Tag: Roberg Tax Solutions

Posted on by Jan Roberg

Where’s My Refund?

Where is my refund

If you’re expecting a refund from the IRS, you really want to know when that money is coming in.

http://www.irs.gov/Refunds

When you go to IRS.gov, click on the refunds tab on the top.  This is where you can check the status of your refund online.

 

Once you file your US Income taxes, the most important thing to you is, “Where’s My Refund?”  If you’re trying to find out about a current year tax return that was e-filed, the easiest way to find out about your refund is through the IRS “Where’s My Refund?” website.  Before you go to the website you’ll need to have your Social Security Number, your filing status (Married filing jointly, Single, Head of Household, etc.), and the exact amount of your refund in order to gain access.

 

You need to wait at least 24 hours after the IRS receives your e-filed tax return.  That means 24 hours after you get IRS confirmation that they’ve received it—not 24 hours after you filed.  If you go to someplace like H&R Block and file your taxes on January 5th,—but the IRS hasn’t opened up their e-file acceptance, then your taxes are not really filed yet as far as the IRS is concerned.  The tax company is just holding your return in a batch folder waiting for the IRS to open.

 

If you mail your tax return, don’t expect to see any results on “Where’s My Refund” until 4 weeks after you mail your paper return.  Once again, the IRS isn’t “receiving” paper returns until they open the e-file, so even if you mail your return on January 1st, don’t expect to see your results online before an e-filed return.

 

The IRS has announced that they will not personally respond to calls about tax refunds until 21 days after your return has been received.  To put that in plain English—

 

The IRS ain’t gonna talk to you about your refund until they’re good and ready to, no matter how early you filed your return.


I put that in big, bold, red letters because last year I received several calls from people who filed their taxes early with a store front tax company down the street from my office, then couldn’t find their refunds on the IRS website and that store front office didn’t return their calls.  People were frantically trying to get information and couldn’t get answers.

 

So, if you go someplace to file your personal US income taxes and they tell you the IRS is receiving them before the acceptance date, they’re either lying or stupid.  I know, that’s harsh but it’s true.  They’re not actually filing the returns— they’re sending them to a “holding bin” until the IRS can actually receive the transmissions.  It’s called stockpiling.  It used to be illegal, but since the IRS keeps putting off the filing date they’ve made it okay to do now.   The point is—your return isn’t really filed yet, and it won’t be received by the IRS until they officially open the filing season.

 

Now, if it’s after the official start date, and you’ve waited 24 hours after receiving notice that your return has been accepted by the IRS, you can go to the “Where’s My Refund?” page to check on the status of your return.  Here’s the link:  Where’s My Refund?

 

If the site doesn’t have an answer for you, wait another day and try again.  The website is only updated once every 24 hours so checking on it more than once a day is a waste of time.

 

One final thing—all of the accounting firms have to deal with the IRS late e-file acceptance issue.  Whether it’s a big box company like H&R Block, a small tax company like Roberg Tax Solutions, or a Big Four accounting firm like Deloitte; we all have to live with the same rules.  The IRS will not accept anyone’s return any earlier than the official start date.

 

Generally, the e-file acceptance date begins on the day after the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, but has been as late as January 31.  The start date for 2018 was not yet set at the time of this update.

Posted on by Jan Roberg

Should You Hire a Tax Professional that Wears a Funny Costume?

Taxes are complicated.  Although, some returns are fairly easy to do, with Congress changing the rules all the time, it really helps to hire someone who knows what they’re doing.

 

Okay, I’m going to toot my own horn here, but Enrolled Agents are licensed by the Department of the Treasury to represent people before the IRS in all tax matters.  We have to pass a test.  Actually, it’s nine hours worth of tests divided into three parts.  You have to pass all three before you can call yourself an EA.

 

EA’s are also required to take 72 hours of tax training every three years to keep their certification.  And we also have to pass a tax compliance check—meaning, the IRS takes a closer look at my tax return.

 

Most of those people at your big box chain tax stores are not EA’s.

 

There’s also a new preparer designation called a Registered Tax Return Preparer, or RTRP for short.  They also have to pass a test, take continuing education, and they have the ability to represent taxpayers before the IRS but it‘s limited.  At Roberg Tax Solutions, everyone who prepares returns is either an EA or an RTRP, meaning that we’ve all got the licenses to do our jobs.  The most basic tax preparer designation is a provisional PTIN holder-but even they must do the continuing education credits.

