Free is always welcome. That’s especially true at tax time, when taxpayers look for no-cost help to prepare and file their returns. Here are some free tax filing options.

Most taxpayers, at both the federal and state levels, get tax refunds every year. But this filing season, five states have been particularly slow in sending residents’ their refunds.

March is the last full month of the annual high tax season. Here are tax tips to help your get your return done by April 15 Tax Day.

U.S. financial officials continue to target Mexican timeshare fraud. Treasury’s latest move was against a development allegedly connected to El Mencho’s cartel, just days before the drug kingpin was killed.

The IRS continues, and expands, its tax fraud fighting efforts with a new, consolidated page where people can report scams, fraud, and other illegal tax activities.

Saving now can make for a better retirement later. The Trump administration is proposing a new retirement vehicle. But the existing Saver’s Credit could help you this tax filing season.

The almost two dozen above-the-line tax deductions get some company this filing season. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act added four below-the-line deductions. And in all cases, the tax breaks are available to eligible taxpayers regardless of whether they itemize or claim the standard deduction.

As Super Bowl LX’s kickoff nears, fans of the game and related event activities like Bad Bunny’s halftime performance, are placing their prop bets. If any of these wagers pay off, you’ll owe tax on the gambling income.

Bettors are expected to place a record $1.76 billion in legal wagers on Sunday’s NFL championship game. Any of those Super Bowl bets that pay off are taxable income.

February is for tax lovers. OK, from the tax perspective, it’s really more for lovers of “let’s just be done with tax filing” this month. And even though it’s the shortest month, there’s a lot you can do to cut your tax bill.

Meg White via Giphy When the hubby and I lived in the Washington, D.C. area, we became big fans of the Washington Capitals. We eventually bought season tickets, and the National Hockey League’s team’s location back then in suburban Maryland, where we had moved, made getting to and from the games easy. One of my favorite Capitals’ ad campaigns asked if we sometimes felt like screaming. They encouraged potential new (or ticket upgrading) fans to buy game packages and come yell their hearts out at the arena. I don’t know about you, but way back then, and even more so…

Take a close look at your 2025 tax return. New tax laws created by the One Big Beautiful Bill could provide you with added savings this filing season. Here are 8 to check out.

These snow-obscured signs aren’t much help, but the ol’ blog, basking unseasonably warm January temperatures here in Central Texas, has some tax guideposts to help to help welcome the new 2026 tax year. (Photo by Christina & Peter)

Happy New 2026, a year that brings us more than one, and in some cases not so beautiful, retroactive changes to our 2025 taxes. Plus, some of the those tax breaks that politicians hope will popular are temporary. So, buckle up. It’s time again for taxes!

A new year also brings tax law changes in 43 states. Individual taxpayers in 9 of them will see lower tax rates. States also have tweaked their business, sales, excise, and property tax laws for 2026.

If you’re planning on parking a new car with a big red bow in your driveway this Christmas, the latest tax reform bill has an added present for you. You might be able to deduct up to $10,000 in loan interest.

Changes are coming in 2026 to charitable tax deductions that could affect your 2025 donation decisions. Check them out to find ways to make charitable gifts pay off now and next year.

If you don’t file or pay your taxes on time, you could end up owing the IRS more due to penalties. Some tax penalties are set; others changes every year due to inflation. Here’s a look at the 2026 amounts.

The standoff in Washington, D.C., is about to be felt by more of us across the nation. Will furloughed workers’ lost pay and inconveniences to the rest of us be enough to force the shutdown’s end?

The IRS’ 34,000 furloughed employees are facing some financial challenges. Their situation also offers us nonfederal workers tips, including tax-related ones, on preparing for similar fiscal crises.

The supplemental money that had allowed Uncle Sam’s tax agency to operate as usual runs out today. Tomorrow, it’s full government shutdown mode. Here’s what that means for us taxpayers.

Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent today lessened his acting-IRS Commissioner load by naming Frank Bisignano, Social Security’s commissioner, to the newly created IRS CEO post. Bisignano will do both agency jobs. The Internal Revenue Service is about to go into full government shutdown mode (unless there’s an unlikely miracle on Capitol Hill), but no worries. It has a new top executive. Yeah, in case you missed the sarcasm font, I’m feeling a bit snarky. But to today’s IRS personnel news. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on his department’s website that Frank Bisignano is the IRS’ first-ever Chief Executive Officer. The holder…

Uncle Sam’s offices are closed because of a political fight over tax help for Affordable Care Act enrollees. Here’s a look at the tax break, who’s affected, and how the tax break battle might end.

