WHAT’S THE BUZZ, TELL ME WHAT’S A HAPPENNIN’?

* Michael Cohn reports “New Taxpayer Advocate sees tax challenges from CARES Act” at ACCOUNTING TODAY –

“National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins released her first report to Congress Monday, discussing some of the difficulties confronting taxpayers and the IRS during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has only exacerbated problems with taxpayer service as the IRS struggled to implement the provisions of the CARES Act and the Taxpayer First Act.”

Two items of note from the TA’s report (highlight is mine) -

“Taxpayers who filed a 2019 paper return and are entitled to refunds may have a long wait ahead of them. The IRS needed to suspend the processing of paper tax returns, and as of May 16, it estimated it had a backlog of 4.7 million paper returns. While the IRS is still reopening some of its core operations, it’s not clear when the agency can open and process all the returns sitting in mail facilities.”

And -

“Individuals who didn’t receive some or all of their economic impact payments may have to wait until next year to receive them. To date, the IRS has taken the position that most taxpayers who did not receive their full payments must wait until they file their 2020 income tax returns to claim the amounts as credits against their 2020 tax liabilities, even though there is no legal constraint on the IRS’s ability to issue additional EIP amounts as advance refunds during 2020. Congress enacted the CARES Act both to provide emergency financial relief to taxpayers on an individual level and to boost spending on the national level. TAS will continue to urge the IRS to provide full EIPs to eligible taxpayers throughout 2020 as rapidly as possible. The report says that making taxpayers wait until next year to receive their EIPs harms the affected taxpayers and is inconsistent with congressional intent.”

Click here to read the entire report.

* The FORBES.COM “TaxGirl” Kelly Phillips Erb explains “July15 Estimated Payment Deadline Is Confusing: Here’s How It Works”.

This post provides answers to questions you may have about the first two 2020 federal estimated tax payments.  

*  And at KPE’s original TAXGIRL.COM blog we have her annual “Taxes A to Z” series.

* Russ Fox has begun his annual “Bozo Tax Tip” series at TAXABLE TALK.

* While I obviously do not believe self-employed taxpayers should use Turbo Tax software to prepare their tax returns – a software program is no substitute for a competent and qualified tax professional – I do suggest they check out the TURBO TAX BLOG’s “Self-Employed Coronavirus Relief Center”.

* Jeff Stimpson tells us “Deadline looms for unclaimed billions in federal refunds” at TAXPRO TODAY.

THE LAST WORD

There have been corrupt politicians and selfish politicians in Washington in the past.

But NEVER in the history of the United States has there EVER been a more ignorant, more incompetent, more corrupt, and more totally self-absorbed politician in Washington than Trump.

TTFN