 

It’s important to know that because most tax preparers out there don’t have any credentials.   None.  Every day I hear stories about people who used a so-called “professional” and got in trouble with the IRS because the “professional” didn’t know the tax law, or perhaps chose to ignore it.

 

Okay, the IRS requires that I say this:  ‘The IRS does not endorse any particular individual tax return preparer. For more information on tax return preparers go to IRS.gov.’   Just wanted to make sure I got that in there.

 

Now I was going to write about how you don’t want to hire the guy in the crazy costume to do your taxes.  But I’m not in a position to say that.  You see, every Halloween, Roberg Tax Solutions dresses up and helps with the Maryland Heights Halloween parade.  We used to dress up for the Pujol’s Foundation Winter Carnival too until they discontinued that.

 

So, go ahead and hire the tax person in a crazy costume.  Just make sure that you check his or her credentials for doing taxes first.  (By the way, the guy in the Shark costume is Mike, our new guy.  He’s in the shark costume because, well–he’s the new guy.  And the shark dance?  Well, the little kids at the parade kept begging him to “Do it again!”  For what it’s worth, he’s better at taxes than he is at dancing.)

Posted on by Jan Roberg

Santa and the IRS

Parody about Santa Claus being audited by the IRS

Who knew Santa kept receipts?

 

Roberg Tax Solutions will be closed from  December 24th  – January 3rd.  Generally, confidentiality rules prevent me from sharing client information, but our very special client has authorized the release of his personal information so that our clients may understand why we will be closed that week.  We were recently contacted by Mr. S. Claus concerning this letter that he recently received from the IRS.  What follows is our correspondence on behalf of our client with the IRS.

 

IRS:   Mr. Claus,   It has come to our attention that you have never filed a US Income Tax return, despite that fact that you have been receiving US business income.  We have gone back as far as 1913 and estimated your income and taxes and have determined that you owe the IRS $16,345,619,841.61 including penalties and interest.

 

Roberg Tax:  Dear IRS, Don’t you think it’s a little absurd for you to be charging tax back to 1913?  What about the 10 year statute of limitations on collections?

 

IRS:  The 10 year statute does not apply if a tax return was never filed.  Therefore, we demand full payment for all years in question.

 

Roberg Tax:  But Santa doesn’t receive US income, he delivers gifts for free.

 

IRS:  Mr. Claus has been receiving his income in the form of barter.  He has been receiving cookies, milk, and reindeer carrots for years as payment for his deliveries.  We understand, Ms. Roberg, that your parents used to leave Santa beer but we have been gracious enough not to impose federal alcohol excise taxes on Mr. Claus at this time.

 

Roberg Tax:  Well thank you for your generosity on that point, how could you possibly know my Dad used to leave Santa beer?

 

IRS:  We have our ways.  We know lots of things.

 

Roberg Tax:    I don’t think I want to know!  Anyway, you’re arguing that Santa runs a business in the US and gets paid with milk and cookies.  Therefore, since his operation is a business, then he gets to deduct his business expenses which certainly exceed any revenue he could possibly receive from the milk and cookies he receives, therefore he owes no tax.

 

IRS:  Not so fast!  Only a legal business may write off expenses.  Santa does not live in the United States and he flies into the country illegally—thereby voiding any expense deduction that he would otherwise have been allowed to claim.

 

Roberg Tax:  So you’re calling Santa’s delivering of toys a criminal activity?  But if he has proper permission to enter the country, then his business is legal and he may deduct his business expenses which would make his tax bill zero.  Is that correct?

 

IRS:  Well, it will work on the business income, but we’ll probably be asking for his federal fuel excise tax on the reindeer.

 

Roberg Tax:  I don’t believe that reindeer feed falls under fuel tax guidelines.

 

IRS:  We’re reaching.  We’ve got to close the tax gap and the fat guy could be our ticket out of trouble.

 

Roberg Tax:  Don’t call my client fat, he prefers the term, “Jolly.”  And you can’t use Santa to solve the federal deficit.  That’s Congress’ job.

 

Anyway, we’ll be closed for the week.  I’m going to be spending my time with a very nasty IRS agent, who really should be dropping this case if he doesn’t want to stay on Santa’s naughty list.  We’ll all be back in time for tax season.  Don’t you worry about Santa, we’ve got him covered.

 

Merry Christmas.