Stacie's Tax Stuff

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced that its Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) obtained the disbarment of Certified Public Accountant Anthony A. Tiongson for charging unconscionable fees, giving irresponsible advice to clients and making false statements to federal and state authorities, among other things.

Tiongson is prohibited from preparing tax returns or representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service for a minimum of five years. Tiongson practiced in California.

“Practitioners who abuse the trust of their clients by charging unconscionable fees for taking frivolous positions on their tax returns can expect to hear from my office in the IRS,” said Karen L. Hawkins, director of OPR

In a Final Agency Decision, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) disbarred Tiongson on March 1. The ALJ found that Tiongson’s advice to clients to use Form 2555 to treat California earned income as foreign source income on at least fifty-two tax returns, constituted disreputable conduct under Circular 230, and his failure to research the legitimacy of the filing position specifically violated the Circular’s due diligence standards.

The ALJ also found Circular 230 violations in Tiongson’s use of a contingent fee structure and in the false statement to IRS Criminal Investigation regarding his fee structure. He was also found to have made false claims to the California Board of Accountancy that he ceased advising use of Form 2555 after becoming aware of the first IRS examination of his clients’ returns.

The ALJ also found that Tiongson violated Circular 230 by engaging in a pattern of delaying IRS examination and collection actions by repeatedly raising numerous frivolous arguments, long-rejected by the IRS and by case law. Tiongson’s litigation threats against IRS employees, as part of client settlement proposals, were also determined to be violations.

“The mere possession of a professional license does not give a practitioner the right to make his or her own rules, or to threaten IRS personnel doing their jobs,” Hawkins said.

The ALJ found other violations of Circular 230 including: Tiongson did not respond to OPR requests for information and he submitted a Form 2848, Power of Attorney, naming an unlicensed individual as a second “authorized” representative in a collection matter thereby aiding an ineligible person to practice before the IRS.

Although the Decision was entered as a default judgment, Tiongson was represented by counsel during the proceedings. The text of the ALJ Decision can be found on IRS.gov.

Adoption can create new families or expand existing ones. The expenses of adopting a child may also lower your federal tax. If you recently adopted or attempted to adopt a child, you may be eligible for a tax credit. You may also be eligible to exclude some of your income from tax. Here are ten things the IRS wants you to know about adoption tax benefits.

1. The maximum adoption tax credit and exclusion for 2012 is $12,650 per eligible child.

2. To be eligible, a child must generally be under 18 years old. There is an exception to this rule for children who are physically or mentally unable to care for themselves.

3. For 2012, the tax credit is nonrefundable. This means that, while the credit may reduce your tax to zero, you cannot receive any additional amount in the form of a refund.

4. If your credit exceeds your tax, you may be able to carryforward the unused credit. This means that if you have an unused credit amount in 2012, you can use it to reduce your taxes for 2013. You can carryover an unused credit for up to five years or until you fully use the credit, whichever comes first.

5. Use Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses, to claim the adoption credit and exclusion. Although you cannot file your tax return with Form 8839 electronically, the IRS encourages you to use e-file software to prepare your return. E-file makes tax preparation easier and accurate. You can then print and mail your paper federal tax return to the IRS.

6. Adoption expenses must directly relate to the legal adoption of the child and they must be reasonable and necessary. Expenses that qualify include adoption fees, court costs, attorney fees and travel costs.

7. If you adopted an eligible U.S. child with special needs and the adoption is final, a special rule applies. You may be able to take the tax credit even if you did not pay any qualified adoption expenses. See the instructions for Form 8839 for more information about this rule.

8. If your employer has a written qualified adoption assistance program, you may be eligible to exclude some of your income from tax.

9. Depending on the adoption’s cost, you may be able to claim both the tax credit and the exclusion. However, you cannot claim both a credit and exclusion for the same expenses. This rule prevents you from claiming both tax benefits for the same expense.

10. The credit and exclusion are subject to income limitations. The limits may reduce or eliminate the amount you can claim depending on your income.

For more information, visit the IRS.gov website to see the Adoption Benefits FAQ page. Also, check out Form 8839 and its instructions. Both are available at IRS.gov or you can order the form by calling800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

Additional IRS Resources:

• Adoption Benefits FAQs
• Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses
• Adoption Tax Credit