Question 1

Who Needs to File a FBAR?

Accepted Answer

Foreign Bank Account Reporting is part of the FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) law.

US citizens and Green Card holders are required to report bank accounts held offshore, including Canada and Mexico, if the highest balance of those accounts in aggregate exceeds $10,000 or more during the calendar year.

You must include the name and address of the bank, account number, highest balance during the year, and your name if a signer on the account. on the account.

Question 2

Which bank accounts do I need to include?

Accepted Answer

•	Personal Accounts.
	•	Accounts that granted you signing authority.  Both business and personal.
	•	Foreign pensions.
	•	Stock or investment accounts.

Question 3

Who Qualifies for the Foreign Tax Credit?

Accepted Answer

The following tests must be met for any foreign tax to qualify for this credit:
	•	You must be legally required to pay a tax
	•	The tax is required by the federal or provisional government.
	•	Taxes that do not require you to file a tax return may still qualify for the credit if there is an audit trail showing the
                  tax was paid and that the tax is a requirement of employment or required to be paid on earnings or investments.
	•	The tax must be paid or you must accrued the tax
	•	Taxes directly paid from your income.
	•	Taxes you are required to pay at the end of the year.
	•	Net taxes paid against refunds. 
	•	Your tax must be an income tax or a tax in lieu of an income tax
	•	Taxes on wages, dividends, interest, and royalties generally qualify for the credit.
	•	Not all income qualifies for the credit, see IRS guidelines for a complete list of taxes that do not qualify.  
	•	Refer to this link for more information on Foreign Tax Credits 
                  https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-tax-credit

Question 4

What Income is Taxable to the Internal Revenue Service?

Accepted Answer

What Income is Taxed by the Internal Revenue Service
	•	Wages and salaries
	•	Investment income
	•	Paid Time Off
	•	Education Assistance
	•	Bonuses
	•	Transportation monthly allotments 
	•	Travel allotments
	•	Cash Benefits Paid
What Income is Not Taxed by the Internal Revenue Service?
	•	Traditional reimbursed business expense
	•	Moving expense that do not exceed actual cost
	•	Living expense while away from home
	•	Expenses to reimburse computers and electronics

Question 5

If I am Self Employed Can I Still Get Code Section 199A Income Reductions?

Accepted Answer

Code Section 199A allows US taxpayers the ability to write off up to 20% of their self-employment income.  Also known as QBI, this deduction is one of the best tax laws for reduction of self-employed income tax.  
If your business entity was created in the United States but has operations overseas it is possible to get the 199A deduction for your income.  This can be a complicated issue and we take it on a case by case basis.  If your business does not qualify let us help you find a way to structure the business so that the 199A deductions is available to you.

Question 6

If I Have Not Filed Taxes in Several Years Can You Help Me and Stop The IRS From Coming After Me?

Accepted Answer

The IRS has a streamlined Offshore Filing procedure that will grant you amnesty.  This program requires that you file the last 3 years tax returns and last 6 years FBAR reports.  The IRS will allow you to file these returns with additional information and they will not look back at older tax years.  The IRS will also not charge you any fines or penalties.  However, you must stay in compliance with future tax filings.  This amnesty program is complicated and we recommend using a tax professional to qualify for the program.

Question 7

What is a Form W-9?

Accepted Answer

Form W-9 is used to provide your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) to a person who must issue you a 1099 for example income paid to you, Real estate transactions, Mortgage interest you paid.  W-9s are typically requested from US Citizens involved in financial transactions, banking, or other forms of monetary transfers.  The most common time you will be asked to provide a W-9 is when you are working as an independent contractor.

Question 8

What is a Form W2 or 1099?

Accepted Answer

A W2 is a year-end statement that tallies up your income, tax withholdings, and other employment benefits.  Tax preparers use this form to compute your income and list income taxes withheld by your employer.  Highly compensated people with more then one W2 often get a credit for excess social security paid.  W2s are required to be in the tax preparers position when E-filing a tax return.

