Michael A. Essick, CPA

03/05/2021

Need to report bitcoin trades to the IRS? Read this first

For the first time, the IRS is asking about virtual currency transactions on the first page of its main income tax form.

03/04/2021

If you received unemployment benefits this year, you could owe thousands to the IRS

Millions of Americans are going to be in for a rude awakening this tax season when they discover they owe the IRS money for unemployment payments.

11/18/2019

There’s A New Question On Your 1040 As IRS Gets Serious About Cryptocurrency

Days after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released two new pieces of guidance for taxpayers who engage in transactions involving virtual currency, the IRS announced another compliance measure: a checkbox on form 1040.

11/18/2019

IRS Says 2 Million ITINs To Expire In 2019, Encourages Taxpayers To Renew Now

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a reminder to taxpayers with an expiring Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to submit renewal applications.

08/30/2019

The IRS has recently issued Rev. Proc. 2019-23 which adds the country of Georgia (formerly part of Soviet Union) to the list of countries which automatically exchange information with the IRS related to interest income. This brings the list to almost 100 countries. Search the Rev. Proc for the complete list.

08/29/2019

Tax Deadline Alert: On September 16th, there are a number of deadlines hitting for individuals and businesses. Third quarter estimated tax payments are due, and 2018 returns are due for corporations, trusts and partnerships who requested extensions.

Now is the time to be wrapping up those details, if you haven't already. Call us for help!

08/28/2019

Ever wonder what the IRS does with property they seize to cover individual tax debt? They sell it of course -- they're only interested in the cash needed to pay off tax bills.

And that can mean good deals for anyone looking to buy. Check it out!

Arizona home to be auctioned to pay federal tax debt. I've seen a lot of estate sale signs lately. Either it's an indication of the changing demographics of my part of Austin or folks are trying to fancy up their garage sales. An estate (or renamed garage) sale basically is a way to dispose of most....

08/10/2019

Postcard-Sized Tax Form on Permanent Vacation After a Year

Republicans touted a postcard-sized individual tax form as they tried to sell the 2017 tax overhaul to the public—that vision was short-lived.

08/08/2019

Credit reports sometimes contain errors. Have your credit report corrected if there are errors with any of the following situations, as they negatively affect your credit score:

* Late payments, collections, charge-offs that you don't think are yours
* Credit limits reported lower than they really are
* Accounts which are listed as anything other than "paid as agreed" or "current", including "settled", "paid charge-off", or "paid derogatory"
* Accounts listed as unpaid that were included in a previous bankruptcy
* Any negative item older than 7 years that is still appearing on your report

08/07/2019

Did you know that you, as a taxpayer, have a special "Taxpayer Bill of Rights" when you're dealing with the IRS? There are ten rights that are fairly quick to read. I think it's worth your time and understanding, especially if you are dealing with heavy tax debt and all of the IRS letters and interactions that go with it.

Each and every taxpayer has a set of fundamental rights they should be aware of when dealing with the IRS. Explore your rights and our obligations to protect them. The Right to Be InformedThe Right to Quality ServiceThe Right to Pay No More than the Correct Amount of TaxThe Right to Challenge the IR...