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 You Pay More to Drink Soda in Berkeley?
Could You Pay More to Drink Soda in Berkeley? We all know that obesity is a problem in our country. Activists and other interested parties continue to work on ways to help curb this growing problem. Indeed, obesity is neither good for individuals or for our country. However, would creating a new tax to help…
What Happened to California’s Tax Revenue in May?
Where has all of California’s money gone? Ok, so the state isn’t bankrupt or anything like that, but according to recent reports, the state’s tax revenues fell short by 5.5 percent in the month of May. That marks the first time in six months that California’s revenues have not reached expectations. In fact, that 5.5…
Beware the Pump: Another Gas Tax Is on the Way
If you’ve had enough with California’s high gas prices, then you might not want to keep reading, because just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, they are about to. That’s because when 2015 rolls around California residents are going to have to pay another new gas tax. In fact it’s a double-digit hike…
Try These Five Tips For Tax Savings in 2014
Everyone loves to save on their taxes, especially since it seems like the government never runs out of ways to add to American’s tax bill. So let’s discuss some helpful tips to reduce your tax bill. Although it might be too late to implement these ideas for last year’s return – unless you file an…