California Tax Legal Questions

Generally, failure to report income can be determined to be tax fraud but I believe your primary concern is whether or not your actions would be considered unemployment fraud. In Ohio, you could be subject to re-payment of benefits, penalties, fines and/or imprisonment for fraud. You may want to discuss your situation in further detail with an attorney "off-line" so that all of your discussions will remain confidential. You may contact our office to schedule an appointment if you have further questions or if you need assistance with this issue. You can also schedule an appointment or obtain additional information at our website.... Read More

If one gift to the same person in one year exceeds $13,000 then a gift tax return must be filed. This is Form 709 and it's due on April 15 in the year following the year in which the gift was made. So, when you give a person $100,000, $13,000 would be subtracted from this and a tentative tax would be figured on the remaining $87,000. The tax on this amount would be offset by a similar amount from the lifetime exclusion amount thus reducing the donor's applicable exclusion amount by the amount of the tax on the $87,000. The available applicable exclusion amount will be reduced after December 31, 2012 unless Congress acts to change this (applicable exclusion reduced to $1 Million).... Read More

All I will say about this right now is if you are soliciting contributions and you want to tell your donors they are tax deductible, you must first apply to the IRS to become a Section 501(c)(3) organization or create a private foundation. There are some stringent rules on how money is used, etc.... Read More

It appears that Mother sold the car to Daughter and kept a lien as she had not bee paid in full. Mother's rights, including the benefit of her lien, belong to her estate, beneficiaries and/or heirs. Daughter's ownership in the car, subject to Mother's lien, belongs to her estate, beneficiaries and/or heirs. That should make it pretty simple.... Read More

If you are going to be a multi-state business, incorporating in Nevada will be a good deal. If you will do business in California, then your California expenses (taxes and qualifying) will be more if you incorporate in Nevada. Since you are here, probably it is best to incorporate here and change the state of incorporation when you are ready to go public (if ever).... Read More

For the years for which you filed joint returns, you are jointly and severally responsible for the income taxes. That means that if, for example, $4,000 is owed, the IRS can collect it all from him, all from you, or part from each. If they happen to collect more than the $4,000 (plus interest and penalties), then they would need to refund the excess.... Read More

California law generally prohibits the garnishment of any sort of disability benefits, unless the garnishment is for back child support. While the federal government can garnish your SSI for back taxes, I do not believe that the states have this same right, but am not 100% sure on this point.... Read More

Unfortunately, the answer appears to be "yes." The fact that your father-in-law is a signatory is enough to give the IRS the ability to attach the account. If you can establish that the money does not belong to your father-in-law, however, it may be possible to get the money back from the IRS through an administrative claim or (if the claim is denied), through a civil lawsuit. I hope this helps.... Read More

A beneficiary like you does not pay an estate tax and there is no inheritance tax in Ca. Contact the county tax assessor for a change in ownership form because the property is subject to reassessment. I am curious how you removed his name from the deed. Was the property held in joint tenancy? Otherwise it should be probated.... Read More

Yes. You are not likely to owe any taxes, but you always need to file a return. Under the Internal Revenue Code section 6651, you can face penalties for not filing your taxes, even if you do have an actual tax liability for the year. In short, always file, even if you are sure you won't owe anything.... Read More

You can still file them. You should meet with a CPA or other qualified tax preparer and get them done as soon as possible. If you owe, there will be applicable penalties for filing and paying late. Even if you don't think you will owe, you may want to file if you think you may be due a refund.... Read More

The better question is "If you sue your CPA, can you win and recover damages?" Unfortunately the answer at this point is I don't know. If she accurately reported the information you supplied and did not misapply the tax law, she is not necessarily liable to you for taxes or for refund of her fees. Your CPA should explain to you what the process is and your potential liability from the audit. If you do not have confidence in her at this point, you should find a reputable CPA firm and obtain an explanation of the apparent problem and advice as to how to proceed in respect to the audit.... Read More