5 Simple Steps To Achieving Mitt Romney’s Tax Rate

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been getting blasted for months about the fact this effective tax rate is so incredibly low. As an Enrolled Agent, I find the discussion surrounding Romney’s tax situation to be particularly interesting, because there isn’t a single taxpayer on the face of the Earth that personally wants to pay more taxes than they have to. If such a strange person does exist, there is no government that won’t happily cash your check (in fact, the U.S. government happily accepts credit cards for donations).

I’d really like to get on the phone with all these reporters and news anchors blasting Romney for his tax reduction strategies. I’d bet $100 that you can’t find one that would, themselves, personally agree to pay more taxes than they need to. Yet, they will happily ridicule somebody else for doing so.

Actually, I need to back up, because there is actually one person I know of that voluntarily pays more taxes than he’s required to. Guess who that is? Mitt Romney.

That’s right. In order to keep a campaign promise earlier this year stating that he has paid at least 13% in taxes each of the past 10 years, Mitt Romney voluntarily failed to claim $1.75 million in charitable contributions on his 2011 Form 1040. In other words, he only deducted $2.25 million of the total $4 million he actually donated to non-profits. If he had claimed the full deduction, his 2011 effective tax rate would only have been 12%.

Mitt Romney’s strategy for only paying an effective tax rate in the low teens is perfectly legal.

The Internal Revenue Code requires every American citizen, at home or abroad, to pay taxes on all income, from whatever source derived, whether that money is made in America, or overseas. The law requires everybody to pay their mandatory tax amount, and not a single penny more. The tax laws are the tax laws, and the law is the same for every citizen. Just because you are rich does not magically change the tax laws (just ask Wesley Snipes, serving three years for tax fraud).

Some people complain that the tax code favors the wealthy. This simply isn’t true. The tax code provides equal opportunity for all. Equal opportunity to minimize, but also equal opportunity to get screwed.

What does this mean, and and how can you take advantage of it?

First of all, realize … Continue reading

Where did your tax debt come from?

For the vast of taxpayers, both individuals and businesses alike, their very first tax bill stems from a series of events.

For individuals, it can be that you simply don’t pay attention to your tax situation throughout the year (hint: you should!). You think of your taxes as a once a year affair, rather than taking a proactive approach to regular tax planning. Perhaps you got a bonus, a raise, or a gambling win at some point in the year that boosted your overall income for the year into a higher tax bracket, and didn’t adjust your withholding at that time to compensate. Or perhaps you had a large debt forgiven or took money out of an IRA early, and didn’t plan for the tax consequences. Failing to take into consideration a significant life change, such as no longer being a homeowner or losing an exemption and tax credits because of a child growing too old to claim, can also have a major impact on your tax situation.

For businesses, it can start with a rough month, and simply not having the cash laying around on the 15th to make the payroll tax deposit for last month’s payroll. Essentially, it becomes a matter of convenience to skip that Federal Tax Deposit one time. Well, in my experience, that one time becomes an expedience for the entire quarter, then two quarters, with no warning or anything from the IRS. Then, suddenly 8 straight quarters have gone by and you get a tax lien notice and a call from IRS Collections, not to mention you are suddenly informed of the massive penalties, which can double the size of your initial tax debt.

Whenever you have a “life event”, be sure to take into consideration the potential tax consequences. What is a life event? Anything to do with large asset acquisition or disposal (such as a home), anything to do with children, marriage, divorce, bankruptcy, foreclosure, job change, moving, or anything that drastically changes your bank account balance. If you are self-employed, there are even more definitions for a “life event”.

For business owners, don’t fall into the “it’s easier not to pay this month” trap, especially with payroll taxes. The long term consequences simply aren’t worth it. In fact, it’s cheaper to raid your personal retirement plan and pay the 10% early withdrawal penalty than it is to pay the penalties that add up for not … Continue reading

How the IRS views your cost of living

In general, the IRS appears to take a cynical view at people’s cost of living, and can be fairly judgmental about how we spend our money. This cynicism obviously increases dramatically the moment you have an outstanding tax debt.

Before delving into specifics, I’d like to make two points regarding the IRS personnel you’d normally be discussing your personal finances with. First, IRS field personnel such as Revenue Officers and Settlement (Appeals) Officers typically have higher salaries than the IRS National Standards for the areas in which they are assigned. In other words, even as public servants, they make more money than their own standards set for a middle class lifestyle.

Second, keep in mind that these people are public servants. In fact, most senior IRS personnel are lifetime bureaucrats, meaning that they have never had to work in the private sector. Some senior Revenue Officers, Revenue Agents (Auditors), and Settlement Officers have actually never worked a day in their lives outside of the government, and don’t even have finance or accounting backgrounds.

Combining these two things, you can see that it’s very possible that the IRS person you are explaining your finances to has an interesting view on the world: They’ve always made an above average salary, and lack any personal experience running a business or dealing with the reality of private sector employment. This skewed perspective becomes readily apparent in talking to senior IRS personnel if you’re a middle class taxpayer or “mom and pop” small business owner.

Now, with that said, let’s talk about the IRS National Standards. The government uses national and local cost of living data to establish norms for the cost of living across various categories. Some cost of living standards are the same for everybody, while others, such as housing and transportation, are adjusted by region.

These standards are based entirely on the government’s definition of a middle class existence. In other words, for purposes of determining how much of your income the IRS expects you to fork over in monthly payments on a tax debt, they only allow you to claim a middle class lifestyle.

It is not uncommon for me to have a conversation with a client where I’m explaining this, and they get frustrated. When you’re in IRS collections, they don’t like seeing that you’re making $1500 per month car payments on a Hummer and a Corvette, or have two people living in a 4200 … Continue reading