bertrans

There are two aspects of the Internet which are simultaneously simple and diabololical: #1 the Internet is forever; and #2 therre is no reasonable expectation of privacy on the Internet. Sic transit scutum.

On the single issue of foreign earned income, a TP may elect to do one of three things: he may, if he meets the requirements, exclude that income (there are ceilings),on form 2555 ; he may elect to deduct the foreign tax he paid by filing form 1116;or, he may elect to deduct foreign taxes paid on Schedule A. There is one essential caveat: in general, one may not take a deduction from income that one has excluded.

I agree wholly with the advice you were given: think about it. If uou send 'x' by certified mail and you get a signed receipt that 'x' was received, how do you go about proving what 'x' is??? And the cetrtified mail process does complicate the Service's mail procedure enourmously.

The description given of the call does not fit the profile of IRS communications with taxpayers; private agent lines are never disclosed, and agent ID numbers are required. I suggest that you go to www.irs.gov. and contact TIGTA (Treasury Inspector General for Tax Admininistration: the Service's Internal Affairs). Your report of this sort of thing is not the first that has been heard about. Good luck and do not respond to the call in question, since it is either counterfeit or an example of an IRS employee abusing his/her authority.

The furlough applies to all Service personnel; there is no indication that the result will be a larger termination.

I had a client once (a favour for a friend): he 'dropped off' his return and W-2. He had an ITIN, but the W-2 had an SSN - and a different name. The client had attached a yellow postit note to the W-2, with an arrow demurely pointing to the SSN, and the words: 'FOR WORK PURPOSE ONLY.' God bless this country. PS: I did not prepare the return.

We have no totalisation agreement with Russia; we do have one with the UK, but more details of the case are needed.

Your comment is absolutely correct: if she continues filing Schedule C's with a loss, year after year, she will be increasing her chances of having all returns with an open assessment statute examined as a section 183 audit.

Although an individual who represents himself as a professional gambler is still limited, on Schedule C, to deducting losses only up to winnings, he may also deduct all ordinary and necessary business expenses he incurred in the course of carrying out his business activity.

This was covered in my post: if the potential qualifying child meets all of the other criteria.

The comments here are quite germane; the analysis, as usual in tax law, is the result of combining various IRS statements about identifying numbers (section 7701, throughout, in particular.) Once the general principle of amending after receipt of a valid SSN is accepted, then, it follows necessarily that other years with open refund statutes may also be amended (provided that the dependent meets certain other conditions.) What I find, on the other hand, quite frankly depressing, is the argument made by some of my clients to the effect that a marriage license is retroactive........Takes all kinds.

You may amend every return on which there is an open refund statute of limitations.

If the tax ssessment is paid (the penalties and interest can still be outstanding), your response will be considred a claim; send the case to the Accounts Management Operation of your original Service Centre. Recons are for cases where the tax has not yet been paid and follow a diffrent procesure.

Be aware that if there are any possible credits to be claimed and such credits require that both TPs and the qualifying children have SSNs, then the credits will not be allowed.

Thank you for the correction; it cleared up a misconception I have had for quite some time. Thank you again.

The governing code section is 6511; throughout that section, the phrase used is 'refund or credit'; thus, as the other posters have properly observed, once the SOL has tolled, any resulting overpayment is barred both for refund AND offset (e.g., credit elect.).

You can change from MFS to MFJ within 3 years of the due date of the original return (without regard to extensions); tyou can change from MFJ to MFS by the due date of the original return (including extensions). IRC section 6013.

Unfortunately, Columbia is not one of the nations which have signed so-called totalisation agreements with the US - had it done so, your client would not be subject to SET, FICA or MEDICARE taxes.

Let it be assumed, for the sake of argument, that every statement in your post is correct. A simplification of the Earned Income Credit would still, inevitably, lead to increased abuse and outright fraud. But that would be perpetrated by the deserving and genetically disenfranchised, and would therefore be 'fair'.