Funding the Bailout

['73 H1 Triple]

Originally Posted by fasternyou929

And the reason for this blessed piece of mail? Apparently I forgot to list $45,000 in income from a company that has never employed me or my wife. Perfect. So I get to prove to the IRS that I never received something they believe I did. Should be a piece of cake.

Back in 1985, I got a letter from the IRS ( they were more like jack booted thugs then instead of the nice people today ) demanded $1800 due 14 days from when the letter was SENT . I "lost" 5 days with mail delivery They said I made $3800 at a former employer in 1982.

I went over to that company and asked to talk to the CFO. I showed him the letter and explained although I worked there in 1976 & 1977, that was the last time I was employed by them.

I told the CFO there was two ways to handle this situation....
1) Pay me the $3800 the IRS said I made and I would take care of the IRS bill

or

2) Straighten this out immediately and get the IRS off my back.

He copied the letter and said he'd be in touch shortly. Two days later he called and said it was resolved. It seems a clerical error was made in book keeping and my SS# was assigned to a local minister who had worked there part time. The minister has the same first initial and the same last name .

A week later I got a short letter from the IRS stating that it had been resolved. No explanation of how it was resolved but I didn't care since they were off my back.

Good luck, you get to deal with real people now instead of heavy handed thugs like we had to deal with decades ago.

Jeff

[fasternyou929]

Good to hear the IRS has gotten soft in its older age! I found the culprit in my papers, apparently an account I closed when I moved from Miami to Raleigh was reported as income. No idea why, but it's not a tax-deferred account so this should be relatively painless. Unless they're persistent on taxing my liquid assets again...

[shmike]

Originally Posted by fasternyou929

Good to hear the IRS has gotten soft in its older age! I found the culprit in my papers, apparently an account I closed when I moved from Miami to Raleigh was reported as income. No idea why, but it's not a tax-deferred account so this should be relatively painless. Unless they're persistent on taxing my liquid assets again...

They probably show the entire holding as a gain (short term) which is taxed the same as income.

You'll have to come up with the basis and dates acquired to get it resolved.

[Particle Man]

Originally Posted by pauldun170

If only we could audit our own government....

yeah, imagine....

[fasternyou929]

Originally Posted by shmike

They probably show the entire holding as a gain (short term) which is taxed the same as income.

You'll have to come up with the basis and dates acquired to get it resolved.

Thanks man. I found a statement that lists it as "certificate withdrawn at par with no capital gain or loss". Sounds like what they're looking for? But I still don't understand how/why they caught this as income.

[Rider]

I don't get how people owe so much to the enlivenment. Do you not have taxes taken out of your checks? I consistently get $4-6K back form the IRS every year. Strange because I also end up owing my state a couple hundred.

[Particle Man]

Originally Posted by Rider

I don't get how people owe so much to the enlivenment. Do you not have taxes taken out of your checks? I consistently get $4-6K back form the IRS every year. Strange because I also end up owing my state a couple hundred.

yes, taxes come out but it depends on the size of each check. If you get a large check at any point like a bonus or something it effs things up (at least it does in my case).

[tommymac]

Originally Posted by Rider

I don't get how people owe so much to the enlivenment. Do you not have taxes taken out of your checks? I consistently get $4-6K back form the IRS every year. Strange because I also end up owing my state a couple hundred.

My side job doesnt take taxes out so thats upwards of 30k not being taxed so I nee dto get creative with the deductions.

Tom

[Method]

There have been some reports out of the IRS that they will be doing heavy audits on people from years past due to budget shortcomings. They're doing everything they can to raise more cash.

[Captain Morgan]

Originally Posted by Rider

I don't get how people owe so much to the enlivenment. Do you not have taxes taken out of your checks? I consistently get $4-6K back form the IRS every year. Strange because I also end up owing my state a couple hundred.

Originally Posted by Particle Man

yes, taxes come out but it depends on the size of each check. If you get a large check at any point like a bonus or something it effs things up (at least it does in my case).

This can be one reason, but also, if you have any capital gains, taxes are not taken from those. Capital gains can come from the sale of property, stocks, or other investments. Taxes on these aren't withheld at the time of sale. You have to report the cost basis to the IRS to determine your actual gain.

Another big reason is if someone is a general contractor. They get paid straight up, with no taxes withheld. It is their personal responsibility to pay estimated taxes. If they don't calculate correctly, they end up owing a large chunk at the end of the year.

Originally Posted by Method

There have been some reports out of the IRS that they will be doing heavy audits on people from years past due to budget shortcomings. They're doing everything they can to raise more cash.

Yep. The IRS is hiring revenue officers as we speak. They hired some several months ago and have another job posting that closes in a few days.