Did you know the IRS offers tax help to taxpayers with unresolved tax issues? The IRS’s Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), an independent organization within the IRS, provides assistance to taxpayers trying to resolve on-going tax problems or looking for answers to their tax questions.

To qualify for the Taxpayer Advocate Service, taxpayers must be experiencing economic harm or significant cost, haven’t resolved their tax within 30 days, haven’t had their tax issues resolved by the date promised by the IRS, or believe that an IRS procedure is not working as it should.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service is your voice at the IRS. The service is free, confidential and personalized, and tax help is available to businesses and individuals.

TAS employees are tax professionals who know how the IRS works and how to navigate it. They will listen to your tax problem, help you understand what needs to be done to resolve it, and see you through the entire process, until your tax problem is resolved.

To resolve your tax issues or just get tax help, find your local IRS taxpayer advocate online or by phone at 1-877-777-4778.

You can learn about your rights and responsibilities as a taxpayer with the IRS tax tool kit.

source: irs.gov

The IRS is hosting a “Tax Help” Open House this weekend. The Internal Revenue Service has announced that on Saturday, June 5, 2010, IRS offices in all 50 states will be open to provide free tax help to individual taxpayers. Approximately 200 IRS offices, at least one in every state, will participate. Each office will be open from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. local time.

The IRS Tax Centers will provide assistance to taxpayers dealing with notices and payments, tax return preparation, and other tax related issues.
Take advantage of the free tax help from the IRS and get answers to your tax questions.

Find the participating IRS tax offices in your state.

source: irs.gov

Starting in 2010, small businesses and tax-exempt organizations can get tax relief offered by the new Small Business Health Care Tax Credit. This tax credit, signed into law by President Obama earlier this year, takes effect beginning in the tax year 2010. It is designed to help small businesses and small tax-exempt organizations afford the cost of covering their employees.

“We want to make sure small employers across the nation realize that — effective this tax year — they may be eligible for a valuable new tax credit. Our postcard mailing — which is targeted at small employers — is intended to get the attention of small employers and encourage them to find out more,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. “We urge every small employer to take advantage of this credit if they qualify.”

The tax credit is available to small businesses that pay at least half the cost of single coverage for their employees in 2010. It was created specifically to offer tax help to small businesses and tax-exempt organizations that primarily employ low and moderate-income workers.

Below are specifics and answers to tax questions you may have about the tax credit:

Eligibility Rules
To qualify for this tax relief, small businesses and tax-exempt organizations must meet certain eligibility rules pertaining to the percentage of health care costs they provide, the firm size and average annual wage of it’s employees. The specific eligibility rules are as follows:

• Health care coverage
  A qualifying employer must cover at least 50 percent of the cost of health care coverage for some of its workers based on the single rate.
• Firm size
  A qualifying employer must have less than the equivalent of 25 full-time workers (small businesses with fewer than 50 half-time workers may be eligible).
• Average annual wage
  A qualifying employer must pay average annual wages below $50,000.
• Both taxable (for profit) and tax-exempt firms qualify

Amount of Credit
The maximum tax credit is 35% of premiums paid for small businesses and 25% for tax-exempt organizations. Since the credit is targeted to help those who employ low- and moderate-income workers, the maximum credit goes to smaller employers — those with 10 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees — paying annual average wages of $25,000 or less. Below are more details on the Amount of Credit:

• Maximum Amount
  The credit is worth up to 35 percent of a small business’ premium costs in 2010. On Jan. 1, 2014, this rate increases to 50 percent (35 percent for tax-exempt employers).
• Phase-out
  The credit phases out gradually for firms with average wages between $25,000 and $50,000 and for firms with the equivalent of between 10 and 25 full-time workers.

Small business or tax-exempt organizations can determine if they qualify for the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit with three simple steps.

To recap, starting in the tax year 2010, the new health care tax credit will offer small businesses tax help as an incentive to provide their employees health care coverage.

To get more information about the tax credit or get answers to your tax questions go the IRS website.

source: irs.gov

Its unfortunate that many taxpayers who owe federal income tax or have tax problems avoid consulting with a tax attorney. When you have a legal problem - you see a lawyer and when you’re sick - you see a doctor. So why is that many of you would rather stick your head in the sand and wait for the IRS to knock on their door than to consult with a tax attorney?

I guess one of the reasons is you’re not aware of the benefits of a tax attorney; maybe it’s because you feel it will cost you a fortune or maybe you just don’t know that a tax attorney is your best ally against the IRS.

Regardles of the reason you have avoided consulting a tax attorney, its time to change and seek tax help. Tax attorneys are schooled in knowing U.S. tax laws, representing you in IRS cases, providing you your legal options, help you restructure your finances to alleviate future tax debts. Perhaps the biggest benefit you can get from consulting a tax attorney is peace of mind.

What you need to understand about a consultation with a tax lawyer is that it is just a consultation. You are not obligated to hire the professional. Tax attorneys work like other lawyers, you pay for a consultation and go from there.

If you owe back taxes or haven’t filed federal income tax statements, the worst thing you can do is to continue to avoid them. It will cost you in the long run. In fact, it could cost you more than money, in extreme cases it could cost you time in jail.