If you can see this post, you’re seeing Taxable Talk hosted by my new hosting company. New posts are coming tomorrow (Thursday), along with a rather scathing review of a certain hosting company. That post could be titled, “Indian Customer Service Unserves You.” It’s also very apparent to me that they don’t care.
Anyway, all is almost back to normal, and tomorrow is just a day away.
My current hosting company has decided they don’t want my business. I am being forced to switch companies (something I’ll write about next week). For now, we will likely be going down and then reappearing like the proverbial Phoenix and be back in business next week. Given the way dns servers update, and everything that must be done, I’m guessing we’ll be back in business fully next Tuesday.
Again, I am extremely annoyed about everything that has happened but we should be up and running again soon.
I am once again the guest on Bart Hanson’s Deuce Plays podcast this week. We discuss “Black Friday” in the online poker world, and its probable impact on taxes, and the possible future of online gambling in the United States. You can download the podcast directly here.
But the extra you spend to get a return receipt is a total waste of money. It means absolutely nothing – only that the IRS received an envelope from you that was postmarked on April 18th. It doesn’t hurt to do this (except your wallet) – but it really doesn’t help either.
Mr. Flach tells the story of an individual who mailed empty envelopes to his tax agencies every year on April 15th just so something ended up at the agencies. I’m sure that Mr. Flach agrees with me about the Bozo quality of that strategy.
But I strongly disagree with Mr. Flach’s contention that you should not use certified mail, return receipt requested. I have had four clients directly impacted by this. The first individual had his estimated tax payment end up with the fishes. He had mailed his estimated tax payment to PO Box 510000 in San Francisco back in September 2005; as a result of a traffic accident his payment (and thousands of others) ended up in San Francisco Bay instead of the US Treasury. My client had no problem making his replacement payment considered timely when he showed his certified mail receipt. (The IRS did later develop a procedure for anyone impacted by this accident.)
My second client had his tax return “eaten” by the US Postal Service. He mailed it certified mail, return receipt requested, and it apparently looked liked confetti when it arrived at the IRS. The envelope, or what was left of it, showed up in late May. My client was able to resend his return, check, and a copy of his certified mail receipt, and the IRS considered the return and payment timely.
My third client filed electronically on October 15th (he had filed an extension), but his return was rejected. He then mailed his return to the IRS, with proof of the rejection, and used certified mail, return receipt requested. The IRS then attempted to impose the late filing penalty (claiming that the return was filed after the deadline for rejected e-filed returns). After sending the IRS a copy of the certified mail receipt, the IRS rescinded that penalty.
Unfortunately, my fourth client fell on to the Bozo side of things. He did not use certified mail, return receipt requested, and his tax return to a state tax agency vanished. As I note in one of my Bozo Tax Tips, he did save $2.42. He also paid over $1000 in penalties.
Yes, I’m sure that people use the Bozo strategy that Mr. Flach mentioned. But for the honest taxpayers (hopefully, all of us), not using certified mail, return receipt requested, when communicating with a tax agency is just Bozo.
With the emphasis on “almost,” Aaron and I plan on being back in the office on Wednesday. We’re enjoying the beautiful weather in Irvine and Bethesda today, and a lot of much needed sleep. If you’ve contacted our office today, you will get voice mail. We’ll be in the rest of this week but only for minimal hours. We’ll be back on a normal schedule next Monday, April 25th.
If you like 72 F and a few wispy clouds, I recommend a late day in April in Irvine….
With just about three weeks left before Tax Day, it’s time for my annual blog hiatus. I’ve written my annual top ten Bozo Tax Tips (they’ll start appearing next week), but between now and April 15th my clients are paying me to get their work done. Of course, if anything, really, really big in the world of tax happens I’ll interrupt the hiatus and post about it. Otherwise, to you and my fellow tax bloggers, have a Happy Tax Day!
A number of people, especially my poker friends, have asked me why I would want to be a tax accountant. It does seem like an odd shift from professional poker player to tax accountant, at least on the surface. The bottom line is, of course, I am doing it because it is what is best for my family and me. That being said, it strikes me that there are a number of similarities in what is required of the two professions.
Some of these similarities are focus, persistence, attention to detail, willingness to work long hours, the seasonal nature (yeah, I want June to be my off season for a reason), and customer service (oh, that was really unlucky sir, so sorry.)
I think the single most important skill for both professions is knowing the rules. Both professions are all about that, and the Special Enrollment Exam series was all about that for the tax profession. More important than knowing the rules is making sure that you follow them in a way that minimizes the possibility of a floor decision. After all, a floor decision could be against you, so you might as well try to avoid the situation all together.
This, as an Enrolled Agent, is what I want to do for my poker customers: Make sure the rules are followed and try to avoid having floor rulings even come up. When they do come up, I can argue about the application of the rules if the ruling is unfavorable.
Good luck at the tables. If you keep your records straight and follow the rules, you will not need good luck with the IRS. If you do not know how to follow the rules, please consult a tax professional.
This year will be one of change for my business. When I started my business in 1999 I had just some thoughts and dreams. Nearly twelve years later I have a mature and still growing tax practice and I must deal with the reality of change.
The first of these changes is growth in my practice. I’ve known Aaron Lion for a number of years. Last year, we met and discussed the idea of him joining my practice. Aaron took that thought and ran with it; in early January he passed the Special Enrollment Examination (the exam to become an Enrolled Agent). He’s sent in his Form 23 to the IRS and sometime in the near future he’ll be a duly licensed Enrolled Agent. Whether that will be in time to help during the heart of tax season is up to the bureaucracy at the IRS.
Here’s some background on Aaron: He earned his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics of Computation with a minor in Computer Science. He worked as a software engineer for twenty years. Aaron left his last engineering job six years ago as a result of having one impossible task after another and one unhappy customer after another (a result of other people’s decisions).
Aaron then became a professional poker player. After finally getting to the point where he felt he could make a living from poker, he stopped because while being able to do it was important actually doing it was not.
Aaron resides in suburban Washington, DC where he is happy to take care of his top two customers: his wife and daughter. He is looking forward to taking care of more hopefully happy clients in our tax practice.
You’ll see Aaron first here on the blog. He’ll be writing many of the posts, and will also add an East Coast view to tax issues.
Welcome aboard, Aaron.
I’m heading on that trip to the Bahamas, so posting will be practically non-existent until January 17th. Enjoy the other tax bloggers listed in the blogroll on the right.
It’s time once more for nominations for the Tax Offender of the Year. To be considered for the Tax Offender of the Year award, the individual must do more than cheat on his or her taxes. It has to be special; it really needs to be a Bozo-like action or actions.
For your reference, here’s a list of prior winners:
2009: Mark Anderson
2008: Robert Beale
2007: Gene Haas
2005: Sharon Lee Caulder
If you have a nominee, feel free to send me an email (use the Contact button on the right side of the page).
