Many tenants and landlords in California are aware that a written lease is not a strict legal requirement for residential leases. While landlord and tenants have the option to proceed under a written or oral lease, there are numerous advantages to only using written lease agreements. Landlords who make exceptions for certain tenants or who place convenience ahead of certainty can open the door to serious disputes that can tie up a property for, at minimum, months and result i

Landlords who have a tenant who hold over beyond the terms set forth in their lease often face a situation where a lawful detainer action becomes necessary to remove a residential tenant. In other circumstances, a tenant may need additional time on his or her lease or believe that the lease was renewed. Landlords must follow certain procedures and provide certain notifications when pursuing an eviction, or they may be subject to fines or penalties. Furthermore, tenant do have

The IRS provides voluntary disclosure options for taxpayers who have failed to report their foreign financial assets and pay all tax debts, and now wish to be compliant. The Streamlined Disclosure Program is only applicable if your actions were non-willful. If your conduct was willful, the IRS’s Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) may be a better option. What Is the Streamlined Disclosure Program? For the OVDP, you need eight tax returns and eight Foreign Bank Financ

Offshore accounts are held by many Americans, whether they live at home in California or abroad in the UK, Brazil, China, or Ecuador. For individuals living in the U.S., reasons for holding foreign accounts and assets can include asset protection programs, investments, or accounts to transmit remittances to family members in foreign nations. Still, other people who live in the United States but travel frequently may keep foreign accounts and assets in foreign currencies for p

You filed your taxes on time and didn’t expect to face any issues. In fact, you were looking forward to putting them out of your mind altogether until the next tax filing season. At NewPoint Law Group, LLP we provide year-round tax support and guidance, but we understand why taxpayers would prefer to think about more appealing topics. In any case, you were expecting at least several months respite from thinking about tax filing duties and obligations. Then it happened. You re

There was a time when property owners took the law into their own hands and simply removed tenants for any reason–and at gunpoint, if necessary. The owner was the king of his castle, and those who lived there were his subjects. However, as the years passed, this type of approach became increasingly problematic and unacceptable to society. In modern times, taking the law into your own hands or using self-help to remove tenants is illegal, and can result in lawsuits and judgmen

By now most U.S. taxpayers are aware that the enforcement of offshore disclosure laws is taken seriously. The IRS and U.S. government have devoted significant resources towards enforcing these foreign disclosure laws. The U.S. government has signed international governmental agreements with more than 100 nations that allow for the automatic and reciprocal exchange of account and tax data. Along with various other enforcement efforts, this account data allows authorities to id

From the standpoint of brokers and agents in the sale of real property, it is desirable for escrow to close as soon as possible, in addition to being paid upon close of escrow for services rendered. Unfortunately, issues involving real property law can cause delays, or in some instances, cause escrow not to close at all. While contractual and lender financing issues are common reasons why some escrows fail to close, real property issues are another common cause for concern. T

The IRS sometimes questions whether a business that has historically generated losses is actually a business, or if it is instead a hobby. The distinction is very important, as business losses are deductible against ordinary income, while a hobby cannot generate a loss. Whether or not the losses from an activity are deductible as a business loss depends on the taxpayers profit motive. Questions or concerns about being audited by the IRS or your taxes? Contact a Sacramento tax

When a taxpayer owes money to the IRS but is unable to pay in full, there are a number of options available to reach a resolution and prevent a bank levy or wage garnishment. Resolving tax debt involves completing IRS Form 433-A, 433-A (OIC), or 433-F, for most individuals. The form requires listing personal information, i.e. name, address, and Social Security number. It also requires a listing of assets owned, such as bank accounts, cars, real estate (like a primary residen

Since the 2007 financial crisis turned Congress’ attention to the deficit and national debt, perceptions that wealthy Americans were using offshore accounts, trusts, and various entities to avoid tax has motivated an array of enforcement measures. Currently, U.S. taxpayers, whether living at home or in a foreign nation, have an obligation to disclose their foreign accounts and assets when certain conditions are met. The two main disclosure obligations are, when applicable, t

Taxpayers have more than enough to worry about when it comes to complying with their income tax and offshore tax obligations. However, due to the authority wielded by the IRS, taxes are often fertile ground for scammers and fraudsters attempting to take advantage of honest individuals who want to simply satisfy their tax duty. In recent years the number and sophistication of tax scams have increased greatly. As part of the IRS’s annual effort to combat tax fraud, it has relea

