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Important Information for the June 30th Deadline to Report Foreign Bank Accounts

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:31:41 +0000

Americans who have bank accounts in foreign countries may need to file a special report with the U.S. Treasury Department.

The Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) is required of individuals and businesses if they have a financial interest in a bank account or other type of financial account that's located at a bank or financial institution outside the United States and if the aggregate balance of all their accounts was at least $10,000 at any time during the year. The report is due on or before June 30, 2013, to disclose account holdings for the year 2012.

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IRS Video Seminars for Small Business Week

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:48:28 +0000

In honor of Small Business Week, the Internal Revenue Service will be providing two Web-based seminars covering tax issues relevant to small businesses.

"Small Business Owners: Get All the Tax Benefits You Deserve," June 18th, 2013, at 2 pm Eastern.
"Avoiding the Top Tax Mistakes that Small Businesses Make," June 20th, 2013, at 2 pm Eastern.

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Estimated Tax Payments Due Monday, June 17

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:05:51 +0000

The second installment of estimated tax payments for the year 2013 are due on Monday, June 17, 2013. The deadline for sending in estimated tax payments normally falls on June 15th. Because June 15th is a Saturday this year, the deadline is moved to the following Monday.

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Tax Resources for Americans Living Abroad to File by The June 17th Deadline

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 20:28:14 +0000

Americans who live outside the United States have a special filing deadline of June 17, 2013, to file and to pay their 2012 U.S. taxes. The IRS explains this automatic extension as follows:

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"Complaint Case #460575036224" -- Fake Email from the IRS

Wed, 29 May 2013 13:58:37 +0000

The following email is an example of a fake or spoofed email. The email pretends to come from the Internal Revenue Service. In reality, this email has a virus attached.

"Subject: Complaint Case #460575036224
"From:    IRS.gov 

"You have received a complaint in regards to your business services.  The complaint was filled by Mr./Mrs. Anibal DOLATRE on 05/29/2013/                                                

"Case Number: 460575036224

"Instructions on how to resolve this complaint as well as a copy of the original complaint are attached to this email.

"Disputes involving consumer products and/or services may be arbitrated. Unless they directly relate to the contract that is the basis of this dispute, the following claims will be considered for arbitration only if all parties agree in writing that the arbitrator may consider them: Claims based on product liability; Claims for personal injuries; Claims that have been resolved by a previous court action, arbitration, or written agreement between the parties

"The decision as to whether your dispute or any part of it can be arbitrated rests solely with the IRS.

"The IRS offers a binding arbitration service for disputes involving marketplace transactions. Arbitration is a convenient, civilized way to settle disputes quickly and fairly, without the costs associated with other legal options.

"2013 Council of IRS, Inc. All Rights Reserved."                              

Attachment: Complaint_460575036224.zip
ZIP file contains: Complaint_05292013.exe

The email above claims to be sent from the Internal Revenue Service. However, the IRS has stated that the agency "does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email." Furthermore, the file that is attached to the email may contain a virus or other malware. My virus scanner says this file attachment contains the W32.Rogue.Gen virus.

Fake emails, such as the one above, can be reported to the IRS. The IRS will then investigate the emails. To report the fake email to the IRS, forward the email with all the headers showing to phishing@irs.gov.

The IRS advises taxpayers not to reply to the email or to open any attachments.

Additional Resources:

Report Phishing (IRS.gov)
Protecting Yourself from Scam Emails Pretending to be from the IRS (About.com)
IRS Complaint Fraud (Snopes.com)

Tax Relief For Oklahoma Tornado Victims

Tue, 28 May 2013 07:21:12 +0000

Taxpayers who are victims of the tornado storms in Oklahoma may qualify for the tax relief from the Internal Revenue Service and the Oklahoma Tax Commission.

The IRS has announced that taxpayers in Cleveland, Lincoln, McClain, Oklahoma and Pottawatomie counties are eligible for the federal tax relief. The IRS is providing taxpayers in these counties with additional time to file tax returns and remit tax payments. The IRS has set a September 30, 2013, deadline to file any tax returns and pay any taxes that were otherwise due starting from May 18, 2013. Specifically,

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IRS Offices to be Closed on May 24

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:59:16 +0000

The Internal Revenue Service will be closed on Friday, May 24th, 2013. This day is the first in a series of five furlough days that were planned in response to the automatic budget cuts known as the sequester.

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How Long to Keep Tax Returns?

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:12:12 +0000

Tax returns and documents related items on the tax return are important to keep. From a tax perspective, such documents may be needed in the event that the IRS's wants to review information relating to the tax return. Tax returns come in handy for other purposes, such as to verify income when applying for a loan from a bank.

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Obama's and Biden's Tax Returns for 2012

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 23:09:03 +0000

President Obama and Vice President Biden released copies of their 2012 tax returns to the public on April 12, 2013. The tax returns can be downloaded from the White House blog.

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IRS to Close for Five Days in 2013

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:56:46 +0000

The Internal Revenue Service will furlough its employees for at least five days in 2013. On each furlough day, most IRS employees will take an unpaid leave of absence, and all public operations of the IRS will be closed.

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