Remaining Inflation Reduction Act funds will let the agency keep working, but only for a few days. Get ready now in case the closure lasts longer. If only Congress closed, we wouldn’t be so worried. It’s looking more likely that the federal government will shut down, at least for a while. The Internal Revenue Service, however, says that if the closure is short, it can make do. How short? Five days. The IRS has enough remaining Inflation Reduction Act funds to keep all stall on the job for five business days, according to the Treasury Department. So, the time frame of…

IRS graphic The annual tax filing season is prime time for scammers. But of late, tax crooks are working year-round. Technology makes the expansion of their nefarious jobs easier. The Internal Revenue Service recently issued an alert about a growing number of fraudulent tax schemes circulating on social media. The popular ones right now, according to the IRS, promote the misuse of tax credits such as the Fuel Tax Credit and the Sick and Family Leave Credit. These scams have led thousands of taxpayers to file inaccurate or frivolous returns, often paying the bad tipsters posing as tax experts for…

The You Earned It, You Keep It Act is the latest legislative attempt to provide Social Security recipients with tax relief. Bills in both the House and Senate would permanently abolish federal taxes on Social Security benefits.

Photo by Amit Lahav on Unsplash Football season is in full swing in the United States. College and professional games fill the television screens of fanatic American fans. They also are of interest to gamblers. U.S. bettors drop more money on National Football League (NFL) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football games every year than on any other sport. The American Gaming Association (AGA) says that U.S. bettors are expected to legally wager $30 billion on the 2025 NFL season alone. And while the NCAA’s month-long March Madness men’s college basketball tournament produces a sizeable and sustained amount of…

Server delivering food to diners. (Getty Images for Unsplash+) Over the holiday weekend, Axios was the first to reveal the jobs that the Treasury Department has decided qualify for the new One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act tax deduction on tip income. As a pre-internet, old-school, ink-stained fingers journalist, I totally got, and was a bit jealous, of the publication’s headline announcing the tax scoop. But rather than simply refer readers of the ol’ blog to that story, I decided I’d wait for the official U.S. Treasury issuance of its no tax on tips guidance, just in case there was…

Three Florida men associated with a former tax preparation firm that had offices throughout the Sunshine State are headed to federal prison. The trio, along with other co-conspirators, fraudulently inflated client tax refunds by fabricating deductions on their returns, according to federal investigative documents. The result was false federal filings that cost the U.S. Treasury more than $15 million. Federal prosecutors said that that the three men did more than just file false tax returns. They also held periodic training sessions at which they taught other employees how to do the same, according to the Department of Justice. Jonathan Carrillo…

Getty Images for Unsplash+   It’s no secret that Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and other Trump administration efforts to scale back the size of the Internal Revenue Service is likely to make tax cheating easier. Reports on tax personnel terminated earlier this year show that almost a third of lost staff were revenue agents, the IRS employees who conduct audits. But some Republican members of the House tax-writing committee say artificial intelligence (AI) can help fill this tax examination gap. Ways and Means Vice Chair Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida, and W&M Oversight Subcommittee Chair Rep. David Schweikert of…

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, is a major tourist destination. Owners of timeshares in the coastal resort also are the target of scams that benefit a cartel. Today I learned that timeshares are still a thing. I also learned that these vacation properties apparently are one way terrorists raise money to pay for their crimes. My real estate/international crime lesson came from today’s Treasury Department announcement that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned four Mexican individuals and 13 Mexican companies linked to timeshare fraud led by the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). These individuals and companies are based…

Former Missouri Rep. Billy Long, who finally took over as Internal Revenue Service commissioner in June, is no longer leading the federal tax agency.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s tax cuts will mean less money for the trust fund that pays federal retirement benefits. And that is likely to mean benefit payments to Social Security recipients will be reduced as soon as the end of 2032.

Photo by cottonbro studio It’s no secret that the Internal Revenue Service is going to have a hard time doing its job given all the personnel and budget cuts. So, it’s no surprise that the tax agency is a big supporter of whistleblowers. Help from the public in discovering tax misconduct will be a way to bridge the tax agency’s operational gaps. Financial rewards for tax information: Currently, the IRS Whistleblower Office pays monetary awards to eligible individuals whose information is used by the agency. The award percentage depends on several factors, but generally falls between 15 percent and 30…

Photo by Jess Bailey Designs Tax law changes, even when they benefit you, can be frustrating. Not only do we have to get up to speed on what’s new, we have to know when they take effect. Generally, making tax laws retroactive is, at best, sloppy tax policy. When it’s done late in a tax year, it can scramble tax moves that the new laws might necessitate. But our tax planning problems sometimes aren’t top of mind for Congress. They too often go ahead and make a tax law effective back to the start of a tax year, even at…

Donald J. Trump has been musing lately about making one of the best tax breaks for homeowners even better.

With the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act dramatically reducing the amount of federal dollars to many services, nonprofits that will pick up more of the slack are seeking support.

