TAXPAYERS KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: IRS Will Begin Using Private Debt Collection Agencies To Collect Old Tax Debts

The Internal Revenue Service announced it plans to begin private collection of certain overdue federal tax debts next spring and has selected four contractors to implement the new program.

The new program was authorized by Congress last December.

As a condition of receiving a contract, these agencies must respect taxpayer rights including, among other things, abiding by the consumer protection provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

The IRS has selected the following contractors to carry out this program:

• CBE Group 1309 Technology Pkwy Cedar Falls, IA 50613
   
• Conserve 200 CrossKeys Office park Fairport, NY 14450
   
• Performant 333 N Canyons Pkwy Livermore, CA 94551
   
• Pioneer 325 Daniel Zenker Dr Horseheads, NY 14845

These private collection agencies will work on accounts where taxpayers owe money, but the IRS is no longer actively working their accounts. Several factors contribute to the IRS assigning these accounts to private collection agencies, including older, overdue tax accounts or lack of resources preventing the IRS from working the cases.

The IRS will give each taxpayer and their representative written notice that their account is being transferred to a private collection agency. The agency will then send a second, separate letter to the taxpayer and their representative confirming this transfer.

Private collection agencies will be able to identify themselves as contractors of the IRS collecting taxes. Employees of these collection agencies must follow the provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and must be courteous and respect taxpayer rights.

The IRS will do everything it can to help taxpayers avoid confusion and understand their rights and tax responsibilities, particularly in light of continual phone scams where callers impersonate IRS agents and request immediate payment.

Private collection agencies will not ask for payment on a prepaid debit card. Taxpayers will be informed about electronic payment options for taxpayers on IRS.gov/Pay Your Tax Bill. Payment by check should be payable to the U.S. Treasury and sent directly to IRS, not the private collection agency.

The IRS will continue to keep taxpayers informed about scams and provide tips for protecting themselves. The IRS encourages taxpayers to visit IRS.gov for information including the “Tax Scams and Consumer Alerts” page.

For more information visit the Private Debt Collection page on IRS.gov.

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When Are Job Hunting Expenses Income Tax Deductible ?

If you are looking for a job in the same line of work, you may be able to deduct some of your job search costs.

Here are some key tax facts you should know about when searching for a new job:

• Same Occupation.  Your expenses must be for a job search in your current line of work. You can’t deduct expenses for a job search in a new occupation.

• Résumé Costs.  You can deduct the cost of preparing and mailing your résumé.

• Travel Expenses.  If you travel to look for a new job, you may be able to deduct the cost of the trip. To deduct the cost of the travel to and from the area, the trip must be mainly to look for a new job. You may still be able to deduct some costs if looking for a job is not the main purpose of the trip.

• Placement Agency. You can deduct some job placement agency fees you pay to look for a job.

• First Job.  You can’t deduct job search expenses if you’re looking for a job for the first time.

• Time Between Jobs.  You can’t deduct job search expenses if there was a long break between the end of your last job and the time you began looking for a new one.

• Reimbursed Costs.  Reimbursed expenses are not deductible.

• Schedule A.  You normally deduct your job search expenses on Schedule A, Itemized Deductions. Claim them as a miscellaneous deduction. You can deduct the total miscellaneous deductions that are more than two percent of your adjusted gross income.

• Premium Tax Credit.  If you receive advance payments of the premium tax credit, it is important that you report changes in circumstances –  such as changes in your income, a change in eligibility for other coverage, or a change of address  –  to your Health Insurance Marketplace.  Advance payments are paid directly to your insurance company and lower the out-of-pocket cost for your health insurance premiums.  Reporting changes will help you get the proper type and amount of financial assistance so you can avoid getting too much or too little in advance.

For more on job hunting refer to Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions. You can get IRS tax forms and publications on IRS.gov/forms at any time.
IRS Tax Tips provide valuable information throughout the year. IRS.gov offers tax help and info on various topics including common tax scams, taxpayer rights and more.
IRS YouTube Videos:

• Job Search Expense – English | Spanish | ASL

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IRS Tax Tips For Gambling Income And Losses

Gambling winnings should be reported as income on your tax return.

You must itemize deductions to deduct gambling losses, and they can be deducted only up to the amount of any gambling winnings.

If you are a casual gambler, these tax tips can help:

1. Gambling income.  Income from gambling includes winnings from the lottery, horse racing and casinos. It also includes cash and non-cash prizes. You must report the fair market value of non-cash prizes like cars and trips.
   
