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FEDERAL COURT BARS CALIFORNIA TAX PREPARER FROM CLAIMING SO-CALLED MARINERS TAX DEDUCTION
Key points surrounding the judgement are listed down below...
Reserve your spot with TWTS for 2008 tax preparation!!!
Our client relationships are based upon our excellent reputation for superior personal service and attention to detail along with our genuine interest in providing valuable accounting and tax services at a reasonable cost.
As you can imagine, we have been inundated with inquires lately. In order to adequately staff for the 2008 tax year, we are asking that mariners who are interested in using our services complete this Count Me In page in PDF formst or this Count me in page in Word format. New customers will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. The sooner you reserve your spot the better. We do not want to compromise service levels for our existing customers. This pre- registration will help ensure that.
Disclosure: Any information provided will be used for internal use only. We use this information internally to deliver the best possible service to you, such as reducing our processing time and maintaining a consistent and reliable client experience.
Key points from the judgment to be aware of...
* Judgment and Permanent injunction has been entered against Martin Kapp on August 20th, 2007.
* Martin Kapp has 21 days thereafter to produce the names, contact information, social security number or employee identification number of all persons he prepared returns dating back to January 1st, 2000.
* "The United States may recover its costs."
What might this mean to you???
You may be liable for back taxes, penalties, interest, and possibly subjected to an audit!!!
We have stressed in our newsletters, website, and seminars for years that as a mariner you are not eligible for the 'M' portion of the M&IE rate (Meals and Incidentals). This does not disallow you from deducting actual meal expenses incurred while in port, during the period of time you are job searching, or while attending school for required education; however, you are not eligible to deduct meals while on board the vessel.
We have taken the opportunity to speak with one of the lawyers from the Department of Justice involved with the case against the California Preparer. We wanted to confirm that we were not putting our clients in jeopardy by writing-off your daily INCIDENTIAL per diem rate. We were assured that under current I.R.S. guidelines and Tax Court decisions merchant seaman are allowed to deduct incidental expenses while traveling away from home, however, they are not allowed to deduct the costs of meals that were furnished to them for free by their employers.
Due to the recent crackdowns on invalid deductions taken by a few tax preparers, we cannot emphasize enough that it is you, the taxpayer, who is ultimately responsible for penalties and fines resulting from invalid deductions. As Merchant Mariners, your tax preparation needs are very unique. Transport Workers Tax Service understands the complex issues related to filing an accurate tax return and will not put you in jeopardy of an audit for what could ultimately calculate into $300-$1500 in tax deficiencies. Please contact us toll free at 1-866-777-TWTS for professional, IRS substantiated tax preparation with no surprises.
To view the judgment and permanent injunction, click HERE.
To view exacly how The DOJ and IRS feel about Kapp and what led them to seek a permanent injuction, click HERE.
To view minutes from the August 20th, 2007 judgment, click HERE.
To view the Department of Justice Notice, click HERE.
To view the full complaint, click HERE.
To view the case where a Court bars four Louisiana tax return preparers from inflating deductions for Mariners, click HERE.
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