Kelly Phillips Erb, Contributor Forbes Over the years, I’ve represented a lot of clients before the IRS. I’ve listened to hours and hours of IRS hold music. And I’ve had a lot of conversations with IRS reps and agents. But last week something happened that truly shocked me: the IRS hung up on me. On purpose. [...]

The number of federal individual income tax returns examined by the Internal Revenue Service has continuously increased over the past five years, with 1 out of every 90 taxpayers examined in fiscal year 2010, according to a statistical report released today by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. That’s up 23 percent from fiscal year 2006, [...]

April 7, 2011 WASHINGTON –– Hiding income in offshore accounts, identity theft, return preparer fraud, and filing false or misleading tax forms top the annual list of “dirty dozen” tax scams in 2011, the Internal Revenue Service announced today. “The Dirty Dozen represents the worst of the worst tax scams,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. [...]

By ROBERT W. WOOD – Forbes.com Do You Feel Lucky?  No one wants to be audited.  And yet as a tax lawyer advising clients about tax issues, I’m required by Treasury Department rules to assume every return will be audited.  In truth, there might be only a 2% chance of audit. When I say there’s [...]

By LAURA SAUNDERS of the Wall Street Journal In a rare show of leniency, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Thursday announced new rules designed to make it easier for people struggling with tax debts to climb out of the hole. Among the changes, the IRS said it would place fewer claims on taxpayers’ property [...]

By Janet Hook and John McKinnon – Wall Street Journal WASHINGTON—Congress passed the most far-reaching tax bill in a decade late Thursday, averting across-the-board tax increases, enacting new breaks for individuals and businesses and laying a marker for how Washington might work in an era of divided government. The bill goes to the White House [...]

Uncertainty in Washington Is Creating Confusion for Investors Trying to Minimize Their Tax Burden. Here’s What You Need to Know—and Do. By Laura Saunders – Wall Street Journal There are plenty of reasons for taxpayers to scream. Here it is, year-end tax-planning time, when investors must decide whether to take gains or harvest losses and [...]

How To Not Get Audited By The IRS With increased computer power and more money for staff from the Obama administration, the IRS is gearing up to intensify its audits of individual taxpayers. High income alone is far from the only factor triggering an audit: Last year only 6.4% of the nation’s 440,000 highest-income filers [...]

The IRS issued its 2010 “dirty dozen” tax scams, including return preparer fraud, hiding offshore income and phishing.

Businesses and individuals making 2009 contributions to charity should keep in mind several important tax law provisions that have taken effect in recent years. Some of these changes include the following… IR-2009-114, Dec. 8, 2009 WASHINGTON — Individuals and businesses making contributions to charity should keep in mind several important tax law provisions that have [...]