Should information on our tax returns be sold?
472685
Absolutely not.  Even though the legislation calls for "consent," there are no legal boundaries for how that consent is derived.  I give you the following scenario:\n\nTax Preparer:  "Ok, we're almost done.  Just a few forms to sign.  Here's your 1040A.  Good.  Here's your state forms.  Good.  Here is your payment voucher.  Good.  Here is your privacy act notice.  Good.  Now, would you like to go ahead and get your return now?  You can sign this form and we'll cut you a check today...."\n\nDid you catch it?  In the midst of getting the client to sign all the necessary forms, the tax preparer threw in a "privacy act notice" that implied consent to selling private information to a third party.  Folks, it IS THAT SIMPLE.  The reason that this is not considered invasion of privacy is that you have given your written consent AND that legislators do not wish it to be considered an invasion of privacy.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, innit?  This also ties into the failing tax structure as a whole.  Special interest groups lobby Congress to get particular favours in the tax code so that we end up with a decrepit lummox some 16,000+ pages long.  The best way we can overcome this problem is to make our voices heard--not only by voting, but also by keeping in near constant correspondence with our elected officials.  We have to show them that true power lies in the voice, not the wallet.\n\nBy the way, blaming the administration is not the correct route, per se.  Taxes are not a product of the executive branch (President), rather a product of the legislative branch (Congress) who alone has the power to levy taxes.  Contrary to popular belief, Presidents can NOT raise or lower taxes--they can only urge Congress to do so.  My final advice to Americans:  pay attention in social studies/civics class.\n\nFACT:  More Americans can name the finalists on American Idol than can name any one of their Congressional representatives.
205110
Thank you! I have been trying to make this same point! They cannot apply for tax returns so they lose all that money! Where do most of the people on this website get their info from?
772399
Yes.  You have to pay capital gains taxes on those sales if you make a profit.  They are reported on Schedule D.  If they are held longer than 1 year, the tax is approximately 1/2 your regular tax rate.  Losses can be subtracted from gains.
766676
Yes tell them. They will have it on file anyway. It's best to be honest.
163582
you should not be collecting taxes without the proper license from the sales tax bureau in the state you are operating in. they would have all the forms and information you need to collect the right taxes. generally if you are selling out of state and don't have a physical presence in the state of the buyer, then you would not collect sales tax on the item.
530976
There's no hard and fast rule on this. Certainly small amounts of selling your used stuff is totally fine and you won't get any income tax liability. Basically, they already taxed you for the money you used to buy it, and you won't get as much for it as you paid in the first place. However, if you sell enough stuff that it moves from hobby to business, and you sell things online in order to make a profit, particularly if you buy wholesale things and sell them, you are running a business and need to declare the profits.
64248
Based on the information you've provided it's unclear.  It depends whether the money you've received from you family is income.
355257
they may have something on their website\n\nhttp://www.irs.gov
1139399
it's not required but many people opt to do it. generally if you itemized, it's best to attach the schedule A(itemized deduction sheet), to the state return to show deductions, should they have any questions. oftentimes a taxpayer's return can get held up in the system if deductions look questionable.
336506
You would be better off spreading it out, but if you want the money now, just claim more exemptions on your W-4 so they take less tax out. In the end, it doesn't matter because you'll just resolve it on tax day, so it only matters whether you want the money all right now.
1057849
(Since you're talking about the IRS, I must put up a disclaimer that this advice is worth what you paid for it.  Nothing.)\n\nIf you have records showing how much you paid for the stock when you bought it, the amount you paid is your cost basis.
940424
Yes. It is income and in the US you are going to pay taxes on income. (MOST of it anyway). There is more that is needed to answer the question. If the earnings are from the sale of the account then you might have Capital Gain. As an accountant my best advice is to contact an accountant. Probably not much help for your question but there are too many variables to fully answer.
1031593
You would need to subpoena their tax return records.  If you do it that way, they have to turn them over to you.
273903
It is not public record as the deal may still fall through and the seller would then be at a disadvantage for the next round of buyers. Sometimes your buyers-agent talking to the sellers-agent of the house of interest can gain more info than they should be able to since they might consider it a foregone conclusion. This is not something that sellers-agent should do though.\n\nAlso, this is kind of unethical if you are planning to use it for that house should it come back on the market. But if you are using it as a comp for some reason then you shouldn't feel as though you are doing anything wrong, just looking for advance knowledge that will be know eventually anyhow.
45203
My experience has been that the IRS does a VERY thorough job of matching 1099's to tax returns. I've been notified by the IRS about 1099's they recieved that I was unaware of. In that instance it was an error on the part of the reporting company that accidentally attributed income to me. However, I have found that the states do a very poor job of this, since apparently they only get 1099 information that in some way is connected to their state. I have had one state in particular ask me for a tax return based on a 1099 from that state when in fact I was not a resident and had no qualifiable income. I had issued another 1099 from within my state that balanced out the first. I suspected that the problem might have been that the two 1099's were handled by different regional offices of the IRS so while one state thought I was raking in the dough, my home state  probably thought I was losing my shirt. The money had simply passed thru my hands as part of a real estate transaction. In any case, don't count on the IRS not noticing, they most certainly will!!!
28174
no, not usually.  you may need the hard copy of last years return.  however, if you did your return online then you should be able to access your return. then yes.\n\notherwise no.  if you do not have the hard copy of your taxes, contact the irs and let them know you need a copy.  they will mail it to you once you prove who you are.  do this asap as it usually takes 4-6 weeks to receive the information.
429568
I would imagine that this information would not be publicly available for privacy reasons.  While some people might choose to self-disclose (such as politicians or members of a board of directors), on the whole, there is no obligation to report income involuntarily.