Sharing interests usually allows couples to spend more time together. But a septuagenarian pair that shared a criminal insurance and tax scheme will be spending their golden years apart, in separate federal prisons. If you’re like me, when you hear about fraud and older people, you wonder how much money the senior citizens lost to crooks. A septuagenarian Maryland couple turned that cliché on its head. James William Wilson, Jr., 78, and his wife, Maureen Ann Wilson, 77, this week were sentenced to federal prison for their roles in connection with an insurance fraud scheme. And yes, charges of filing…

Any time Congress messes around with the tax code, there’s a price to be paid. It could be literal dollars if the Internal Revenue Code changes don’t favor your tax situation. But even when the tax revisions benefit you, you need to know exactly how they apply, and then properly file to claim them. Confusion and frustration in trying to figure out what the tax changes mean to you exact their own fee. We’re all dealing to some degree with that psychic tax toll now that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is law. Getting tax change translation help: You’ve…

More than 22 million U.S. workers lost their jobs during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Crooks took advantage of their misfortune to file fraudulent unemployment insurance claims. COVID-19 has to be one of the most persistent illnesses ever, from both medical and financial perspectives. While federal health agencies debate COVID vaccine recommendations and warnings, Uncle Sam’s law enforcement officers, including those with the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation unit, continue their efforts to prosecute those who abused coronavirus relief programs. On June 24, officials notched another win when David Godin was sentenced by a federal judge in Baltimore…

U.S. Capitol West Front/Wikimedia The National Taxpayer Advocate’s midyear report to Congress that was released on June 25 included, among other things, recommendations that the Internal Revenue Service continue its efforts to expand digital tax transactions and make them easier for taxpayers to use. Such technological tax advances are also are of keen interest to the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC). The federal advisory committee was established by Congress as part of 1998’s IRS Restructuring and Reform Act. And on the same day this week that the Taxpayer Advocate’s report was issued, ETAAC released its annual report to Congress.…

Justice Department façade photo by JSquish/Wikimedia Commons It’s not a particularly good time to be a federal employee looking to ensure tax compliance. Already this year, the Internal Revenue Service has lost almost a third of its tax auditors thanks to Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, cuts. Now the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) special tax crimes unit is being eliminated. The DoJ personnel moves, however, aren’t as drastic as the IRS staff reductions. The jobs won’t be lost, just reallocated to other areas in the Justice Department. Tax division absorbed into other units: The end of the DoJ’s Tax…

The official holidays sometimes affect taxes, since the Internal Revenue Service, like all federal offices, closes on these days.  Photo by Thomas Wilson Celebrations are planned, and some already underway, across the United States to commemorate Juneteenth. This newest U.S. federal holiday marks June 19, 1865, the day when the last enslaved people in the United States finally got official notification in Galveston, Texas, that they were free, two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Former President Joe Biden joined other dignitaries in Galveston to observe the day. Biden’s participation is not surprising, since…

Facebook Real estate can be a good way to increase your personal wealth. However, some property investments aren’t as good as advertised. That was the very costly lesson learned by individuals persuaded by a popular social media financial influencer to let him use their money in what they were told was a property flipping venture that would net them returns of 30 percent or more. Instead, federal investigators and prosecutors alleged it was all a real estate Ponzi scheme concocted by Tyler Bossetti. As the scheme unraveled, investors ended up defrauded out of more than $11 million. Today, it formally…

Elon Musk and Donald Trump in happier days. (Photo by Office of Speaker Mike Johnson – X.com, Public Domain) It’s been, let’s say interesting, watching the world’s highest-profile bromance flame out so spectacularly. But while Donald J. Trump and Elon Musk are kaput personally — for now; with Trump, you can’t ever say never — Musk’s controversial unofficial government agency created to ferret out waste, fraud, and abuse in federal agencies will continue. The persistence of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is the subject of this weekend’s Saturday Shout Outs. So as not to upset DOGE types by wasting time,…

Image by Stefan Coders from Pixabay Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling that opened states’ doors to legalized sports betting, gambling has become an accepted part of major league sports. All the United States’ professional athletic leagues have embraced partnerships with sports betting companies and casinos. This year, Major League Baseball (MLB) cleared the way for deceased players who had been permanently banned, including some who gambled on their sport’s games, to potentially get into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Even the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the governing body of student athletes and sporting events, reportedly is considering…

Photo by RDNE Stock project Is the money account for growth and advancement, or MAGA, account for children, now renamed Trump Savings, necessary? I was going to use that as this post’s headline, but it’s a tad long. Plus, an editor once told me that every question headline can be answered “no.” I disagree, but this time, he’s probably right. James, a reader of the ol’ blog, also apparently agrees. In a comment on my post last week that looked at some of the tax changes in the GOP’s House-passed One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), he noted: Basically shifting the…

This long holiday weekend offers us Americans an opportunity to officially, and in as unified a way as we can nowadays, remember and honor those who fought and died for the freedoms we hold sacred. That somber acknowledgment also is why I’m a bit ticked off today. Last week, a man who was part of the private sectors that’s supposed to support our troops pleaded guilty to tax crimes. And he used the military defense firm to which he formerly belonged to commit the felonies. Douglas Edelman founded and owned half of Mina Corp. and Red Star Enterprises (Mina/Red Star),…

Pope Leo XIV during an audience with the media on May 12. (Photo by Edgar Beltrán, The Pillar/Wikipedia Commons) On May 8, history was made by the Catholic church. Chicago native Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected to succeed the late Pope Francis. Pope Leo XIV, the name Prevost chose as the new Bishop of Rome and leader of Catholics worldwide, is the first American to be pope. There’s been much pride in and curiosity about the man who now is the supreme pontiff. But I must admit that one of my favorite comments about the election of Pope Leo XIV was…

Much attention on federal agencies this year has been on ways to prevent fraud and save Uncle Sam money, with mixed results. But such efforts have always have been a focus of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). This week, IRS-CI and the Department of Justice (DoJ) announced the judicial payoff from one case that cost the U.S. Treasury more than $3 million. Fake claims on false tax returns: Diandre Mentor of Miami pleaded guilty before a Florida magistrate to conspiring to defraud the United States by filing false tax returns for clients. According to court documents and statements…

Every taxpayer and tax circumstance is unique. However, there are some things that trigger trained Internal Revenue Service examiners.

