Check Your Tax Professional's Background with IRS Directory

This tax season, you may ask for help with preparing your return. But not all tax return preparers have the same level of skills, education, and expertise.

Before choosing a tax professional, check their credentials and qualifications.

Albany Police Department Advisory: Phone Scam Alert

The Albany police have received reports of a phone scam in which the caller claims to be from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

In reported cases, the caller has been calling residents and leaving the following phone message:

"Hello we have been trying to reach you. This call is officially a final notice from IRS Internal Revenue Service. The reason of this call is to inform you that the IRS is filing a lawsuit against you to get more information about this case file. Please call immediately on our department number 202-239-7350. I repeat 202-239-7350. Thank you."

The phone message is a scam in attempt for the victim to call phone scammer back and provide personal and financial information.

More from Nixle.

Check the Status of Your Federal Tax Refund

If you're awaiting a refund from the IRS, check the status of your refund.

Your refund status should be available 24 hours after your electronically filed tax return has been received, or 4 weeks after you've mailed a paper return.

You must enter the exact whole dollar amount shown on your tax return. Providing the exact whole dollar amount is essential to receiving the correct response.

IRS Automatic Revocation of Tax-Exempt Status

The IRS has published the first Automatic Revocation of Exemption List. It indicates approximately 275,000 nonprofits whose tax-exempt status has been revoked because they failed to file a Form 990, 990-N, 990-EZ, or 990-PF for three consecutive years; the list is available for downloading in both Excel and PDF form. Here's the PDF of the New York State list.

As GuideStar notes, if an organization appears on the list, it must now must file a federal income tax return and pay federal income taxes. If it previously could accept tax-deductible contributions, it no longer can do so. "If your organization is not on the list, technically you don't have to do anything. This a good time, however, to reach out to your donors, funders, and other constituents and assure them that you are in good standing with the IRS. You may also wish to suggest that your supporters consult the list to ensure that the other nonprofits they give to are still exempt."

I'm pleased to note that the Friends of the Albany Public Library is NOT on the list. So you may continue to make your tax-deductable contributions to the organization.

Small Nonprofits in Danger of Losing Tax-Exempt Status

From Guidestar:

"Time is running out for small nonprofits facing loss of tax-exempt status because they have not filed Form 990-N or Form 990-EZ for three consecutive years. The deadline for the IRS's one-time filing relief program is October 15, 2010. After that, nonprofits that (1) are required to file a 990 and (2) whose filings are at least three years in arrears will automatically lose their exemptions. To regain tax-exempt status, they will have to apply to the IRS all over again, a process that can take several months and requires payment of fees."

I went through the list and found over 200 with ZIP Codes starting with 1220.

New Tax Guide Features Recovery Tax Breaks; Helps People Save on 2009 Taxes

Taxpayers can get the most out of new recovery tax breaks and get a jump on preparing their 2009 federal income tax returns by consulting a newly revised comprehensive tax guide now available on IRS.gov.

Economic stimulus payment update

If you or someone you know that generally does not have to file a 2007 return but must do so for the economic stimulus payment:

Last week, IRS announced that the IRS Free File program is now available for nonfilers who must file a 2007 return to receive an economic stimulus payment.

IR-2008-34 has more information.

IRS info re: the economic stimulus package

The IRS has created a FAQ page regarding the economic stimulus package.