In California, there are two formal probate procedures—one for estates valued at more than $150,000 (Regular Probate) and one for estates valued at $150,000 or less (Small Estate Probates). For further questions or concerns about estate planning, contact a Roseville estate planning attorney of NewPoint Law Group, LLP. Process and Procedures for Estate Probates The process and procedures for a Small Estate Probate, also known as a “Petition to Determine Succession to Real Prop

Taxpayers often have a myriad of reasons regarding why they fail to file taxes on time or at all. Some of these reasons are good reasons. For instance, the taxpayer may have suffered from a serious medical condition in the weeks or months leading up to the filing deadline. Now, a serious medical condition is certainly something more than the flu or a bad cold, but for individuals suffering from a severe illness or condition like cancer, this can potentially serve as good caus

While some taxpayers wait until the last minute to file, others are extremely prepared and wonder if they can file early. Perhaps they’ve already received all of their 1099s and W2s and had some extra time to meet with their tax preparer. Or, maybe they’ve heard about various tax scams, and the IRS’s advice to avoid falling victim to a SIRF scam was to file early so that others can’t claim a fraudulent refund in your name. Unfortunately, taxpayers cannot file their taxes earl

It seems that the winter months of January and February drag by, with each day lasting longer than the previous. And yet with the approach of spring, it seems that time has begun to fast-forward through the days, the weeks, until finally tax season chooses to rear its ugly head. The day to file taxes has arrived. If you haven’t already been collecting you W-2s, 1099s, and other tax forms, the time do so is now. Any further delay and you may risk missing the deadline. With ref

In 2015, the IRS revealed a plan that would have given the option for non-profit organizations to collect certain personal information from individuals who made donations to their organizations. At the time, the IRS claimed that the plan was developed and proposed due to demand from non-profits. Shortly after the plan’s announcement, the IRS was besieged by push-back from non-profits, and industry bodies that feared the plan would dissuade benefactors from giving due to poten

Most taxpayers know that facing a tax audit or tax investigation is not an enviable position to find oneself facing. While many people are concerned about facing criminal tax consequences due to all types of mistakes and errors on their taxes, there is typically no referral to IRS CI unless there are badges of fraud present like indicia (or badges) of fraud. The presence of badges of fraud shows a likelihood that the action or inaction was taken intentionally or voluntarily d

The IRS budget has essentially been under siege as year-after-year Congress has slashed the organization’s budget. The impacts of the budget shortfall are quite obvious. Since the peak number of agents was reached in the early to mid-1990s, the agency has lost tens of thousands of employees. In fiscal year 1992, the IRS was staffed by approximately 118,000 employees. By 2012, the number of agency employees had fallen to about 90,000 – a 23 percent decrease. The IRS’s 2015 bud

Whether you prefer the term gig economy or sharing economy, the feel-good language can obscure one major shift that the new economy has ushered in. Today’s workers are significantly more likely to be classified as contractors than as an employee. While many workers may be tempted to discount this difference in their rush to start working for a company like Uber or Lyft, classification as a contractor has significant effects on your tax liability and other aspects of the work

It is a reasonably common practice for certain business owners to pay workers “under the table” or “off the books.” Oftentimes, the business owner engages in this practice because he or she believes that the action will save the company money and avoid tedious record-keeping responsibilities. Workers often agree to go along with the practice because they believe the money to be tax-free. Unfortunately, there are consequences to this behavior, ones that can produce harsh resul

You are probably a conscientious person who completes his or her work prior to, or at least by, the deadlines. But, for whatever reason, completing this year’s tax filing obligation on time was simply beyond your reach. Perhaps you are dealing with a medical issue in the family that distracted you from your taxes until it was too late to complete a filing. Alternatively, maybe you simply couldn’t find or did not receive all of the W2s, 1099s, and other financial statements yo

Taxpayers who have failed to file their taxes thus far may have good reasons for doing so. Perhaps they are still waiting on certain tax forms of information or for clarification on a particular tax issue. Other taxpayers in and around Roseville and Sacramento may have simply procrastinated due to busy schedules and multiple demands of their time. Consequently, most excuses that you may have for not filing your taxes are unlikely to be sufficient. While it is true that in som

For many Americans, filing taxes is both a matter of duty and a function of fearing the consequences of what will happen should he or she fail to file. The fact of the matter is that most Americans have a duty to file taxes because the income threshold that triggers a filing obligation is rather modest. In any case, for the people who are unsure if they have an obligation to file taxes, it is probably better to take the conservative approach and file taxes. For one, the only