IRS Instructions as Clear as Mud, Even to the IRS
Tax time is just around the corner and that means it will be time once again to comb through all the jargon that is IRS tax forms. Many taxpayers have long bemoaned tax forms and instructions as just plain confusing and in some cases, downright sinister. However, even though filing taxes on your own accord can be a risky proposition, as long as you stick to the code and follow the IRS’s instructions carefully and exactly, you should be OK, right? Well, not necessarily.
What? How could that possibly be true? The fact is tax instructions don’t actually fall under the tax law. So, in reality, you could even follow the instructions on a tax form with exactness and still end up with an error. Of course, the IRS would understand if that happened to you, right? Well, not exactly. Many taxpayers have used this argument to no avail. In most instances, the courts side with the IRS and rarely hold the agency to what is written in its forms and instructions.
That’s because, unfortunately, according to legal precedence, the only things that hold up in court as tax law are regulations, official statutes and judicial decisions. That means even if you fill out your tax forms incorrectly and it’s the IRS’s fault, you will still be held accountable for those mistakes. It doesn’t seem fair that the IRS is ultimately not responsible to write correct instructions, but nevertheless when it comes to the IRS there isn’t too much that does seem fair.
President’s Tax Plan Changes Back at Square One
Taxes, taxes, taxes! It was arguably the number one issue during the recent presidential election and President Trump made it very clear that he planned to make some major changes to our country’s tax code. With the republican-led House and Senate in place, it seemed like it would just be a matter of time…
Tax Policy Center Claims Trump Child Care Plan Favors the Rich
Although most of President Trump’s policies have greatly divided the country, one policy that everyone can agree upon is lowering the cost of childcare. However, what they don’t agree on is how to make that happen. So far, his proposals have been well received by the right and not so much by the left.…
Making the Most of Corporate Tax Reform
Although nothing major has happened yet, rest assured that corporate tax reform is on the way. The Trump administration has made big promises and at some point they are coming. So far, the president has proposed reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent, while republican leaders in Congress have proposed…
These Tax Breaks Are a Big Boost to the Wealthy
Even though the new presidential administration has already made several tax cut promises that would greatly benefit the wealthy, the fact is, high net worth individuals already benefit from several tax breaks that favor the rich. In fact, there are numerous ways that the wealthy can, and are already saving on their tax bill.…