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If I bought my house last year will the property value be the same now?

Because of the methods used to assess home values, changes in similar properties will affect your property value as well. One property sale does not really determine market value. The price you paid for your home will be verified, but then it will be pooled with sales of similar homes. The appraiser uses this collected information to determine your property value. Each state also uses a different system for how home values are verified. Some states allow a certain flexibility between individual home values in the pool.

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I knew my husband excluded income from our joint tax return, but he lied to me. Will the IRS still hold me responsible for unpaid taxes?

It is not sufficient to simply say that your husband lied to you regarding intentional omissions from a joint income tax return. Lack of knowledge regarding tax laws is also not a valid argument when trying to obtain relief from a tax deficiency arising from one spouse’s failure to include income or understate tax owed on an income tax return. However, if the spouse seeking relief can prove that she did make an effort to inquire and was repeatedly lied to about the couple’s finances then the IRS can release a spouse from liability for a tax deficiency.

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Settling IRS Tax Debt Through Tax Arbitration or Mediation

You can opt for binding arbitration for either a single factual issue or the entire decision. Appropriate cases for binding arbitration include valuations, reasonable compensation for taxes owed, and allocation of deduction and credit cases. Mediation, just like binding arbitration, must be selected by the tax payer. It must be requested within the parameters of the trial timeline and cannot be used as a means to delay the trial or other settlement procedures. Mediation is also a one-shot deal and cannot be used twice in the same case. IRS mediations are overseen by the tax court and guidance is offered to the mediator where necessary. In order to qualify for either of these methods, you cannot have already appeared in tax court.

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What is gross income for tax reporting purposes?

Gross income is almost everything of value received by a taxpayer during the taxable year. In fact, the law is that everything of value a taxpayer receives during the year is income unless the taxpayer can establish that it is not income. The amount of that income is the value of what is received. Gross income includes, wages and salaries, interest, dividends, stock sales, self employment income, income from business entities, prizes, rents, real estate sales, bartering, babysitting and most other forms of income. Basically, any money that you receive from any source, is almost always part of gross income.

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Is all real property subject to property tax laws?

Tax laws on property tax vary from state to state. Not all property is taxed. There are enormous differences in taxes on property types in different states. Some states have high taxes on real property (land, homes, houses, apartments, commercial property) and some have low real property taxes. While six states do not have income taxes, there is no single state that gives up the right to collect a property tax.

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