Paper Pusher Tips

Paper Pusher Message

2012-01-13T12:51:00Z

January 13 2012

Hi,

This is just a reminder that the 2011 4th quarter estimated payments are due this coming Tuesday, January 17th, 2012. If you need coupons to pay with please let me know.

Also, this Tuesday is the first day of efiling for 2011 tax returns. In order to help you prepare, please download the tax checklist from my website:http://paperpusher.com/forms.html

Take care,
Kathy

Tel:505-898-9539
Fax:505-890-0190
E-Mail:info@paperpusher.com

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Important Paper Pusher Message

2011-09-12T12:56:20Z

September 12, 2011

Hi,

This email is to remind you that the 3rd estimated tax payment for 2011 is due Thursday, September 15th, 2011. If you are required to pay estimates, then I should have provided you with payment coupons or you are set up online with EFTPS. Please contact me if you need coupons.

Take care,
Kathy

Tel:505-898-9539
Fax:505-890-0190
E-Mail:info@paperpusher.com

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Paper Pusher Tips Message

2011-06-13T11:50:19Z

June 13 2011

Hi,

This email is to remind you that the 2nd estimated tax payment for 2011 is due Wednesday, June 15th, 2011. If you are required to pay estimates, then I should have provided you with payment coupons or you are set up online with EFTPS. Please contact me if you need coupons.

Take care,
Kathy

Tel:505-898-9539
Fax:505-890-0190
E-Mail:info@paperpusher.com

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Paper Pusher Tips Message

2010-06-14T18:14:51Z

June 14 2010

Hi,

This email is to remind you that the 2nd estimated tax payment for 2009 is due Tuesday, June 15th, 2010. If you are required to pay estimates, then I should have provided you with payment coupons or you are set up online with EFTPS. Please contact me if you need coupons.

Take care,
Kathy

Tel:505-898-9539
Fax:505-890-0190
E-Mail:info@paperpusher.com

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Paper Pusher Tips

2010-01-22T16:32:27Z

January 22 2009

Hi,

This year I have posted my Tax Checklist on my website to download and print. Please click on the following link and then click on �Tax Checklist� to print. http://paperpusher.com/forms.html

Take care,
Kathy

Tel:505-898-9539
Fax:505-890-0190
E-Mail:info@paperpusher.com

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Paper Pusher Tips Message

2010-01-22T16:22:03Z

Hi,

This year I have posted my Tax Checklist on my website to download and print.

Please click on the following link and then click on “Tax Checklist” to print.

http://paperpusher.com/forms.html

See you soon,

Kathy

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Paper Pusher Tips - September 15 2009

2009-09-15T11:44:12Z

September 15 2009

Technology Expenses Make the Grade for Qualified Tuition Programs

Taxpayers who purchase computer technology for higher education purposes may be eligible for a special tax break. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 added computer equipment and technology to the list of college expenses that can be paid for by a qualified tuition program, commonly referred to as a 529 plan.

A qualified, nontaxable distribution from a 529 plan during 2009 or 2010 now includes the cost of the purchase of any computer technology, equipment or Internet access and related services. To qualify the beneficiary must use the technology, equipment or services while enrolled at an eligible educational institution.

Here are some things the IRS wants you to know about 529 plans.

A 529 plan is an educational savings plan designed to provide tax-free earnings for the benefit of a student. Withdrawals must be used for qualified higher education expenses at an eligible educational institution.
Qualified higher education expenses include tuition, reasonable costs of room and board, mandatory fees, computer technology, supplies and books.
An eligible educational institution includes any college, university, vocational school or other postsecondary educational institution eligible to participate in a student aid program administered by the Department of Education.
Contributions to a 529 plan cannot be more than the amount necessary to provide for a student�s qualified education expenses.

Tel:505-898-9539
Fax:505-890-0190
E-Mail:info@paperpusher.com

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Paper Pusher Tips

2009-09-10T13:22:10Z

September 10 2009

Hi,

This email is to remind you that the 3rd estimated tax payment for 2009 is due Tuesday, September 15th,2009. If you are required to pay estimates, then I should have provided you with payment coupons or you are set up online with EFPTS. Please contact me if you need coupons. I would also like to remind anyone who has filed an extension for your personal tax return that your taxes must be filed by Oct 15th, 2009 in order to be counted as filed on time.

