1040 Tax Form Reviews & Tips
February 5, 2010 by Taxcut Editor
Filed under Personal and Business Taxes
The 1040 tax form should be your starting point for your personal IRS income tax returns. It’s designed to help you calculate the amount of tax you need to pay based on the amount of income you’ve declared.
By using this form regularly as your income changes, you’ll be more aware of whether you need to take steps to reduce your potential tax penalty or you might actually calculate that you’ll receive a return.
This is the ‘long form’ or the more complete version and should be used if you have complicated tax issues to calculate. Things like investment income or loss, capital gain or loss or multiple itemized deductions should be entered individually on your 1040 tax form to help you get a clearer idea of the amount of tax you should be paid or withholding.
Although the form could be only 2 main pages, they have 11 different attachments or schedules that follow with it. Each different schedule covers a specific aspect of your tax return, so that you may not need all.
1040A Tax Form
The 1040A Tax Form is the form that helps you to estimate tax return for the fiscal year. If you do not have complex tax toting up for the year as capital gains or deductions on individual itemized, then the short form will be ideal for you.
1040EZ Tax Form
The 1040EZ tax form is a more simplified version of the longer form of 1040 and is still able to help you determine what your tax bill could be the end of the year very quickly. Again, this is ideal for those with no tax issues not complicated to explain.
1040NR Tax Form
The 1040NR tax form designed to facilitate non-resident aliens to calculate the total of IRS tax return. For non-resident alien who has been in the United States for less than five years and has an income on which tax must be paid has to use this form.
This form shows the IRS the original figures you submitted and then highlights what those figures should have been according to your calculations. In some cases the irs help can help you to increase the amount of tax refund you were due or it might even reduce a pending tax penalty you might incur.
Related posts
Whistleblower – Informant Award
June 10, 2009 by Taxcut Editor
Filed under IRS News Items
The IRS Whistleblower Office pays money to people who blow the whistle on persons who fail to pay the tax that they owe. If the IRS uses information provided by the whistleblower, it can award the whistleblower up to 30 percent of the additional tax, penalty and other amounts it collects.
Who can get an award?
The IRS may pay awards to people who provide specific and credible information to the IRS if the information results in the collection of taxes, penalties, interest or other amounts from the noncompliant taxpayer.
The IRS is looking for solid information, not an educated guess or unsupported speculation. We are also looking for a significant Federal tax issue – this is not a program for resolving personal problems or disputes about a business relationship.
What are the rules for getting an award?
The law provides for two types of awards. If the taxes, penalties, interest and other amounts in dispute exceed $2 million, and a few other qualifications are met, the IRS will pay 15 percentto 30 percent of the amount collected. If the case deals with an individual, his or her annual gross income must be more than $200,000. If the whistleblower disagrees with the outcome of the claim, he or she can appeal to the Tax Court. These rules are found at Internal Revenue Code IRC Section 7623(b) – Whistleblower Rules.
The IRS also has an award program for other whistleblowers – generally those who do not meet the dollar thresholds of $2 million in dispute or cases involving individual taxpayers with gross income of less that $200,000. The awards through this program are less, with a maximum award of 15 percent up to $10 million. In addition, the awards are discretionary and the informant cannot dispute the outcome of the claim in Tax Court. The rules for these cases are found at Internal Revenue Code IRC Section 7623(a) – Informant Claims Program, and some of the rules are different from those that apply to cases involving more than $2 million.
If you decide to submit information and seek an award for doing so, use IRS Form 211. The same form is used for both award programs.
More Information:
What Happens to a Claim for an Informant Award (Whistleblower)
Procedures used and the criteria followed to identify and process informant cases
History of the Whistleblower/Informant Program
Historical information on the evolution of the concept of paying for leads from its inception up to the current law followed today
Whistleblower Law
A brief synopsis of what the new whistleblower law entails. This is the most significant change to the Services approach to informant awards in 140 years
How Do You File a Whistleblower Award Claim
Step by step procedures to follow to file an informant claim for award
Confidentiality and Disclosure for Whistleblowers
The rules governing confidentiality of informant information
IRC Section 7623(b) – Whistleblower Rules
The requirements of the new rules enacted in IRC Section 7623(b), the Whistleblower Program
IRC Section 7623(a) – Informant Claims Program
The requirement of the rules governing claims that do not meet the requirements of the provisions in the whistleblower program under IRC Section 7623(b). These claims are part of the Informant Claims Program
IRS Form 211
Application for Award for Original Information
News Release IR-2007-201
Procedure Unveiled for Reporting Violations of the Tax Law, Making Reward Claims
Notice 2008-4Guidance to the public on how to file claims
Claims Submitted to the IRS Whistleblower Office under Section 7623
Whistleblower Office At-a-Glance
2008 Report to Congress on the Whistleblower Program
Reporting other information to the IRS
If you have information about tax noncompliance but are not interested in an award, or you have other information you believe may be of interest to the IRS:
* For information on how to Report Suspected Tax Fraud Activity, if you have information about an individual or company you suspect is not complying with the tax law, and you do not want to seek an award . You can remain anonymous
* The IRS sets professional standards for attorneys, certified public accountants and enrolled agents who represent taxpayers before the IRS. To learn more about those professional standards, or how to report a violation, see Office of Professional ResponsibilityAt-a-Glance – Report Circular 230Violations – email OPR@irs.gov
* Report Fraud, Waste and Abuseto Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), if you want to report, confidentially, misconduct, waste, fraud, or abuse by an IRS employee or a Tax Professional, you can call 1-800-366-4484 (1-800-877-8339 for TTY/TDD users). You can remain anonymous.
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