A 1099 Misc is like a W2 for a person that worked as an independent contractor.  It has no taxes withheld and only lists the total income.  It is important to note that the IRS gets copies of all 1099s and W2s and matches them to the taxes you file.  Make sure you supply all these forms to your tax preparer.

Question 9

How do I share my tax documents with Discovertaxrelief.com?

Accepted Answer

We have an encrypted information vault.  You upload your tax documents to this vault that only you and your tax preparer have access to.  You will also complete an information questionnaire, so we know what to expect from you when we do your taxes.  I recommend you upload your prior two years taxes, into the vault, so that the tax preparer can ensure that you paid as little tax as possible in prior years and can also look for carry over items.  These are things on your taxes that happened in a prior year but affect the current year filings.

When we complete your taxes we will place them in your information vault so that you always have a copy of them.  You may also use this vault for other items you wish to keep secure like wills and trust documents.

Question 10

How do I pay for your services?

Accepted Answer

You can pay one of two ways.  You can simply pay on our website when you compute how much your taxes should cost using our easy tax fee calculator.  If additional work is needed we will simply have you pay the difference, if less work is needed we will promptly refund the money to your credit card.

Question 11

How do you keep my identity safe?

Accepted Answer

We follow the IRS Circular Number 230 (Rev. 6-2014) when dealing with client data.  All data is stored on encrypted hard drives with multiple layers of security.  All employees have background checks and all professional licenses are up to date with no disciplinary actions.  Did you know that the IRS keeps a list of tax professionals that have been disciplined for unethical behavior or poor tax preparation?  None of our prepares are on this list. The link below will take you to the IRS list of disciplined tax preparers.
https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/search-for-disciplined-tax-professionals

Question 12

How Do I get Started with your services?

Accepted Answer

Its simple…click on the “New Clients Start Here” button and fill in the questions.  One of our tax consultants will contact you within 24 hours (Monday through Friday) to discuss your taxes and ensure we only do as much work as you request.  We have packages that range form tax preparation only to full bookkeeping and on demand tax advice from CPAs and Eas.  You choice the package that best fits your needs.

We have a 100% guarantee on all our work.

We stand behind our work.  If you want to discontinue services before we start your taxes we are happy to refund your money.  We want our clients to be happy with our services and that is why have one of the highest retention rates in the tax preparation industry.  Discover Tax Relief keeps 94% of there clients every year.

Question 13

How can I get in contact with the tax professional preparing my taxes?

Accepted Answer

Once you have a tax professional assigned to work with you, you are welcome to call that person directly.  If you are an overseas client simply send us an email requesting an appointment and we will setup a Zoom or WhatsApp meeting.  We encourage you to contact your tax professional often during the tax preparation process.  If you are on our monthly “On Demand Tax Advice” service we want you to use the service often.  The more you talk to us the better your taxes will be.

Question 14

Who Prepares my Taxes?

Accepted Answer

All the taxes are prepared in the United States.  Qualified certified public accountants (CPA) and enrolled agents (EA) with the IRS prepare and sign the returns. Our companies do approximately 7,000 returns a year so we have the experience to do your return right and minimize your tax obligation.

Question 15

If I have tax, business, or legal questions during the year how can get an answer?

Accepted Answer

If you have a specific question about your taxes during the preparation process you can contact your tax advisor at any time during normal business hours (Monday through Friday).  We recommend that our business clients use our monthly “On Demand Tax Advice” service to ensure that they do the things necessary to lower their business taxes during the year.  It is important to remember that most tax planning must done before December 31st or it will not be allowed on the tax return.

Question 16

How long does it take for my taxes to be completed?

Accepted Answer

Once we have all of your information it takes about 20 days to prepare the average return.  If you need additional time for your business return (Due March 15th) or your personal return (Due April 15th) we will do an extension for you at no charge.  It is important to remember that an extension to file your taxes is not an extension to pay your taxes.  All personal tax payments are still due by April 15th so we work with our clients to do an estimated payment when possible.  Don’t for get taxes can be paid by check or credit card directly to the IRS and most states also allow check or credit card payments.  California will no longer accept checks and all payments must be ACH (done on the internet) or credit card.

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