  When we file our tax returns, we’re assured that the information is private. Access to our filing data is limited, and the Internal Revenue Service employees who do get to see our personal information are prevented by law from sharing it. It is a felony for IRS personnel to gain unauthorized access to taxpayer data. That same legal restrictions apply to IRS contractors. Just ask Charles Littlejohn, a former IRS consultant who last year was sentenced to five years in prison for stealing and sharing Donald Trump’s (and others’) tax data. The billionaire Elon Musk was one of those…

Agents with Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the tax agency's law enforcement arm, regularly work with other officers to bring financial and tax criminals to justice. IRS-CI agents are responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft, and more. While we wait to see how things shake out at the Internal Revenue Service under the second Donald J. Trump term, I thought it worth taking a look back at some recent tax agency activity. Notably, the IRS’ law enforcement arm, the IRS Criminal Investigation unit, has over the years…

A federal court this week granted the Internal Revenue Service a John Doe summons to get information on individuals who answered client questions via a digital platform. (Photo by Olha Ruskykh) Some individuals who worked for an online site providing answers as experts in various fields soon could be hearing from the Internal Revenue Service. On Monday, Dec. 23, a federal court in California authorized the IRS to serve a John Doe summons on JustAnswer LLC. The federal tax agency is seeking information about U.S. taxpayers who were paid for answering questions during the years 2017-2020 on the Covina, California-based…

Photo by Pixabay We’re heading into the home stretch, and playoff push, of the National Football League (NFL) season. It’s the most popular sport in the United States. Since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 okayed state-authorized sports betting, the NFL has gained new fans who are more interested in how the games can make them a few, or more, bucks. Currently, 38 states, along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have legalized some form of sports betting, though not all have implemented it. Now the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) wants to help states…

Photo by cottonbro studio Last week, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation unit released its fiscal year 2024 annual report that touted the success the agency’s law enforcement branch had in taking down tax criminals. Yes, Al Capone’s name was mentioned. This week it’s the overall IRS’ turn to brag. In its quarterly update on Dec. 12 to its Strategic Operating Plan, the IRS detailed accomplishments that have, among other things, allowed the IRS to recovered $4.7 billion in taxpayer dollars. More than $1.3 billion of that total comes from wealthy, high-income individuals who have not filed taxes or paid…

The holiday most associated with Al Capone is Valentine’s Day, but the Internal Revenue Service’s top law enforcement officer has invoked the legendary gangster in this most festive of seasons. “FY24 was one for the history books. For years, IRS-CI has been known as the agency that took down Al Capone, but this year, our cases hold their own place in U.S. history,” said IRS-CI Chief Guy Ficco in announcing the release of IRS Criminal Investigation’s (IRS CI’s) latest fiscal year (FY) report on Thursday, Dec. 5. “As with Al Capone, financial trails eventually lead to criminals’ downfall,” said Ficco.…

You don't get the World's Best Boss title if you don't understand, and comply with, employment tax requirements. (Photo: Steve Carell as Michael Scott in The Office; NBC Universal Television Studios)   Every worker is aware of payroll taxes. These amounts are taken out of paychecks and then sent by your boss to the various appropriate state and federal tax agencies. At the federal level, the primary payroll reductions cover income taxes, as well as Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) amounts that are paid by both employees and employers to fund Social Security and Medicare. While it’s our earnings that…

iStock Texas’ unofficial motto has always been go big or go home. Or, in the case of one former tax professional, go out of business. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Nov. 1 entered permanent injunctions against Charles Dombek and The Optimal Financial Group LLC barring both from promoting any tax plan that involves creating or using sham management companies, deducting personal non-deductible expenses as business expenses, or assisting in the creation of “captive” insurance companies. The injunctions also prohibit Dombek from preparing any federal tax returns for anyone other than himself and Optimal from preparing…

The Internal Revenue Service does more that issue red cards for tax penalties. Filing mistakes, unintentional or otherwise, could mean costly penalties, some of which increase due to inflation. (Photo by BOOM 💥) The United States' tax system depends on voluntary compliance by taxpayers. But Uncle Sam is no fool. He and his tax collectors are believers of the adage "trust, but verify." The Internal Revenue Service also follows up on that verification with penalties when it finds taxpayers — and the professionals we pay to take care of our taxes — aren't fulfilling our tax responsibilities on our own.…