Take care,
Kathy

Tel:505-898-9539
Fax:505-890-0190
E-Mail:info@paperpusher.com

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Paper Pusher Tips Message

2009-08-04T15:43:43Z

August 04 2009

IRS Alerts Public to New Identity Theft Scams

Video: Watch Out for Tax Scams: English | Spanish | ASL

WASHINGTON � The Internal Revenue Service reminds consumers to avoid identity theft scams that use the IRS name, logo or Web site in an attempt to convince taxpayers that the scam is a genuine communication from the IRS. Scammers may use other federal agency names, such as the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

In an identity theft scam, a fraudster, often posing as a trusted government, financial or business institution or official, tries to trick a victim into revealing personal and financial information, such as credit card numbers and passwords, bank account numbers and passwords, Social Security numbers and more. Generally, identity thieves use someone�s personal data to steal his or her financial accounts, run up charges on the victim�s existing credit cards, apply for new loans, credit cards, services or benefits in the victim�s name and even file fraudulent tax returns.

The scams may take place through e-mail, fax or phone. When they take place via e-mail, they are called �phishing� scams.

The IRS does not discuss tax account matters with taxpayers by e-mail.

The IRS urges consumers to avoid falling for the following recent schemes:

Making Work Pay Refund

This phishing e-mail, which claims to come from the IRS, references the president and the Making Work Pay provision of the 2009 economic recovery law. It says that there is a refundable credit available to workers, consumers and retirees that can be paid into the recipient�s bank account if the recipient registers their account information with the IRS. The e-mail contains links to register the account and to claim the tax refund.

In reality, most taxpayers receive their Making Work Pay tax credit, which was designed for wage earners, in their paychecks as a result of decreased tax withholding, not as a lump sum distribution from a federal fund. Additionally, consumers and retirees who are not wage earners are not eligible for this tax credit.

Inherited Funds / Lottery Winnings / Cash Consignment

In this phishing scheme, recipients receive an e-mail claiming to come from the U.S. Department of the Treasury notifying them that they will receive millions of dollars in recovered funds or lottery winnings or cash consignment if they provide certain personal information, including phone numbers, via return e-mail. The e-mail may be just the first step in a multi-step scheme, in which the victim is later contacted by telephone or further e-mail and instructed to deposit taxes on the funds or winnings before they can receive any of it. Alternatively, they may be sent a phony check of the funds or winnings and told to deposit it but pay 10 percent in taxes or fees. Thinking that the check must have cleared the bank and is genuine, some people comply. However, the scammers, not the Treasury Department, will get the taxes or fees.

Form W-8BEN

In this scam, fraudsters modify a genuine IRS form, the W-8BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding, to request detailed personal and financial information. This could include nationality, passport number, bank account and PIN numbers, spouse�s name and mother�s maiden name, or other personal or financial information or security measures for financial accounts. The scammers may use the genuine form number and name or may make up a new form number, such as W-4100B2.

They either e-mail or fax the form or letter. If only a letter, the letter itself contains the request for the personal and financial information. The letter, which claims to come from the IRS, states that the recipient will face additional taxes unless he or she quickly faxes the required information to the number provided by the scammer.

In reality, taxpayers file the genuine Form W-8BEN with their financial institutions, not with the IRS. Additionally, the genuine W-8BEN does not request the taxpayer�s passport number, bank account number, security or similar information.

Refund Scam

The bogus e-mail, which claims to come from the IRS, tells the recipient that he or she is eligible to receive a tax refund for a given amount. It instructs the recipient to click on a link contained in the e-mail to access and complete a form for the tax refund. The form requires the entry of personal and financial information. The refund scam is the most common one seen by the IRS. Several recent variations on this scam have claimed to come from the Exempt Organizations area of the IRS. Some others have included the name and purported signature of a genuine or a made-up IRS executive.

Taxpayers do not have to complete a special form to obtain a refund. Taxpayer refunds are based on the tax return they submit to the IRS.