   
2. Payer tax form.  If you win, the payer may give you a Form W-2G, Certain Gambling Winnings. The payer also sends a copy of the W-2G to the IRS. The payer must issue the form based on the type of gambling, the amount you win and other factors. You’ll also get a form W-2G if the payer must withhold income tax from what you win.
    
3. How to report winnings.  You normally report your winnings for the year on your tax return as “Other Income.” You must report all your gambling winnings as income. This is true even if you don’t get a Form W-2G.
   
   
4. How to deduct losses.  You can deduct your gambling losses on Schedule A, Itemized Deductions. The total you can deduct, however, is limited to the amount of the gambling income you report on your return.
   
   
5. Keep gambling receipts.  Keep records of your wins and losses. This means keeping items such as a gambling log or diary, receipts, statements or tickets.

See Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income for rules on this topic. Refer to Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions for more on losses. It also lists some of the types of records you should keep. You can download and view both on IRS.gov/forms at any time.

IRS Tax Tips provide valuable information throughout the year. IRS.gov offers tax help and info on various topics including common tax scams, taxpayer rights and more.
Additional IRS Resources:

• Tax Topic 419, Gambling Income and Expenses

IRS YouTube Videos:

• Gambling Winnings and Losses – English | Spanish | ASL

IRS Podcasts:

• Gambling Winnings and Losses – English | Spanish

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Reduce IRS Taxes With Home Energy Tax Credits

Certain energy-efficient home improvements can cut your energy bills and save you money at tax time. 

Here are some key facts that you should know about home energy tax credits:



Non-Business Energy Property Credit

• Part of this credit is worth 10 percent of the cost of certain qualified energy-saving items you added to your main home last year. This may include items such as insulation, windows, doors and roofs.
• The other part of the credit is not a percentage of the cost. This part of the credit is for the actual cost of certain property. This may include items such as water heaters and heating and air conditioning systems. The credit amount for each type of property has a different dollar limit.
• This credit has a maximum lifetime limit of $500. You may only use $200 of this limit for windows.
• Your main home must be located in the U.S. to qualify for the credit.
• Be sure you have the written certification from the manufacturer that their product qualifies for this tax credit. They usually post it on their website or include it with the product’s packaging. You can rely on it to claim the credit, but do not attach it to your return. Keep it with your tax records.
• You must place qualifying improvements in service in your principal residence by Dec. 31, 2016.

Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit

• This tax credit is 30 percent of the cost of alternative energy equipment installed on or in your home.
• Qualified equipment includes solar hot water heaters, solar electric equipment, wind turbines and fuel cell property.
• Qualified wind turbine and fuel cell property must be placed into service by Dec. 31, 2016. Hot water heaters and solar electric equipment must be placed in to service by Dec. 31, 2021.
• The tax credit for qualified fuel cell property is limited to $500 for each one-half kilowatt of capacity. The amount for other qualified expenditures does not have a limit. If your credit is more than the tax you owe, you can carry forward the unused portion of this credit to next year’s tax return. • The home must be in the U.S. It does not have to be your main home, unless the alternative energy equipment is qualified fuel cell property.

Use Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits, to claim these credits. For more on this topic refer to the form’s instructions. You can get IRS forms on IRS.gov/forms anytime.


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KKK Grand Dragon Endorsed Hillary Clinton In March; Hillary Also Accepted $20,000 Contribution From KKK

From Gateway Pundit Blog:

This interview took place after a KKK rally in California in March.

Reporter To KKK Grand Dragon: Who do you like for president, sir.

Will Quigg (KKK Grand Dragon): Hillary Clinton.

Reporter: Do you think whites are superior to Blacks and Latinos

Will Quigg: Well we are God’s chosen people.

Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign has received more than $20,000 in donations contributed by members of the Ku Klux Klan, a prominent member of the hate group announced earlier this year.

Somehow, the media and Hillary Clinton fail to mention these items when falsely claiming that Trump and his 10s of millions of supporters are all "racists".

Hillary Clinton is an FBI documented LIAR.  WHY WOULD ANY RATIONAL 

PERSON BELIEVE ANYTHING SHE HAS TO SAY !!!!

IRS Help For Taxpayers Who Fail To Follow IRA and Retirement Plan Rollover 60-Day Rule

The Internal Revenue Service has provided a self-certification procedure designed to help recipients of retirement plan distributions who inadvertently miss the 60-day time limit for rollovers into another retirement plan or individual retirement arrangement (IRA).


