In my previous article, I shared 4 tax tips that can save you money in the long run by either helping you pay less taxes or not paying more on your tax bill. Here are the tips I shared:

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With every new year comes new goals and resolve. One of your new year’s goals must be to save money on your taxes. Here are some things you can do that can either cut your tax bill or help you save more money this year.

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In the continuous fight against tax fraud, the IRS plans to implement new measures designed to reduce identity theft and prevent tax refunds being stolen. However, the National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olson cautions that several planned measures might be counter-productive in that they may also penalize genuine taxpayers seeking tax refunds along with tax cheats.

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Nancy Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate which is the IRS watchdog service charged the IRS of reneging on its promise to cap penalties on taxpayers for offshore disclosures of their income. Accusing the IRS of “bait and switch”, Olsen said the IRS in its most recent Offshore Voluntary Disclosure program has seen scores of taxpayers participating in the program and paying more than what they were supposed to pay in taxes and fines. Such taxpayers are typically those who have inherited accounts or work overseas.
Olson warned that dissatisfaction in how the IRS is conducting the voluntary disclosure program might seriously undermine the trust in the IRS in future compliance programs. However, the IRS through its spokesman Dean Patterson strongly refuted Olson’s comments saying, “If at any time during the certification process, a taxpayer disagreed with the results provided for under the program the taxpayer could opt out of the program and make their case for lower penalties. This option is still available today.”

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Get ready for another offshore voluntary program. After two successful Voluntary Disclosure Programs in which about $4.4 billion in hidden taxes was collected from about 33,000 taxpayers, the IRS is set to organize another one soon. In 2009, the first Voluntary Disclosure program, about $3.3 billion in taxes and fines was collected whereas the second program in 2011 collected another $1 billion.

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