DISQUS

Consumerism Commentary: Am I Required to Report All Income to the IRS?

  • ib · 9 months ago
    LOL! this was a very entertaining post -- er, i mean educational. thanks for sharing it. i enjoyed it. :)
  • Nate · 9 months ago
    Q: If you read a very entertaining (er..educational) post what should you do?

    A: Promote it!

    Make sure that you mention it on all your favorite social networks including Twitter, Stumble Upon, and Digg. ;)

    Thanks,
    Nate
  • SJ · 9 months ago
    This post was hilarious!! It was great and had me laughing =)!!
  • thomas · 9 months ago
    Wow, the government wants their hand on everything. Not condoning certain behavior, but it might be hard to verify certain prize earnings or rewards.
  • Anca · 9 months ago
    Does anyone honestly believe most criminals report their illegal income?
  • Flexo · 9 months ago
    Heh, I doubt it anyone believes that. But it does provide another path for law enforcement to go after criminals they can prove received income but they can't quite prove they've committed a crime.
  • crimewatch · 8 months ago
    When the Feds can't make the real case against the criminal, they always check on income tax evasion - catches quite a few hard-core criminals.
  • Shaun · 9 months ago
    Anca,

    It's there to help punish illegal actions, and to give the government extra "room" to investigate people they believe are doing illegal things. It's not about taxes, but about finding a way to excuse extra-invasive investigations. It's actually humorously clever. ;-)

    Say, Flex, I've sent a few emails to you (I believe, at least) about a possible guest post. Have you received the emails? They might have been sent to the spambox, so I wanted to make sure you knew. :)
  • FG · 9 months ago
    Let me try this: I own a mutual fund in a country other than the US. I have double citizenship: US and that of the country where I own the mutual funds. On withdrawing my gains, the mutual fund company in that country automatically withholds the capital gains tax (according to that country's tax regulations) and sends it promptly to the local tax authority.

    Under these circumstances, do I still have to report the capital gains to the IRS even though I have already been taxed once for them? (If yes, what forms would I need to use?)
  • Eric · 9 months ago
    ROFLMAO!

    (If Internet acronyms aren't your thing, it's Rolling On the Floor Laughing My Ass Off!) ;-)
  • Matthew · 9 months ago
    Ok. How about:

    I dug a hole in the ground in the backyard of the house that I own and found a $10,000 gold nugget. Do I have to report this?
  • crimewatch · 8 months ago
    perhaps that would increase your basis in the property? LOL
  • Ron · 9 months ago
    Things may have changed, but about 20 years ago my mother was awarded a mega-dollar lawsuit when a guy struck her from behind while she was sitting in her car at a traffic light. She broke her neck, had internal brain injuries and had to learn to walk again. Her lawsuit proceeds were not taxable at that time according to her attorney, her accountant, and the IRS.

    For the record, the guy was a VP for the largest privately owned insurance company in the state ... and he was driving the company car. From the attorney's point of view, it didn't get any sweeter than that.
  • Flexo · 9 months ago
    Ron: That's a terrible thing to happen. I hope your mom has recovered fully. Prior to 1996, injury lawsuit settlements and awards were not reportable to the IRS, so 20 years ago she wouldn't have to report the award and the attorney, accountant, and IRS were correct.
  • Roger · 9 months ago
    Wow, this is hilarious. I'm starting to see how Al Capone got into trouble with the IRS:

    Q: I'm running a massive criminal empire as one of the most famous (and infamous) people in the country. Do I have to report my income?

    A: Yes. Or the IRS will succeed where every other law enforcement agency has failed and arrest you, inspiring constant quips from hundreds of commentators for decades about how you evaded the FBI and the police, only to be taken down by the IRS.
  • Mike · 9 months ago
    FG-- YES, you would report the capital gains to the IRS, on the same form you use to report domestic capital gains. But the good news is that you can get a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for the taxes you paid to the other country. The tax credit form is 1116.