George M. Coode Jr.

Each year the Taxpayer Advocate’s Office of the Internal Revenue Services issues a report on it’s dealings with the other offices of the Internal Revenue Service.  The report is issued in January and sent to the Director as well as numerous other concerned parties.

One of the focuses of this year’s report is the “tax gap”, that is, the difference between the amount of taxes actually owed by U.S. taxpayers and the amount of taxes actually paid. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m going to digress from the subject of taxes for a moment and talk about another problem: the changing image of the CPA.   With the ENRON debacle and the pending demise of one of the largest auditing and consulting firms in the world, how should you look at the accountant down the street? Read the rest of this entry »

It’s time for a brief discussion of Individual Retirement Accounts.  There is a lot of information available for these, but most of us don’t have the time to read IRS Publication 590. So I’m going to give you a brief summary and some encouragement to look further if you think this is for you. Read the rest of this entry »

I just finished reading last week’s column and , boy, was it dry.  I’m going to try never to do anything that dull again.  But there are a few more adjustments to income that come before “adjusted gross income”, most of which have to do with being self-employed.  So bear with me a minute and I’ll try not to be too bad. Read the rest of this entry »

Now that everyone has had a chance to find the amount from that Rate Reduction Credit check they received, what else is new about the 2001 tax returns?  The child tax credits are larger this year.  Up from $500 last year, the amount for 2001 is $600 per qualifying child.  That amount is going to increase again in a few years until it eventually doubles, reaching $1000 for 2010.  New for this year, the credit will be refundable to the extent of 10% of earned income in excess of $10,000.  That percentage increases to 15% for 2005 and future years.

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Hey VOL FANS!  It’s Tax Time in Tennessee!  The question that seems to be on most peoples’ minds is: What do I do about that extra IRS check  I got this year?  Well, that check was considered a “rebate” check for your tax liability for the first six months of 2001.  In other words, it isn’t income, but it isn’t a refund either.  You need to have that information available when you prepare your tax return for the 2001. Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone has already heard there are 441 changes in the Internal Revenue Code this year. I have a class to teach next week on these changes so let me tell you where they are. Read the rest of this entry »