In Revenue Procedure 2016-47, the IRS explained how eligible taxpayers, encountering a variety of mitigating circumstances, can qualify for a waiver of the 60-day time limit and avoid possible early distribution taxes. In addition, the revenue procedure includes a sample self-certification letter that a taxpayer can use to notify the administrator or trustee of the retirement plan or IRA receiving the rollover that they qualify for the waiver.

Normally, an eligible distribution from an IRA or workplace retirement plan can only qualify for tax-free rollover treatment if it is contributed to another IRA or workplace plan by the 60th day after it was received. In most cases, taxpayers who fail to meet the time limit could only obtain a waiver by requesting a private letter ruling from the IRS.

A taxpayer who missed the time limit will now ordinarily qualify for a waiver if one or more of 11 circumstances, listed in the revenue procedure, apply to them.  To Qualify:

(1) No prior denial by the IRS.  The IRS must not have previously denied a waiver
request with respect to a rollover of all or part of the distribution to which the contribution relates.

(2) Reason for missing 60-day deadline.  The taxpayer must have missed the 60-
day deadline because of the taxpayer’s inability to complete a rollover due to one or more of the following reasons:

1. an error was committed by the financial institution receiving the contribution or making the distribution to which the contribution relates;


2. the distribution, having been made in the form of a check, was misplaced and
   never cashed; 


3. the distribution was deposited into and remained in an account that the
   taxpayer mistakenly thought was an eligible retirement plan;


4. the taxpayer’s principal residence was severely damaged;


5. a member of the taxpayer’s family died


6. the taxpayer or a member of the taxpayer’s family was seriously ill;


7. the taxpayer was incarcerated;


8. restrictions were imposed by a foreign country;


9. a postal error occurred; 


10. the distribution was made on account of a levy under § 6331 and the proceeds
    of the levy have been returned to the taxpayer; or


11. the party making the distribution to which the roll
    over relates delayed providing information that the receiving plan or IRA required to complete the rollover despite the taxpayer’s reasonable efforts to obtain the information.

(3) Contribution as soon as practicable; 30-day safe harbor.  The contribution
must be made to the plan or IRA as soon as practicable after the reason or reasons listed in the preceding paragraph no longer prevent the taxpayer from making the contribution.  This requirement is deemed to be satisfied if the contribution is made within 30 days after the reason or reasons no longer prevent the taxpayer from making the contribution. 

Ordinarily, the IRS and plan administrators and trustees will honor a taxpayer’s truthful self-certification that they qualify for a waiver under these circumstances. Moreover, even if a taxpayer does not self-certify, the IRS now has the authority to grant a waiver during a subsequent examination.

Other requirements, along with a copy of a sample self-certification letter, can be found in the revenue procedure.

The IRS encourages eligible taxpayers wishing to transfer retirement plan or IRA distributions to another retirement plan or IRA to consider requesting that the administrator or trustee make a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer, rather than doing a rollover. Doing so can avoid some of the delays and restrictions that often arise during the rollover process. For more information about rollovers and transfers, check out the Can You Move Retirement Plan Assets? section in Publication 590-A or the Rollovers of Retirement Plan and IRA Distributions  page on IRS.gov.


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Khizr Khan Says Hillary Is Allah's Candidate

Khizr Khan, the sharia law promoting Hillary supporter who spoke at DNC convention, went on Pakistan TV to declare that Allah wants Hillary to win the election.   Get that?  Hillary Clinton is Allah's choice.

So if you are inclined to shout Allahu Ahkbar from time to time then Hillary is your candidate.  If on the other hand you think a temporary halt to refugees from Syria and other terrorist countries is a common sense perfectly reasonable thing to do, then VOTE FOR TRUMP THE NOT ALLAH'S CHOICE.

The choice for America is clear.  if you want the USA to experience a 1000 fold increase in rapes and sexual assaults just like what is happening in Germany and Sweeden, if you want the USA to experience at least one terrorist attack per week like what is happening in France, and if you want Iran to give a nuclear bomb to ISIS so they can detonate it in one of our major cities, then vote for Hillary.  She's Allah's choice.

UPDATE:  Yesterday, 8/8/16, Hillary Clinton was speaking to an audience in Kissimmee, Florida, a city located near Orlando, Florida where the Pulse Nightclub Islamist Terror Attack took place killing 49 people.  Sitting prominently behind Hillary was the father of the terrorist who killed these 49 people, Siddique Mateen.

As Khizr Khan stated, Hillary is Allah's candidate.