Water & Land Solutions A conservation easement is a way for landowners to retain ownership and use of their property, while also ensuring that the property’s resources are protected for future generations. In many cases, the easements are donated to nonprofit organizations, providing a nice tax break. Conservation easements also are sometimes used to evade taxes. In fact, bogus arrangements are regularly included in the Internal Revenue Service’s annual Dirty Dozen list of tax scams. In addition to warning taxpayers about abusive conservation easements, the IRS also is intent on stopping, and bringing to justice, those who promote these tax…

The tax community’s focus this year initially was on what the U.S. Supreme Court would decide in Moore v. United States. That case dealt with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s Mandatory Repatriation Tax on corporations’ foreign earnings. There was concern that if the justices invalidated the tax, which attributes the realized and undistributed income of an American-controlled foreign corporation to the entity’s American shareholders, the entire U.S. tax code could unravel. Those fears were alleviated on June 20 when the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) upheld the repatriation tax. But a new tax worry popped up in…

Photo by cottonbro studio The Internal Revenue Service's whistleblower program helped the agency collect $338 million in fiscal year 2023. The IRS Whistleblower Office also noted in its 2023 report, issued on June 24, that it paid whistleblowers 121 awards, totaling $88.8 million, for the revenue-increasing information. That awards total was more than double the $37.8 million the office paid in fiscal 2022. But the total number of whistleblower awards for FY23 dropped, going from 132 in 2022 to 121 the following fiscal year. And to keep the Whistleblower Office on pace to help with tax compliance, the latest report…

Update, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024: Following the devastation of Hurricane Milton across central Florida on Oct. 9, the Internal Revenue Service today granted tax relief to those affected taxpayers, giving them until May 1, 2025, to meet a variety of tax filing and payment obligations. In addition, it granted this relief and new May due date to all Florida taxpayers. You can find details in my post on the IRS move. Update, Thursday, June 27, 2024: The Internal Revenue Service today granted tax relief to Mississippi taxpayers in major disaster areas from early-April severe weather in that state. You can…

Paul Baxendale-Walker, a former tax advisor and attorney, or solicitor as the profession is known in the United Kingdom, has had his share of run-ins with British officials. Most recently, Baxendale-Walker was facing a £14 million penalty ($17.7 million U.S.) sought by His Majesty's Revenue & Customs, or HMRC, the British version of our Internal Revenue Service. HMRC filings against the Baxendale-Walker estimate his schemes have cost the exchequer some £1 billion ($1.27 billion U.S.) in lost taxes. Now, however, Baxendale-Walker is off the hook for the fine. But what's probably more frustrating for U.K. tax officials that losing out…

Unsplash+ in collaboration with Leire Cavia Juneteenth commemorates a key stage in the end of slavery, June, 19, 1865. That’s the day when official word arrived in Galveston, Texas, that President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation 2½ years earlier. But even as we celebrate the newest U.S. federal holiday, we are aware that work remains to ensure fairness throughout the country. The latest challenge involves Fearless Funds, an Atlanta-based venture capital (VC) firm's nonprofit grant program. Grant issuance was halted this month by a federal appeals court panel ruling. Grants program, lawsuit background: Fearless Funds was sued last August…

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash Remember the Paradise Papers? They are part of the alliterative financial revelations by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Per the ICIJ’s blurb, the Paradise Papers reveal in 2017 exposed the “secrets of the global elite” hidden in the files of “prestigious offshore law firms, a specialized trust company and 19 company registries in secrecy jurisdictions.” That ICIJ financial scoop was preceded in 2013 by the Panama Papers, and followed in 2021 by the Pandora Papers. Now, best-selling Swedish author Håkan Nesser, whose name appeared in the Paradise Papers, has been sentenced to…

Alcatraz Island's federal penitentiary once housed the most infamous tax evader, Al Capone. This particular Big House is no longer used to house felons, but the U.S. legal system has plenty more facilities where it can send those convicted of tax crimes. (Photo by Chris6d – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0) Being a Big Law attorney has its benefits. Working for one of the most prestigious law firms in the United States, usually in one of the country’s major metropolises, means prestige and money. But one such attorney apparently didn’t properly report his income to the Internal Revenue Service. And…

Unsplash+ in collaboration with George Dagerotip President Joe Biden last week endorsed the Department of Justice's (DoJ) move to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug. Biden said in social media posts — X (aka Twitter) and YouTube — that the move would reverse “long-standing inequities” under the current criminalization of cannabis. "Look folks, no one should be in jail merely for using or possessing marijuana," the president said in his video statement. Not legalization, but lowering federal interest: The Justice Department move would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use, which currently is the law…

Those who enter the New York Criminal Courts building are greeted by Thomas Jefferson's words engraved on the façade. The third U.S. president cited "equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion" as one of the essential principles of American democracy. (Photo by Carl Mikoy, Flickr Creative Commons) In September 2019, Donald J. Trump changed his official residence from New York to Florida. The then-president gave no official reason for the paperwork move. However, one reason likely was the Sunshine State’s lack of a personal income tax. Though Trump refused to release his federal or state…

