tax refunds news stories on Newser

Identity Theft Probe Halted $1.4B in False IRS Refunds

Rob Quinn — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:14:22 CST

The Internal Revenue Service is cracking down on fraudsters as tax return seasons begins. The agency has stepped up efforts to prevent identity theft, and caught 260,000 bad returns last year, up from 50,000 in 2010, and prevented a total of $1.4 billion in bad refunds being...

47% of Americans Pay No Federal Income Tax

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 09:27:29 CDT

Tax Day is a dreaded deadline for millions, but for nearly half of US households it's simply somebody else's problem. About 47% will pay no federal income taxes at all for 2009. Either their incomes were too low, or they qualified for enough credits, deductions, and exemptions to eliminate their...

Millions Must Repay Part of Stimulus Tax Credit

Harry Kimball — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:49:13 CST

An IRS tax credit designed to lighten the load on recession-addled taxpayers won't work out as well as hoped for about 15.4 million Americans. Because certain minutiae of the new Making Work Pay credit weren’t factored in to withholding tables, more than 10% of taxpayers who file individual returns...

Obama Offers New Options for Retirement Savings

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 07:07:17 CDT

President Obama used his radio address today to roll out several initiatives aimed at making it easier for Americans to save for retirement. One move will allow people to have their federal tax refunds sent as savings bonds by checking a box on their tax return; another has workers automatically...

Poll: Few Plan Splurges With Tax Refunds

Katherine Thompson — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 09:13:11 CDT

Taxpayers’ refund checks are starting to arrive, but this year the economy might not see much of a boost from that money, an AP poll finds. More people are planning to spend their refunds in some way, but 54% say they’ll pay off existing bills rather than go on spending...

Ponzi Victims Will Be Tax Nightmare for IRS

Nick McMaster — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:06:50 CDT

The work of fraudsters such as Bernie Madoff and R. Allen Stanford will complicate the IRS’ job as tens of the thousands of victims attempt to reclaim taxes paid on income that went up in smoke, Time reports. The IRS estimates that refunds due victims to Madoff alone could total...

Cash-Strapped Calif. May Shorten School Year

Ambreen Ali — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:55:48 CST

Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed cutting a week out of the public school calendar, the latest desperate measure in California's struggle with a $41 billion budget shortfall. The Governator says the $1.1 billion savings will ward off other cuts to education, which makes up 40% of the state budget. Schools...

Calif. Budget Gap Could Mean IOUs, Not Tax Refunds

Harry Kimball — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:11:37 CST

Faced with a mounting budget gap and failed negotiations toward a solution, California may have to send out promissory notes to taxpayers owed refunds and local governments, the Los Angeles Times reports. Talks between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic legislature foundered yesterday; lawmakers sent the governor a disputed package...

IRS Notice Stuns Lawyer: 'You Owe Us a Penny'

Harry Kimball — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 13:10:00 CST

Washington may be loaning billions to automakers, but a Detroit lawyer? He has to pay an IRS bill of 5 cents, the Detroit Free Press reports. James Howarth was busy tallying the cost of paying his debt—which is "several hundred percent over the nickel," he said—when the IRS...