A new IRS proposed regulation brings welcome news to beneficiaries of estates and non-grantor trusts. Beneficiaries will now be able to deduct expenses in excess of income in the final year of the trust or estate. The deductibility of these expenses had been...
Tax Law
Former New York professor fined, sentenced for tax fraud
Hiding assets to avoid paying taxes can come with a hefty price. A former University of Rochester professor learned that. He already paid fines totaling more than $100 million for failing to disclose income that he was keeping in Swiss bank accounts. Now he's been...
Billions still being lost in tax fraud and identity theft
The Internal Revenue Service has taken a considerable number of steps in the past few years to combat tax fraud and identity theft. Losses due to fraud in 2013 and 2014 totaled nearly $9 billion. These added precautions will cause a number of refunds for low income...
Common, avoidable tax errors can have serious costs
Many taxpayers rely on electronic software or a professional tax preparer to help them complete their income tax returns. However, in order for your return to be free of errors, you still must provide the correct information. As they say, "Garbage in, garbage out."...
Tax code changes for 2017 have been announced
Most people haven't even begun thinking about filing their 2016 tax returns yet. However, the Internal Revenue Service has already announced changes to the U.S. tax code for 2017. These won't impact the tax returns you file this April. However, it's a good idea to be...
Tax authorities stepping up efforts to combat identity theft
As Americans increasingly file their taxes online, identity theft has become a growing issue. People are stealing taxpayers' identities, filing false returns and obtaining refunds of money not owed them (or the taxpayer). State and federal authorities, including the...
New York business owner facing tax fraud charges
The man who runs Wings Over Ithaca has been charged with 26 counts of felony sales tax evasion. The 47-year-old Massachusetts man recently pleaded not guilty to the charges against him in Albany City Court. Specifically, he's charged with second-degree criminal tax...
Who’s most likely to be audited?
If there's one thing that unites Americans, even amid a highly-contentious presidential election, it's the fear of an audit by the Internal Revenue Service. Realistically, your chances of being audited are very slim and dropping. Fewer than 1 percent of filers were...
New York father and son accused of sales tax theft
A father and son have been indicted for failing to pay over $1 million in sales taxes between 2011 and 2014 for the three Nassau County BP gas stations they own. They both could serve years in prison. This isn't the first tax fraud charge faced by the father. In 2012,...
New York pharmacist sentenced for tax, health care fraud
A 57-year-old New York pharmacist is facing over three-and-a-half years in prison for tax and health care fraud. The New City man ran pharmacies in the Bronx, Queens and Rockland. Additionally, he was ordered to pay $2.7 million in restitution to the Medicaid and...