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.
Could Buying a Rental Home Really Help Pay for College?
It’s back to school and for many that means school supplies and new clothes, but what about kids who are heading off to college? Their expenses are much greater than a few new outfits, pencils, paper and glue sticks. Besides the cost of tuition, most college students have to deal with the added expenses of…
Could You Lose Health Care if You Don’t File a Tax Return?
There’s been no shortage of confusion since the Affordable Healthcare Act became a law. Likewise, there has been no shortage of discontent with the bill, either. Obamacare, as it is widely known, continues to find ways to leave people in the dark not only about their healthcare, but also about their taxes. So what’s the…
Tax Scam Bill Reaches More Than $20 Million
Do you know where your tax return is? Are you sure that next year’s tax return is safe? It’s clear that the IRS does not have a strong prevention plan in place to stop would-be tax scammers from getting to your personal information and then using it to steal your tax return. According to a…
Clinton Offers Idea of New Tax Credit for Certain Businesses
While democrats and republicans will continue to fight it out over taxes and how to improve our economy, especially during the run-up to the presidential election, the battle generally stays the same. Democrats want to take more money, especially from the wealthy, and the republicans want to keep more money in taxpayers’ wallets. Surprisingly, however,…