You don’t like the taxes being withheld from your paychecks, but at least you know your tax money is going to fund government services. Most of the time. In some cases, those responsible for getting income and other payroll taxes to Uncle Sam don’t comply with their legal responsibility to collect and deliver the funds to the Internal Revenue Service. Nearly $2.7M unremitted tax: It’s that delivery portion that’s usually the bigger issue. And that’s what a Maryland woman pleaded guilty to today. The woman, whose name is in the official Department of Justice complaint filed back in January, but…

With the expansion of the white-collar crime of money laundering into financial adviser sectors, federal officials are looking to extend regulations to those areas. (Photo via Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images) The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, typically referred to as FinCEN, has in recent months amped up efforts to stop money laundering. FinCEN’s latest proposals are designed to close loopholes that officials say foreign and domestic criminals use to launder money through U.S. financial sectors. This week, the changes got support from Capitol Hill and beyond. Seven U.S. Senators sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen…

Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images The smartest tax move often if hiring a good tax professional. Unfortunately, the tax community is not immune to bad actors. Every year, the Internal Revenue Service warns taxpayers to thoroughly vet the person they want to hire to handle their taxes. Every year, the IRS also issues warning about unscrupulous tax preparers who take advantage of trusting taxpayers and take their money. These alerts also are routinely part of the IRS annual Dirty Dozen scam list; dishonest tax pros is #6 on the 2023 list. (Preview: the 2024 list is on its way…

Ill-gotten gains used to fund a lavish lifestyle. For 10 years, a Rhode Island man ran a Ponzi scheme that ultimately left conned investors empty handed, while he used the funds to pay for his own lavish lifestyle. At the same time, Thomas Huling, 58, of West Warwick, also was ripping off the U.S. Treasury. On March 19, Huling was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for those crimes. The jail term comes 18 months after he pleaded guilty, back in September 2022, to wire fraud and tax evasion. Under the plea deal, the government agreed to the dismissal…

The Internal Revenue Service’s law enforcement arm is getting a new chief next month. Guy Ficco, current Deputy Chief of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), will take the reins from current IRS CI Chief James Lee on April 1. Lee, who took over as the tax agency’s top law enforcement officer in October 2020, is retiring. As head of IRS CI, Ficco will oversee a worldwide staff of more than 3,200 employees, including 2,200 special agents who investigate crimes involving tax, money laundering, public corruption, human trafficking, drug trafficking, cybercrime, and terrorism-financing. Long-time IRS member: Ficco, pictured at left,…

The Internal Revenue Service has made it clear for years. It wants to know about your digital assets. Ignore the crypto question, now at the top of more tax forms, at your own tax peril. And if you go further and don't report taxable digital transactions, the Department of Justice (DoJ) will get involved. That's the case for a Texas man, who this week was indicted on charges of filing false tax returns and structuring cash deposits to avoid currency transaction reporting requirements. Bitcoin was a component in both charges. Notably, the federal prosecution involving digital transactions is historic, at…

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at the March on Washington, D.C., on Aug. 28, 1963. (Photo by Unseen Histories on Unsplash) With much of the United States in the grips of severe winter weather, many of today's celebrations of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life and legacy have been postponed. If that's the case where you live, you can spend your extra time on this legal holiday reconnecting with King's works. A good starting place is Britannia's timeline of King's life, travails, and accomplishments. You'll also want to read some of his works. There is, of…

Photo by Grant Durr on Unsplash   🌟 Billions of dollars in fraud. 🌟 Victims across the globe. 🌟🌟 Criminals who are all about personal gain. 🌟 No, that's not the opening voiceover in a trailer for a new Netflix true crime series, although I'd watch it if it were. It's from IRS Criminal Investigation Chief Jim Lee's comments on his unit's top 10 cases of 2023. Those three opening elements, said Lee, are the crux of CI's biggest busts last year. "When I say our team at CI is the best at following the money trail, I mean it," added…

Update, Thursday, June 20, 2024: The Internal Revenue Code is safe. The Supreme Court today ruled that the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's mandatory repatriation tax, or MRT, which attributes the realized and undistributed income of an American-controlled foreign corporation to the entity's American shareholders, and then taxes the American shareholders on their portions of that income, does not exceed Congress's constitutional authority. On Tuesday, Dec. 5, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) heard oral arguments in the tax case Moore v. United States. Charles and Kathleen Moore filed the lawsuit challenging the Mandatory Repatriation Tax provision…

Special agents with the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation have an impressive conviction rate on their case. (Photo by Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images) Fiscal 2023 was a good year for the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation division. The law enforcement unit initiated more than 2,676 criminal investigations, identified $37.1 billion from tax and financial crimes, and obtained an 88.4 percent conviction rate on prosecuted cases. Those figures were part of IRS CI’s Fiscal Year 23 Annual Report released this week. They were attained by following the money, which is a key technique of the only federal law enforcement…

