Tax Resolution Insights
Tax Resolution Insights & IRS Guidance
Expert insights and guidance from our licensed tax professionals.
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Why Did the Illinois Department of Revenue Send You a Return Correction Notice?
A Return Correction Notice, form IDOR-1-RCN, is the letter the Illinois Department of Revenue sends when it has a question about information on your Illinois income tax return. It explains the issue and tells you how to resolve it. Read it against your copy of the return, then answer with what it asks for before…
Amit Maheshwari
Four Payroll Tax Penalty Tiers Run From 2 Percent to 15 Percent
When a business deposits payroll taxes late, the IRS charges a failure to deposit penalty of 2%, 5%, 10% or 15% of the unpaid deposit, depending on how late it is. A late Form 941 and an unpaid balance add their own penalties, interest runs on top, and unpaid withholding can become a personal bill…
Amit Maheshwari
The PFIC Nightmare: Why U.S. Taxpayers Must Beware Foreign Mutual Funds
Investing in foreign mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), or other passive investment vehicles might seem like a great way to diversify a portfolio, but for U.S. taxpayers, these investments can trigger one of the most punitive and complex tax regimes in the Internal Revenue Code — the Passive Foreign Investment Company (PFIC) regime. The PFIC…
Amit Maheshwari
FATCA: If you think you are flying under the RADAR, you are not !!!
FATCA: The Hidden Danger for Taxpayers with International Accounts If you’re a U.S. taxpayer with financial accounts outside the United States, you may unknowingly be sitting on a ticking tax bomb. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is designed to ensure that U.S. citizens and residents with international financial accounts are reporting them to…
Amit Maheshwari
The Illinois Voluntary Disclosure Program Closes the Moment IDOR Contacts You
The Illinois Voluntary Disclosure Program is the Illinois Department of Revenue’s route for individuals and businesses that owe Illinois tax they never filed or paid. You apply on Form BOA-2 before IDOR contacts you. If you’re approved, you file and pay for no more than four years, and the penalties on those years are waived.…
Amit Maheshwari
What Illinois Adds in Late Filing and Late Payment Penalties
Illinois does not charge one penalty for being late. It charges two, on two different failures, and a taxpayer can owe one, the other, or both on the same return. Sorting out which one is on your notice is the first useful thing to do, because they are avoided differently and they come off differently.…
Amit Maheshwari
Filing IRS Form 14039 When Someone Files a Tax Return in Your Name
An e-file rejection is how most people find out. The return goes in, comes straight back, and the reason code says a return has already been filed using that Social Security number. Nobody in the household filed it. Somewhere in the message is a form number, and that form is 14039. Before anything else, do…
Amit Maheshwari
What Illinois Charges When Your Estimated Tax Payments Fall Short
Two agencies, two balances. That is the sentence we end up saying most often to Naperville households who have just discovered that settling the federal side of a year did nothing at all about the state side. The Illinois Department of Revenue runs its own estimated payment requirement, and when payments fall short it charges…
Amit Maheshwari
Why You Got an IRS Estimated Tax Penalty and How to Get It Removed
You filed, the math looked right, and there is still a line on the return you did not expect. It is usually small enough to be annoying rather than frightening, and it almost never comes with an explanation. What you are looking at is the penalty for underpaying estimated tax, and it is charged for…
Amit Maheshwari
Illinois Tax Amnesty, What Happened to the 2025 Program and What to Do Now
The 2025 Illinois tax amnesty closed in November 2025. Here is what it was, why you may still be getting IDOR letters, and the options you have today.
Amit Maheshwari
Illinois Tax Payment Plan, How to Set One Up With IDOR and What to Expect
How to request an Illinois tax payment plan through IDOR using Form CPP-1 or MyTax Illinois, what the terms look like, and what happens if you default.
Amit Maheshwari