Tax Fix Will Delay Millions of Refunds

Congressional stalling on Alternative Minimum Tax patch may force IRS delay

(NEWSER) - If you're planning to file for an early tax refund this year, don't count on it. Congress has dragged its feet in creating a patch for the Alternative Minimum Tax that could make the IRS postpone filing season several weeks, the AP reports. A limit on who's affected by the AMT expires this year; if it's not extended, 19 million taxpayers will owe an average $2,000 more in income tax. More»

Phony returns are on the rise

(NEWSER) - The New York Times today provides some eye-popping numbers on the relatively new crime of identity-theft tax fraud . The IRS stopped 700,000 fake returns in 2010, at least 1.3 million last year, and twice that many so far this year with only 30% of returns reviewed. But the agency also has missed its share, paying out billions in phony returns—and then paying out the legitimate returns later. The scheme is relatively easy to pull off: Criminals get their hands on someone's Social Security number, file an electronic return before the real person does, and receive the money in a hard-to-track debit card from a bank or tax software firm. More»

Eduardo Saverin aims to save on taxes

(NEWSER) - One of the billionaire co-founders of Facebook has renounced his US citizenship in a bid to slash his tax bill ahead of the gigantic IPO. Eduardo Saverin, 30, owns about 4% of the social network—a chunk that could be worth as much as $3.84 billion, reports Bloomberg . “Eduardo recently found it more practical to become a resident of Singapore since he plans to live there for an indefinite period of time,” says a spokesman for Saverin, who is a native of Brazil and met Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard. He moved to Singapore in 2009. More»

IRS rules onerous, expatriates say

(NEWSER) - It's April again: time to add up receipts, find little-known tax breaks , and, in some cases, renounce US citizenship altogether. In fact, a record number of Americans abroad renounced their citizenship last year as complaints increased about IRS rules, Reuters reports. One rule forces all Americans to file forms for foreign accounts containing at least $10,000. Another, newer rule stipulates that financial institutions must cough up information on US clients to the IRS. More»

Accountants and tax lawyers share tips for beating Uncle Sam

(NEWSER) - So the New York Times is offering tips for tax cheaters. Guess we know which newspaper will be audited next—but for now, let's take advantage of the paper's survey of 20 tax lawyers, accountants, and policy wonks:

• The easiest way to cheat is ... running your own company—or, more specifically, being the sole proprietor of a Schedule C business. Such tax filers write off tons of personal expenses and payments to family members (even to "infant children," says one CPA).