Piles of illicit cash were a plot feature in the AMC show "Breaking Bad." Since meth-making kingpin Walter White couldn't bank it without raising suspicions, he kept his drug money under his floorboards and, finally, in a storage unit, where two underlings once used it to nap sans mattress. Anyone who watches crime programs (guilty!) knows one piece of tax law. Television, streaming, and movie crooks are always careful to avoid five-figure financial transactions. When these on-screen crooks deposit or withdraw more than $10,000 of their ill-gotten funds, the bank must report the large amounts to the Internal Revenue Service.…

Actor Bob Odenkirk in the season 4 finale of “Better Call Saul,” where his titular character, after getting his law license reinstated, legally becomes Saul Goodman. (Screen shot from that episode’s final scene) It’s all good, man, for AMC Networks and Sony Pictures in their legal fight with Liberty Tax In August 2022, Liberty Tax Service sued Sony Pictures, the producer of “Better Call Saul,” and AMC Networks, which broadcast the “Breaking Bad” prequel, for trade dress and trademark infringement. But apparently, attorneys for Sony and AMC were up to (OK, probably better than) Saul Goodman standards. They persuaded the…

The sentencing of the two Fort Myers businessmen this week comes as the Internal Revenue Service ramps up its compliance efforts on flow-through entities. Photo by Raze Solar on Unsplash Reliable contractors are worth a fortune in Florida. The Sunshine State has its share of overcast and worse days, as made disastrously clear by major Hurricanes Ian in 2022 and Idalia this fall. That's why it's so discouraging when home repair experts break bad. Like a pair of roofing contractors who cheated the Internal Revenue Service out of more than $1 million. And more companies like theirs, a pass-through entity,…

Hunter Biden hugging his father Joe and stepmother Jill after the elder Biden was sworn in as President of the United States on Jan. 20, 2021. (Photo by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff via Wikimedia Commons) One of the 10 guarantees in the Internal Revenue Service's Taxpayer Bill of Rights is the right to privacy. Hunter Biden says the tax agency failed to follow its rule, and has filed a federal lawsuit against the IRS alleging that it illegally disclosed information about his taxes.  The core of Biden's legal action is the public testimony of two IRS agents.…

The scheme involved false W-9 information, which meant the payor wasn't able to provide the owner of the artificial turf company, or the Internal Revenue Service, with the proper third-party report, allowing the man to evade nearly a million in federal tax. Until tax investigators caught up to him.  Artificial grass has been dividing sports fans and players since its installation in Houston's iconic Astrodome in 1966. But fake grass is gaining ground among residential and smaller commercial customers. The market is forecast to reach $7 billion by 2025, as we deal with hotter temperatures, drought, and water sources literally…

A photo of Chocolate Lab's chocolate lasagna, posted on Yelp in March by a diner. The Denver, Colorado, eatery now is closed, apparently due to delinquent taxes. Even before The Bear started streaming, it was no secret that running a restaurant is difficult. In addition to culinary responsibilities, restauranteurs must tend to zoning issues, health department inspections, and labor concerns. And, of course, there are tax matters. It's that last one that apparently has led to the closure of Denver's only chocolate-centric restaurant. I know, you wish you had made it to the Mile High City to try out Chocolate…

With summer here, most of us are taking advantage of this traditional season of breaks to, well, take breaks from work. I am among them. To make the end of work weeks during the summer a little easier, I'm resuming an older ol' blog feature, Tax Felon Friday. Tax offenses generally aren't as lurid as those in, for example, true crime podcasts. (Yes, I am a big fan of them.) But this first of the revived Tax Felon Friday series does have a connection to a prior prurient federal case. In the summer of 2017, Frank Parlato, Jr. helped expose…

Harvard University, pictured here in Richard Rummell’s 1906 watercolor landscape, would pay the most if a Massachusetts tax bill tied to students who get in based on family connections is enacted. (Image Courtesy of Arader Galleries via Wikipedia Commons) Following the Supreme Court’s ruling that effectively ends affirmative action in college admissions, a proposal by two Massachusetts state lawmakers is getting a lot of attention. Their bill would tax rich colleges in the Bay State, including Harvard, whose policies were the basis of the high court decision, and put the money into a trust to fund community colleges is getting a…

World’s youngest CPA Jimmy Chilimigras, left, with his mentor Bryan Kesler. (Screen capture from Kesler CPA Review video) When I was 15, summer was a fun time. No school. The public pool was open. And I was getting driving lessons in anticipation of my 16th birthday when I could get my license. Yes, I am that old. James Chilimigras has other plans this summer. Sure, Jimmy, as he’s known, is doing some fishing around his Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, home. But the 15-year-old is also getting ready to attend New Orleans’ Loyola University law school in neighboring Louisiana this fall.…

Photo via Unsplash+ License The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) wrapped its latest term on Friday with a couple of education-related rulings — affirmative action in college admissions and student loan forgiveness; the high court said nope to both — that will be dissected for a while. But we’re still talking about a year-old decision by the justices. On June 24, 2022, SCOTUS overturned 1973’s Roe v. Wade, sending abortion decisions back to the 50 states. That’s effectively limited the availability of the medical procedure in more than half of the country. Last year’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s…

