couldn’t get her refund in cash. Four people were shot in the scuffle and the preparer told news outlets that she plans tighter security when she re-opens her office.

The Internal Revenue Service reported Thursday that more than 48 million tax refunds had been issued by the end of February, a 5.6 percent increase compared to the same period last year, with the size of the average tax refund also up. As of Feb. 28, the average refund this year is $3,034, up 3 percent compared to the average refund amount for the same time last year. Nearly 88 percent of the tax refunds issued to date have been directly deposited into the accounts of taxpayers, saving them time and a trip to the bank, according to the IRS. The number of returns filed electronically is also up slightly from the same time last year, while the number of taxpayers filing from home computers is up 7.5 percent.

I find this interesting. May have to look at it further. Blogs - Rethinking Retirement Required Minimum Distributions for Roth IRAs? by: Jeffrey Levine ... Wednesday, March 5, 2014 inShare63 President Obama’s 2015 budget includes a number of proposed changes aimed at retirement accounts. Six out of the seven provisions (or similar versions of them) detailed below and unveiled Monday, were included in last year’s budget. If you’re hoping that some or all of these proposals will actually become law, it’s probably not a good idea to hold your breath. The fact that all of the major retirement account-related proposals from last year are repeated in this year’s budget should tell you something none of them were enacted from last year’s budget. They all require at least some level of Congressional action to implement, so the Vegas odds are probably not too high on getting much more implemented this year. Nevertheless, it’s important to know the key retirement account provisions included in the President’s budget this year, because they certainly could happen and, at the very least, they are an indication as to where the administration wants to head.

From Tax Pro Today: President Obama released his budget plan on Tuesday, with proposals for expanding a number of tax breaks along with the budget of the Internal Revenue Service. Specifically, the budget aims for additional IRS customer service improvements, including increasing the toll-free telephone level of service from about 60 percent to 80 percent, driving responsiveness to taxpayers through correspondence inventory reduction, and bolstering resources to help tackle m...ore resource-intensive identity theft and refund fraud cases. The budget overview noted that the IRS is responsible for securing over 90 percent of the revenue that funds the federal government and ensuring the integrity of U.S. tax laws. The budget provides $12 billion in base funding for the IRS, an increase of 6.3 percent over the 2014 enacted level. It also proposes a $480 million program integrity cap adjustment to support efforts aimed at improving enforcement of current tax laws and reducing the tax gap. See more

The Internal Revenue Service issued its annual Dirty Dozen list of tax scams, reminding taxpayers to use caution during tax season to protect themselves against a wide range of schemes ranging from identity theft to return preparer fraud.

The Internal Revenue Service is urging taxpayers to resist the urge to call the agency for answers to tax questions as it anticipates an avalanche of phone calls next week and is instead asking them to go online for help. The IRS reminded taxpayers Thursday that the Presidents Day holiday period typically marks one of the busiest weeks of the tax-filing season for its phone lines. It noted that there are other alternatives to help taxpayers find answers to commonly asked tax questions. The IRS opened tax season on January 31 after a two-week delay prompted by the government shutdown last October. However, it has been struggling with a series of budget cuts in recent years that have delayed response times to phone calls and other matters.

When I get a profit/loss statement from a client that has "Computer and Internet Expenses" as an expense category, they are always going to receive a question from me as to what is in that category. If a business buys a computer it belongs on the balance sheet as an asset, not on the p & l as an expense. If the business is using Quickbooks and that category is one of the defaults, I can understand how confusing it may be if the person doing the input has not had proper training in bookkeeping. So, always, I'll ask if there is a new computer in that expense figure. :)

From Tax Pro Today: Cincinati: Preparer Kesha Spencer, 39, has pleaded guilty one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false federal income tax returns. According to court documents, Spencer operated the tax prep business Tax Cash Sooo Fast, where she prepared and e-filed some 200 false returns for each of the 2010 and 2011 income tax years. The returns falsely reported household income, head of household filing status and dependents, and also falsely claimed... refundable credits, including the EITC, the Making Work Pay Credit and the American Opportunities Credit. Some of the returns prepared and filed by Spencer were entirely fictitious, including those filed on behalf of several individuals in jail at the time. The tax loss came to some 103,541.97. Spencer also filed false 2010 and 2011 individual income tax returns for herself that omitted most of the income she earned from preparing returns through Tax Cash Sooo Fast and omitted unemployment compensation she received in 2010 and claimed false Schedule A and Schedule C expenses. Tax loss associated with the filing of these returns was $33,245.27. Spencer was released on bond and will be sentenced on June 3, when she faces a maximum of three years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. See more

From Tax Pro Today: President Obama introduced a new retirement savings vehicle that he called a MyRA in his State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, and the White House has followed up with more details on Wednesday about it. Let's do more to help Americans save for retirement, said Obama (see Obama Calls for Wage Increases and Tax Reforms in State of the Union). Today, most workers don't have a pension. A Social Security check often isn't enough on its own. And w...hile the stock market has doubled over the last five years, that doesn't help folks who don't have 401(k)s. That’s why, tomorrow, I will direct the Treasury to create a new way for working Americans to start their own retirement savings: MyRA. It's a new savings bond that encourages folks to build a nest egg. MyRA guarantees a decent return with no risk of losing what you put in." See more

My new assistant. :)

From TaxPro Today: A taxpayer undergoing an audit at an Internal Revenue Service office on Long Island successfully sued the IRS for $862,000 after he was injured by tripping over a phone cord. William Berroyer claimed in his lawsuit that he could no longer play golf or have sex with his wife more than once a month after he fell during a 2008 audit at an IRS office in Hauppauge, N.Y., according to the New York Post. He had visited the offices to work out a payment agreement f...or a $60,000 tax bill when he tripped on the phone cord and fell against a cabinet. After leaving the office, he telephoned the IRS auditor from the parking lot to inform him that he had lost the sense of feeling in his leg and was suffering from shoulder pain. He then spent 17 days in hospitals and rehabilitation centers recovering from his injury. Attorneys for the IRS claimed he was exaggerating his injury, but the judge awarded him $862,000 for pain and suffering. He won't have to pay taxes on the damages either. However he was denied the full $10 million amount he was seeking. Berroyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Even though tax season for individual tax returns has been delayed until January 31, the Internal Revenue Service and the Free File Alliance are opening up free electronic filing for taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes of $58,000 or less. The Free File Alliance, a coalition of 14 tax software companies that partners with the IRS, launched the 2014 Free File program on Friday. Starting today, every taxpayer with a 2013 adjusted gross income of $58,000 or less can visit http:...//www.irs.gov/freefile to prepare, complete and e-file their federal tax returns at no cost. The IRS said the initiative will help people get a jump on their taxes before the Jan. 31 filing season opens. Although taxpayers can now complete and e-file their tax returns, the tax software vendors will hold it until Jan. 31 when the IRS begins accepting individual returns. The IRS announced last year after October’s two-week federal government shutdown that it was delaying the start of the 2014 tax filing season in order to complete the testing of its computer systems.

Receipts for 2013 charitable contributions must be received by April 15, 2014 for such deductions to be allowable. If qualified appraisals are necessary, they must be attached to the returns. The receipts and appraisals can be prepared in 2014 for the 2013 contributions.