Interhitance Advance and your Taxes

Nothing feels worse than when a loved relative passes away, especially when you have money problems during that time. Even thought you’re getting a nice chunk of money, there are tax issues that you’ll have to work out and put money away to prepare. The best thing that you can do to ease the burden during this difficult time is to get an inheritance advance. Unlike bank loans, an inheritance advance gives you all the money you need, with no waiting on a bank to approve your request. In order to qualify for a bank loan you have to spend days waiting on people to look over your credit, financial and work history, prior loans, and a hundred other things before they can even think about lending you the money that you need. But an inheritance advance company only needs proof that you are going to receive an inheritance; and they can get you that money quickly and efficiently.

Inheritance Advance and Loans Will Create Tax Issues

The worst part about having to take out a loan is that huge cloud of debt over your head. It seems that banks are just out there to take advantage of us at every turn. You are going through some rough times; why can’t they take it easy on you and give you a loan with some decent terms? An advance on your inheritance makes all of these questions go away. You get the money you need up front; there are no monthly payments, and when the inheritance finally comes through; the money goes to the company who gave you the advance. It’s so simple!

You have options when it comes to getting your inheritance money when you need it. A bank will tell you that a loan is more secure and that the agreement protects you as well as them. Do not go with a bank. You want your money without the complications from a loan. An advance will get you what you need when you need it.

Prepaid Debit Cards for Income Tax Refunds

Don’t look now but prepaid debit cards are making their way into our income tax system. Several State Governments and now the Federal Government are experimenting with ways to refund taxpayers directly to reloadable debit cards instead of the usual tax checks. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.

For a few years now several government agencies on all levels – all the way down to the county and municipal levels – have been trying feverishly to cut costs. Well, it turns out that one of the more expensive things they do is cut checks in order to pay out benefits and tax refunds. And they can save a load of cash by switching over to debit cards.

A prepaid debit card is a natural for these kinds of transactions. The agencies don’t have to pay for the cost of producing or distributing the cards because many prepaid card companies are more than happy to do that. The companies foot that bill because they’re able to put their product in the hands of lots and lots of new customers. The prepaid companies figure that many of these new customers will end up being repeat customers so they stand to gain some long-term business. It’s a big win for them.

And of course it’s a big win for the government agencies too. They save a lot of money because their processes get more streamlined. Plus, they’re able to do it all more quickly too. That’s why you’re seeing such things as unemployment benefits, railroad pension benefits, and more being distributed via prepaid cards.

It’s even a win for the citizens who receive the refunds. That’s because each government agency is usually able to cut a nice deal with the card companies so the refund recipients pay no fees on the cards – so they get the cards for free. And the cards are immediately usable so there’s no check cashing necessary. It’s a pretty sweet deal all around.

American Tax Relief, A Consumers Story

In October of 2008 I received notice from the IRS that a tax audit was being done on my 2006 tax year filing. After you get a notice like this from the IRS you then set up an appointment to see the tax examiner who will be handling your case. My appointment was scheduled for November at the Deerfield Beach IRS office in Florida and I was told which documents to bring for the auditor to look at. I had not reported my entire income on the Form 1040 and that is what had triggered the examination. I would not have had to face this situation if I had not totally relied on TurboTax without checking things adequately. If you have to face an ordeal like this, remember that the IRS wants your money, not your excuses.

The IRS sent my adjusted tax return in January of 2009 and told me that I owed more than $20,000 dollars in unpaid taxes. That did not even include the 8 percent interest on top of a $3,200 dollar penalty. When I read that I began to feel very desperate.

I had been seeing these TV commercials for a company called American Tax Relief which had very well known people selling the idea that this company could help you reduce any tax liability you might have. I called the number on the screen and spoke with one of their slick sales people whose name was Bill. I told him my story and he confidently assured me that his company could greatly reduce my tax liabilities. What a relief! In order to get their service started, and also get the IRS off of me, they faxed me a power of attorney that I was supposed to sign and return to them. I gave them my bank account number and all the necessary information to handle the one-time 3,900 dollar fee. I told them to go ahead and fax me the paperwork and I agreed to the service.

Even though I had already agreed to hire them, I began to have second thoughts and went online to see if there were any complaints against American Tax Relief. I was really surprised to find hundreds of complaints against them. You can visit www.ConsumerComplaints.com to see it for yourself. The Better Business Bureau has given them an “F” rating in Southern California. After I read the complaints I put an immediate stop payment on the telephone check that I had given to American Tax Relief. Then I got a call from Bill who wanted to know why my fax of the power of attorney had not reached them. I let him know that I no longer wanted their service and that put an end to that situation.

File Back Taxes

The time has come and gone to file federal taxes and even if you haven’t yet filed with the IRS, it is still possible that backs taxes be filed for your benefit.

Obviously, it’s best to pay off IRS back taxes as quickly as you can. The current approach of the government is to allow each tax payer to file their returns voluntarily. However, this doesn’t mean that payment of those taxes isn’t mandatory. While participating in the voluntary filing of taxes, on time or otherwise, the tax payer has the option of applying a number of deductions and Earned Income Credit to their paperwork. If you do not participate in voluntary filing, the IRS has the option to file for you, and without any exemptions or qualified deductions. This means that the substitute return filed can hit your finances twice as hard. The estimated amount is probably going to be higher than the return you would’ve filed yourself. The IRS may then put liens on any property you own, or levys on your financial accounts and even wages until the amount owed is paid off.

When paying IRS back taxes, any form of credit card and loans are accepted, and you may even negotiate an installment account with them. When considering your options, the IRS recommends a bank loan or credit card payment, as the installment plan will usually end up costing more. The limit is three years to file IRS back taxes, starting from the day they were due to receive refunds. After this three year limit, your refunds will expire, so it is a good idea to file as soon as you can. Any refunds owed to you can even be used as payments toward IRS back taxes you may owe.

Not all of the IRS back taxes require payment. It is understood that sometimes people are late simply because of life occurrences or because they assumed they would owe money and then find out they don’t. Whatever the case, it is important to file all back taxes with the IRS quickly. Remember that the processing of back taxes doesn’t take place at every IRS location, so know the address where you need to send your returns or you may receive further penalties and interest in a mail delay. If you happen to have an official IRS notice about your back taxes, send your return to the address listed on that notice for fastest processing. The website www.irs.gov has prior instructions and forms dating as long ago as 1990, and the information on where to mail returns.

Filing taxes is always a fairly tiring experience, but uncertainty does not need to cause a delay in your filing. The IRS offers assistance for low to moderate income households via a Volunteer Income Tx Assistance Program. Also, all tax payers over the age of 60 can find help with a Tax Counseling for Elderly program. These two programs are of course free for anyone who qualifies, and offer you IRS tax filing training. This way, you can avoid filing IRS back taxes completely.