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday struck down college admission affirmative action policies. Some legal experts say the high court’s decision could also lead to more, and similar, challenges in how corporations make hiring and promotion decisions. That got me thinking, of course, about taxes. IRS audit unfairness: Most people who are audited by the Internal Revenue Service think they are being unfairly targeted. It seems that might actually be true in some cases. IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel recently acknowledged that the way the tax agency applies the federal tax laws is discriminatory. In a letter to the chair of the…

If you were rich, what would you buy with all your money? (Photo by Leon Kohle on Unsplash) During the 1992 presidential election, then-candidate Bill Clinton's mantra was "It's the economy, stupid." It worked. Clinton was elected and served two terms. Now a group of wealthy individuals worldwide are hoping a tweaking of Clinton strategist James Carville's iconic phrase will help them convince governments to increase taxes on the rich and simultaneously raise the minimum wage. "It's the inequality, stupid," say those who are part of the nonprofit Patriotic Millionaires. The group points to the astounding escalation of economic inequality…

We got word today that a person connected to the White House and who didn't pay all his due taxes is pleading guilty to tax evasion. No. It's not that person. It's Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden. The younger Biden has agreed to plead guilty to two charges of misdemeanor tax evasion and enter a pretrial diversion agreement on a firearm possession charge, according to a Justice Department court filing today in Delaware. The two tax charges carry a maximum of one year in prison as well as a $25,000 fine. The arrangement reportedly also includes repayment of…

International air carriers on tarmac photo by Marek Ślusarczyk via Wikipedia Got summer plans? Or maybe they're just wishes. Eighty-five percent of those who participated in a recent survey by the digital financial services company Ally said they wanted to travel, but financial concerns are putting the brakes on their trips. And if your dream excursion is beyond U.S. borders, another fiscal issue could keep you grounded. The U.S. Department of State can pull your passport or prevent its issuance or renewal if you have a substantial unpaid federal tax bill. Tax amounts that will curb travel: So what exactly…

After legislative and court fights, Washington State's capital gains tax took effect on Jan. 1, 2022. The Evergreen State's 7 percent tax applies to the sale of stocks, bonds, and other financial assets exceeding $250,000. And its collection, with the tax's first payments due this past April, has been a boon for the state's treasury. Initial estimates predicted the capital gains tax might provide Washington State around $248 million in this fiscal year, which ends on July 1. The actual amount the state has collected as of May 9 was more than three times that: $849 million. Education boost: Washington…

Remember the 94-year-old Minnesota woman whose home was seized by country tax collectors after she stopped paying her property tax bills? Such action is commonplace, as noted in my earlier post on this topic. But in Geraldine Tyler’s case, Hennepin County kept all the money it got when it sold her condo, not just the amount needed to cover her delinquent real estate taxes. Those taxes, plus penalties, interest, and other costs, came to $15,000. The Minnesota county got $40,000 for the property. Yesterday (May 25), the Supreme Court of the United States, or SCOTUS, unanimously ruled in Tyler’s favor.…

Mike Mozart via Flickr CC In April 2019, the online investigative news site Pro Publica revealed that some major tax software companies who were part of the Internal Revenue Service Free File partnership instead used computer code to funnel taxpayers to their products' paid filing options. State officials soon started their own investigations into the tax preparation marketing tactic. The following year, Intuit, the corporate parent of the popular TurboTax tax prep program, reached a settlement agreement with all 50 states (via 49 state Attorneys General and the Hawai'i Office of Consumer Protection), and the District of Columbia. That deal…

Updated, Thursday, May 25, 2023 (see so-noted paragraph below) The interior of the U.S. Supreme Court (Photo by Phil Roeder, Flickr via Wikipedia) April is not a fun fiscal month for a lot of us. In addition to Tax Day, when many of us, including the hubby and me, owe the U.S. Treasury a bit, along with an estimated tax payment, it is property appraisal time here in Texas. The last couple of years, that's been particularly distressing. If we were putting our house on the market like a couple of our neighbors, we'd be happy that we could ask…

Click image to read full indictment. April 4, 2023, is one of those "where were you when…" days. Many of us were in front of our televisions or computer screens watching the formal criminal arraignment of a former U.S. president. Donald J. Trump pleaded not guilty today to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. "True and accurate business records are important everywhere, to be sure. They are all the more important in Manhattan, the financial center of the world," said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg at an afternoon press conference in which he discussed why his office brought the…

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio Forgiveness of debt piled up by college students has been a campaign mainstay in recent elections. It finally became a reality in August 2022. Sorta. On Aug. 24, 2022, President Joe Biden directed the Department of Education to forgive up to $10,000 per borrower of federally-held student loan debt, $20,000 for those who went to school on Pell grants. The next month, six Republican state attorneys general filed a lawsuit to stop the Biden move. In October 2022, a federal appeals court ordered the loan forgiveness plan put on hold while the case is considered. Now,…