Allan, Author at Pearlman Law

3 03, 2009

Filing Your Tax Return Early Won’t Do You Any Good

By Allan|2020-02-12T14:20:21-05:00March 3rd, 2009|Audits, Installment Agreement, Limits on IRS Power, Offer in Compromise, Statute of Limitations|0 Comments

Here we are in the thick of tax season and lots of people are getting their shoeboxes full of reciepts together, organizing their credit card statements and cell phone bills, so that they prepare their tax returns or go to their accountant to do it for them.

Some of us — the enviably well organized — may already be done. Maybe they’ve even prepared their returns already. So now, to file now and get it done? Or to wait until April 15th? Certainly you don’t want to be late (or if you have to be late, you want to file for an extension of time to file), but now the question is: on time or early?

What? No Gold Star? Three Ways Filing Early Might Help

Surprisingly, except three narrow situations, in most circumstances, filing early does you no good. You don’t get extra points or anything.

What you might get, if you are owed a refund, is your refund sooner than if you filed later. That’s one of the three situations: get your refund sooner.

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26 02, 2009

Tooting Own Horn Dept: Ezinearticles.com names new expert and featured author

By Allan|2020-02-12T14:20:21-05:00February 26th, 2009|Uncategorized|1 Comment

A couple weeks ago, in early February, I signed up with article repository website, ezinearticles.com. I submitted a modified version of an article seen first here (yes, folks, you saw it here first), the article, “IRS to Bail Out Taxpayers?” A few days after that, I submitted two more articles, both about federal tax liens.

A week and a half later, yesterday, ezinearticles.com emailed me to say that my status as “basic” contributor had been upgraded to “expert.”

Ezinearticles.com’s published rules say that authors must submit ten articles before being eligible to be elevated to expert status. But me they did it upon approval of my second article.

It seems that their rules are flexible, and they liked what they saw.

They also promise to spread my articles around, syndicating them and putting them on their main homepage. Nice news.

And they gave me access to a page with html badges to publicize that I am an “expert author” and a “featured author.” Here is what a couple of these banners look like:

I’d like to put one of these banners into the sidebar of this blog, but after a few tries I’m stumped. How to do it?

This is a self-hosted wordpress blog and all sorts of things about making it are easy. This is one thing which is not. If anyone knows how to get the code for one of these banners into the a sidebar, I’d be grateful for the help.

Please let me know.

21 02, 2009

When Does the Statute of Limitations Run Out for IRS Tax Audits?

By Allan|2020-02-12T14:20:21-05:00February 21st, 2009|Audits, Bankruptcy, Statute of Limitations, Tax, Tax Crimes, Tax Policy|0 Comments

A visitor to my website found it by asking this question in a search on Yahoo: “When does the statute of limitations run out for audits?”

The shortest answer is three years.

So the IRS Has Three Years – Three Years Starting When?

But that’s not quite enough information all by itself. The first, next question is: three years from what? What event makes the clock start ticking and counting down?

The shortest answer is that the clock starts counting down, when you, the taxpayer, file your tax return. But that’s not quite the whole story either:

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21 02, 2009

“If You Take a Walk I’ll Tax Your Feet” — George Harrison and Eric Clapton Live

By Allan|2020-02-12T14:20:21-05:00February 21st, 2009|Taxes Inspiring Art|0 Comments

Combine a total command of the obvious (the Beatles hit, Taxman, and a blog about taxes) with a rousing live version of the Beatles’ hit, Taxman. George Harrison and Eric Clapton team up.

20 02, 2009

A visitor asks: When does the statute of limitations run out on audits?

By Allan|2020-02-12T14:20:21-05:00February 20th, 2009|IRS Collection, IRS Enforcement, IRS Power, Limits on IRS Power, Statute of Limitations|2 Comments

The short answer is “3 years.” But, three years from what? I will shortly post a fuller discussion about how much time the IRS has to decide whether or not to audit someone and then do something about it.

12 02, 2009

Can the IRS file a lien without going to court?

By Allan|2020-02-12T14:20:21-05:00February 12th, 2009|Federal Tax Lien, IRS Collection, IRS Enforcement, IRS Power, Lien, Tax Problem Solving|0 Comments

A taxpayer searching around the internet asked this question. It is a very good question because it asks about the reach — and the limits — of the IRS’s power to reach into our lives whether we like it or not.

Liens 101: What is a Lien, Anyway?

For those unfamiliar with the term, a “lien” is essentially a claim — someone claims you owe them money.

In certain situations, the person (or business, or government agency) making the claim can file a document announcing this claim with the County Clerk or other public records authority.

By filing a lien with the County Clerk, the claimant announces to the world (and especially to credit reporting agencies) that the claimant says you owe it money.

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9 02, 2009

Church Sound Man To Face Taxman’s Music

By Allan|2020-02-12T14:20:22-05:00February 9th, 2009|Estimated Tax, IRS Collection, IRS Enforcement, IRS News, Tax, Tax Crimes|0 Comments

Nashville, TN — A Tennessee man who operates a business installing complex sound systems in church auditoriums nationwide, pled guilty to two counts of failure to pay federal income tax. As part of his plea, he admitted that he owes the federal government more than $300,000.

After admitting guilt in August, 2008, the sentencing hearing took place in January 2009. The court sentenced Charles Grecco, 44, of Franklin, Tenn, to serve 6 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and to pay restitution of $300,141.82 to the Internal Revenue Service.

According to the government, Grecco failed to pay more than $67,000 in federal income taxes for years 2001 and 2002 which was only two of the six tax years involved.

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5 02, 2009

Sin Tax on the Rise: Cigarettes to Shoulder S-CHIP

By Allan|2020-02-12T14:20:22-05:00February 5th, 2009|Sin Tax, Tax, Tax Policy|0 Comments

Yesterday, President Obama signed into law legislation reauthorizing and expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program or S-CHIP, which was set to expire in March 2009.

Former President George W. Bush had previously vetoed two similar bills.

The measure increases federal tax on cigarettes by almost 62 cents a pack, to $1.01 a pack. This increase is expected to raise the $32.8 billion needed to pay for S-CHIP over the next four years.

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1 02, 2009

IRS to Bail Out Taxpayers?

By Allan|2020-02-12T14:20:22-05:00February 1st, 2009|Tax, Tax Policy, Tax Problem Solving|0 Comments

When hearing the news that former masters-of-the-universe bankers are getting billions in federal aid – bailouts from their failures – who among us has not wished to receive our own personal bailout?

After all, almost none of us have been as irresponsible, reckless, even profligate as the banks and bankers whose wastrel ways have brought down the economy. What about the rest of us who try to make a living, pay our bills, make ends meet? Times are tough for all of us now.

While it is unlikely that any of us will be invited to testify before Congress to explain why the government should write a huge check to help out on our personal finances or the finances of our small businesses (personally, if Congress did invite me, I’d skip the private jet the first time, and fly commercial or take a train or drive) , the IRS – of all government agencies – is promising relief for taxpayers and particularly taxpayers who have fallen behind in paying taxes.

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31 01, 2009

Hello world!

By Allan|2020-02-12T14:20:22-05:00January 31st, 2009|Uncategorized|2 Comments

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging! The previous three sentences is the canned welcome, courtesy of WordPress. Now to see if there’s room in the world for a few thoughts about taxes, law, and at risk of sounding grandiose, life….

About Allan

What? No Gold Star? Three Ways Filing Early Might Help

So the IRS Has Three Years – Three Years Starting When?

Liens 101: What is a Lien, Anyway?