Tax Justice Warriors

Family-related tax matters this week include the set of 6 tax benefits that are allowed with qualifying children, how Form 8332 allows a noncustodial parent part of that set, and a comparison between the qualifying child and qualifying relative requirements.  For further information, listen to episode 12 (the Qualifying child and the Qualifying Relative).

Looking for collection alternatives?  Boy, have we got them!  We start with some installment agreements, a heavy dose of offer in compromise (IRS settlement agreement) with a dash of petition for abatement (Kansas settlement agreement).  This episode goes a little long, but it still just scratches the surface when it comes to offers in compromise.  There is so much to cover with a offer in compromise forms that this serves as a good introduction.

A revisit of currently not collectible status and the local standards that apply.  Currently not collectible status is helpful for low income clients with more expenses than income.  It might mean that the IRS halts Collection activity.  If it continues long enough, the debt owed to the IRS may expire.  When gathering information for your client to qualify, you will need to find out about assets, income and expenses.  The local standards are expense limits regarding the amount of expenses a taxpayer may claim. 

For further information, I also did episodes 8 and 9 for a more in-depth examination of currently not collectible status.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service provides help for taxpayers on the individual level and through systemic advocacy.  On the individual level, I look at the collection statute expiration date (CSED), hardship refund offset bypass, and identity theft.  For systemic advocacy, there is the SAMS system, Taxpayer Assistance Orders, reports to Congress, and more.  I also talk about Freedom of Information Act requests as a tool for systemic advocacy.

Continuing the focus on basics from the Tax Procedure course at Washburn University School of Law.

Tax research is a key component in understanding how to help a client.  I scratch the surface in discussing tax research - primary vs. secondary sources, online vs. print and a mention of certain websites I frequently use.

As I teach Tax Procedure at Washburn University School of Law as an adjunct professor, I am going to discuss each week’s different teaching topic on the podcast.  This may be review for you, but it could be the focus on a new topic for a beginning practitioner.

This week, the focus is on interviewing clients.  New practitioners need to be comfortable in talking with a client to hear their story.  Issue spotting is necessary to find out what the client’s needs are and goal setting will make sure that both the client and practitioner know what results are necessary when working on the case.

There are also different considerations for clients with low income, diverse, and English as a Second Language backgrounds.  Tax protestors and other difficult clients may take special handling.  Finally, when negotiating with the IRS, know that there are both competitive and cooperative styles.

Tune in to find out greater detail on these topics.

As I teach Tax Procedure at Washburn University School of Law as an adjunct professor, I am going to discuss each week’s different teaching topic on the podcast.  This may be review for you, but it could be the focus on a new topic for a beginning practitioner. 

This week, I am looking at IRS transcripts.  The tax transcript, wage and income transcript, and account transcript are all available from the IRS and provide different functions.  Just requesting a transcript from the IRS for a year may not get you the transcript you need.

The American Bar Association started an Adopt a Base program in 2013 that continues to the present.  This is an initiative to get ABA attorneys to volunteer for training at military base Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs.  It assists attorneys looking for pro bono or other volunteer projects and provides support for those people preparing taxes on our military bases.  I provided training at McConnell Air Force Base (southeast Wichita, Kansas) this week.  Tune in to find out more details and learn about volunteering.

I travelled to several locations in Kansas to speak to tax preparers about the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic program.  This was in order to build recognition of the clinic and find volunteers.  I am also talking with law students about tax controversy work.  Hear about these and other times that I spoke to groups in order to let them know about the LITC in Kansas.  Perhaps you can find some tips you can use in your practice for reaching the public.

In this episode, I focus on 2020 in taxes.  I discuss some areas I will be focused on for the coming year, including one announcement.  I am not going to try and predict broad tax changes in the coming year, but I do have one person I suggest to watch in 2020.  Have a Happy New Year!