IRS Overpaid by $6 Billion in Child Tax Credits in 2013
Although no one will probably ever shed a tear to hear that the IRS paid taxpayers too much money, this latest report does nothing to breed confidence in how things are run in the nation’s tax collecting agency.
According to reports, the IRS paid about $6 billion in child tax credits last year to people who shouldn’t have received them. The payments were made to people from all kinds of circumstances, including those who accidently claimed the wrong amount, those who shouldn’t have claimed the credit at all, and to others who simply committed tax fraud. The numbers come from an audit performed by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax administration.
This credit has been a huge benefit to those families with children who do not make enough to pay federal income tax, as well as to other low-income families. The government has for years claimed that there is not a lot of risk involved with the child tax credit and improper payments. However, the results of this new audit would strongly suggest otherwise.
Even though the Inspector General made several suggestions, the IRS did not agree with many of them. However, in a statement, the nations’ federal tax agency did admit that new processes are needed in order to reduce the number of incorrect payments. A total of $57 billion in child tax credits were paid to more than 36 million families in 2013, with between $5.9 billion and $7.1 billion being improper payments.
Making Your Medical Deductions Count
Making Your Medical Deductions Count April 15th is almost here and if you are owing tax it may pay to take a second look at that return to see if you claimed all medical deductions you are entitled to. Your diligence in keeping track of expenses will pay off. IRS Publication 502 has a complete listing…
GROCO Warns of Common Tax Filing Mistakes
GROCO Warns of Common Tax Filing Mistakes Tax return anxiety is on the rise as the federal tax filing date looms. The prospect of filing an erroneous return increases as more rely on tax software to help prepare their returns. For the week ending March 28, more than 10,000 electronic returns were filed from home…
Loss on Sale of 1244 Stock
Have you considered a loss on sale of 1244 stock as a tax strategy? Ordinarily, a loss on a sale or exchange of stock is a capital loss. Capital loss treatment is generally less advantageous than ordinary deduction treatment because of the fact that a capital loss recognized by an individual is applied, first against…
Section 213 Medical, Dental, etc., Expenses
Section 213 Medical, Dental, etc., Expenses (a) Allowance of deduction There shall be allowed as a deduction the expenses paid during the taxable year, not compensated for by insurance or otherwise, for medical care of the taxpayer, his spouse, or a dependent, to the extent that such expenses exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income.…