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IRS Patrol: Tax Assistance in Disaster Situations: July 17 is Gulf Oil Assistance Day
WASHINGTON –– The Internal Revenue Service [recently] provided guidance to individuals and businesses affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and announced a number of new efforts to help affected taxpayers, including a special Gulf Coast Assistance Day on July 17.
“This is a very difficult time for many people affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. As residents of the region cope with the evolving situation, I want to assure them that the IRS will be doing everything it can to provide tax help to those who need it,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. “We encourage anyone who has an issue with the IRS to contact us and explain their hardship, and we will work with them to find a solution. We’ll do everything we can under current law to help taxpayers.”
The guidance released today is based on current law, and it explains how recipients of payments from BP should treat the payments for tax purposes. According to the current law, BP payments for lost income are taxable in the same way that the wages or business income these payments are replacing would have been. The law treats compensation for lost wages or income differently for tax purposes than compensation for physical injuries or property loss, which generally are nontaxable.
Every person can have unique financial circumstances, so the IRS encourages taxpayers to review their tax situation or talk with their tax preparers about the implications of payments or compensation from the oil spill.
The new information is available in a question-and-answer format on a special section of the IRS website, IRS.gov. The IRS is closely monitoring the situation in the Gulf, and additional information will be added to IRS.gov as it becomes available.
To help people in the Gulf Coast area dealing with tax issues, the IRS also announced a special assistance day on July 17 in seven cities. Taxpayers and tax preparers will be able to work directly with IRS employees to resolve tax issues, including specific topics related to the oil spill. The IRS will hold the Gulf Coast Assistance Day in four states:
- Alabama: Mobile.
- Florida: Panama City and Pensacola.
- Louisiana: New Orleans, Houma and Baton Rouge.
- Mississippi: Gulfport.
Times and specific locations will soon be announced and will be available on IRS.gov.
In addition, taxpayers with problems related to the Gulf spill will soon be able to reach IRS personnel through an IRS toll-free telephone line. Specially trained IRS personnel will be available to help people with tax questions related to the oil spill. More information will be available soon about this telephone line.
The IRS encourages taxpayers in the Gulf struggling with payment or collection issues to contact the agency. The IRS continues to have a number of ways to help taxpayers dealing with oil spill issues or other economic hardship issues, including:
- Assistance of the Taxpayer Advocate Service for those taxpayers experiencing particular hardship navigating the IRS.
- Postponement of collection actions in certain hardship cases.
- Added flexibility for missed payments on installment agreements and offers in compromise for previously compliant individuals having difficulty paying.
- IRS employees will be permitted to consider a taxpayer’s current income and potential for future income when negotiating an offer in compromise.
- Accelerated levy releases for taxpayers facing economic hardship.
Related Information:
IRS Presents: Tanning Tax Is Here
Stacie says: July 1st kicked off the new tanning tax provision of the Affordable Care Act that we debated last year.
You can catch up with the debate by reading these posts:
Vanity Tax = Tax the Other Guy Legislation HR 3590
Babbling Incisively on About Fuller Lips, Larger Breasts, Slimmer Thighs and H.R.3590
Still Talking About Fuller Lips, Larger Breasts, Slimmer Thighs, And H.R. 3590
The IRS Presents the following information:
Starting July 1, 2010, many businesses offering tanning services must collect a 10 percent excise tax on the tanning services they provide. This excise tax requirement is part of the Affordable Care Act that was enacted in March 2010.
Here are nine tips on the tanning excise tax that providers must collect.
- Businesses providing ultraviolet tanning services must collect the 10 percent excise tax at the time the customer pays for the tanning services.
- If the customer fails to pay the excise tax, the tanning service provider is liable for the tax.
- The tax does not apply to phototherapy services performed by a licensed medical professional on his or her premises.
- The tax does not apply to spray-on tanning services.
- If a payment covers charges for tanning services along with other goods and services, the other goods and services may be excluded from the tax if they are separately stated and the charges do not exceed the fair market value for those other goods and services.
- If the customer purchases bundled services and the charges are not separately stated, the tax applies to the portion of the payment that can be reasonably attributed to the indoor tanning services.
- The tax does not have to be paid on membership fees for certain qualified physical fitness facilities that offer indoor tanning services as an incidental service to members without a separately identifiable fee.
- Tanning service providers must report and pay the excise tax on a quarterly basis.
- To pay the tax, businesses must file IRS Form 720, Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return using an Employer Identification Number assigned by the IRS. Businesses that don’t already have one can apply for an EIN online at IRS.gov.
Find more information about the excise tax on tanning services, IRS Form 720 and other tax provisions of the Affordable Care Act at IRS.gov.
Links:
- IR-2010-73, IRS Issues Regulations on 10-Percent Tax on Tanning Services Effective July 1
- Excise Tax on Indoor Tanning Services Frequently Asked Questions
- Affordable Care Act Tax Provisions
YouTube Video:
Stacie's Tax Stuff 