How to Spot a Scam

Many e-mail scams are fairly sophisticated and hard to detect. However, there are signs to watch for, such as an e-mail that:

Requests detailed or an unusual amount of personal and/or financial information, such as name, SSN, bank or credit card account numbers or security-related information, such as mother�s maiden name, either in the e-mail itself or on another site to which a link in the e-mail sends the recipient.
Dangles bait to get the recipient to respond to the e-mail, such as mentioning a tax refund or offering to pay the recipient to participate in an IRS survey.
Threatens a consequence for not responding to the e-mail, such as additional taxes or blocking access to the recipient�s funds.
Gets the Internal Revenue Service or other federal agency names wrong.
Uses incorrect grammar or odd phrasing (many of the e-mail scams originate overseas and are written by non-native English speakers).
Uses a really long address in any link contained in the e-mail message or one that does not start with the actual IRS Web site address (www.irs.gov). To see the actual link address, or url, move the mouse over the link included in the text of the e-mail.

What to Do

The IRS does not initiate taxpayer contact via unsolicited e-mail or ask for personal identifying or financial information via e-mail. If you receive a suspicious e-mail claiming to come from the IRS, take the following steps:

Do not open any attachments to the e-mail, in case they contain malicious code that will infect your computer.
Do not click on any links, for the same reason. Also, be aware that the links often connect to a phony IRS Web site that appears authentic and then prompts the victim for personal identifiers, bank or credit card account numbers or PINs. The phony Web sites appear legitimate because the appearance and much of the content are directly copied from an actual page on the IRS Web site and then modified by the scammers for their own purposes.
Contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to determine whether the IRS is trying to contact you.
Forward the suspicious e-mail or url address to the IRS mailbox phishing@irs.gov, then delete the e-mail from your inbox.

Genuine IRS Web site

The only genuine IRS Web site is IRS.gov. All IRS.gov Web page addresses begin with http://www.irs.gov/. Anyone wishing to access the IRS Web site should initiate contact by typing the IRS.gov address into their Internet address window, rather than clicking on a link in an e-mail.

Related Items:

Suspicious e-Mails and Identity Theft
How to Report and Identify Phishing, E-mail Scams and Bogus IRS Web Sites
OnGuardOnline.gov, for tips from the federal government and the technology industry

Tel:505-898-9539
Fax:505-890-0190
E-Mail:info@paperpusher.com

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Paper Pusher Tips Message

2009-06-12T14:50:20Z

June 12 2009

Hi,

This email is to remind you that the 2nd estimated tax payment for 2009 is due Monday, June 15th, 2009. If you are required to pay estimates, then I should have provided you with payment coupons or you are set up online with EFPTS.

Please contact me if you need coupons.

Take care,
Kathy

Tel:505-898-9539
Fax:505-890-0190
E-Mail:info@paperpusher.com

Subscribe to Paper Pusher Tips via email by entering your email address below:

Paper Pusher Tips

2009-04-21T12:27:23Z

April 21 2009

Seven Facts about the New Sales Tax Deduction
for Vehicle Purchases

Taxpayers who buy a new car or several other types of motor vehicles this year may be entitled to a special tax deduction when they file their 2009 federal tax returns next year. The tax break is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Here are seven things you should know about this new deduction:

State and local sales taxes paid on up to $49,500 of the purchase price of qualifying vehicles are deductible.
Qualified motor vehicles generally include new (not used) cars, light trucks, motor homes and motorcycles.
Purchases must occur after Feb. 16, 2009, and before Jan. 1, 2010.
This is an above-the-line deduction and can be taken regardless of whether or not you itemize other deductions on your tax return.
Taxpayers will claim this deduction when filing their 2009 federal income tax return next year.
The amount of the deduction is phased out for taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income is between $125,000 and $135,000 for individual filers and between $250,000 and $260,000 for joint filers.
The deduction may not be taken on 2008 tax returns. Consumers who are considering buying a new car may find that this tax incentive means there has never have been a better time to buy.

For more information about the sales and excise tax deduction for motor vehicle purchases visit the official IRS web site at IRS.gov.

Tel:505-898-9539
Fax:505-890-0190
E-Mail:info@paperpusher.com

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