Snippets
Silly Mistake Leads to Capture
A man from Overland Park was sentenced on Monday to a year and a day in prison for sending some white powder to the IRS office claiming it was anthrax. John P. Barker, 47 was found out by investigators who managed to link him to the letter that was sent through an automated postal center where he paid for the postage using his credit card (didn't he know all electronic transactions can be traced?). When charged in June, he pleaded guilty to mailing the powder to the IRS in Texas in an envelope with the words, 'YOU HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO ANTRAX, DIE'. The word 'Anthrax' was wrongly spelled.
Refunds, Anybody?
The IRS may owe you money for a change. This money comes in the form of unclaimed and undeliverable refunds. So what constitutes unclaimed or undeliverable refunds?
An unclaimed refund is the money that the IRS collects in error. Suppose you earn too little to be taxed; part of your salary might still be inadvertently withheld to pay for taxes. You are entitled to claim for this amount paid in error. But you must do so within three years. This is an example of an unclaimed refund.
An undeliverable refund is the amount of money the IRS tries to send to the taxpayer but was sent back in the mail because the recipient could not be reached at the stated address. Every year, the IRS receives thousands of such returned mail.
To check whether you have any money due you in the form of unclaimed or undeliverable refunds, contact the IRS at 1-800-TAX FORM.
Deadline Extended
Since the '70s, individuals and corporations in America with more than $10,000 in offshore accounts have had to declare their interests in these foreign banks. This information is reported using Treasury Form TD F 90-22.1, Report on Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, commonly called FBAR. The deadline to file these declarations this year is September 23. But the IRS has recently extended the deadline to June 30, 2010 and it applies to FBARs for 2008 and earlier.
This ruling applies to two parties; firstly, individuals or groups who have a signature authority over the foreign financial accounts but no financial interest in them and secondly, individuals or groups who hold comingled accounts such as offshore hedge funds, private equity funds and mutual funds.
In a related development, through changes in the FBAR forms itself the obligation to submit the FBAR was extended to include pension plans, plan investment committee members and plan trustees. This has prompted the Groom Law Group to ask the IRS for further clarification. According to the IRS, the extension applied to the offshore accounts held by pension plans but not by plans holding securities owned through a foreign custody account. Thus clarification is needed to determine which foreign financial account might still be subject to the original September 23 deadline.
Darrin T. Mish is a veteran, nationally recognized tax attorney who has focused on providing IRS help to taxpayers for over a decade. He regularly travels the country training other attorneys, CPAs and enrolled agents on how to handle their toughest cases with the IRS. He is highly ranked among the top attorneys in the country, with an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and a perfect 10 on Avvo.com. Martindale-Hubbell has also honored him with a listing in their Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He is a member of the American Society of IRS Problem Solvers and the Tax Freedom Institute. With clients on every continent but Antarctica, he has what it takes to solve your IRS problems no matter where you live in the world. If you would like more information about his practice and how he can help you, please call his office at (813) 229-7100 or toll free at 1-888-GET-MISH.
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