At our Getting Ready for Tax Season webinar last night we heard from
several clubs who had actually received penalty due notices from the
IRS because they didn't file their club returns correctly. One club
had sent them in in March, but received a notice 2 months later they
hadn't been received. (They hadn't sent them certified mail). One
club had distributed K-1's to members but hadn't sent in the club
filing. I heard of a club recently that received a penalty notice
when the IRS misinterpreted a handwritten social security number on a
K-1.

These notices were for penalty amounts in the thousands of dollars.
The penalty for not filing or for incorrect filing of a partnership
return is $195 per partner per month (up to 12 months). It adds up
quickly. Computer matching allows penalty letters to get spit out
pretty quickly. I have a CPA friend who refers to them as IRS love
notes.

All of the clubs eventually got things straightened out but who wants
to go through the anxiety and subsequent hassle of dealing with a
letter like that?

If you have an EIN number you need to file a club tax return.

It's easy to prepare your taxes using bivio. You don't have to buy
any extra programs, your federal tax prep is part of your
subscription. Your forms will be available in February, when you
receive your 1099's and are able to double check your bivio records
against them. We'll be doing webinars in January, February and March
where we'll show you how to do a club audit and all the details you
need to know to prepare your taxes.

It really isn't hard and you have friends here to help.

One club told us how they actually deliver their forms to the IRS
office in person. Now that seems to me like a good club adventure and
a reason for everyone to get together for a club lunch afterward!

--
Laurie Frederiksen
Invest with your friends!
www.bivio.com

Become our Facebook friend!  www.facebook.com/bivio
Follow us on twitter!  www.twitter.com/bivio

Laurie,

Your last email sparked a question in my mind. I have members who are
leery of having their SS# on Bivio and, consequently, they hand write
it on their tax forms. Can you address the security of information on
Bivio and also your recommendation on handwritten SS numbers?

Thank you,

Andy



Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 15, 2010, at 9:11, Laurie Frederiksen <laurie@bivio.biz> wrote:

> At our Getting Ready for Tax Season webinar last night we heard from
> several clubs who had actually received penalty due notices from the
> IRS because they didn't file their club returns correctly. One club
> had sent them in in March, but received a notice 2 months later they
> hadn't been received. (They hadn't sent them certified mail). One
> club had distributed K-1's to members but hadn't sent in the club
> filing. I heard of a club recently that received a penalty notice
> when the IRS misinterpreted a handwritten social security number on a
> K-1.
>
> These notices were for penalty amounts in the thousands of dollars.
> The penalty for not filing or for incorrect filing of a partnership
> return is $195 per partner per month (up to 12 months). It adds up
> quickly. Computer matching allows penalty letters to get spit out
> pretty quickly. I have a CPA friend who refers to them as IRS love
> notes.
>
> All of the clubs eventually got things straightened out but who wants
> to go through the anxiety and subsequent hassle of dealing with a
> letter like that?
>
> If you have an EIN number you need to file a club tax return.
>
> It's easy to prepare your taxes using bivio. You don't have to buy
> any extra programs, your federal tax prep is part of your
> subscription. Your forms will be available in February, when you
> receive your 1099's and are able to double check your bivio records
> against them. We'll be doing webinars in January, February and March
> where we'll show you how to do a club audit and all the details you
> need to know to prepare your taxes.
>
> It really isn't hard and you have friends here to help.
>
> One club told us how they actually deliver their forms to the IRS
> office in person. Now that seems to me like a good club adventure and
> a reason for everyone to get together for a club lunch afterward!
>
> --
> Laurie Frederiksen
> Invest with your friends!
> www.bivio.com
>
> Become our Facebook friend! www.facebook.com/bivio
> Follow us on twitter! www.twitter.com/bivio

Hi Andy,

Certainly an appropriate question. Here is a link (which leads to
other links) discussing our site security.

http://www.bivio.com/hp/site-security.html

If you don't want to enter SS numbers online, it is fine to hand write
member SS numbers on K-1's after you print them out and before you
send them in to the IRS. The only thing to be aware of is that this
step is critical. Don't forget to do it (and make sure your
handwriting is legible) or your return will not be considered complete
and you will end up with problems.

--
Laurie Frederiksen
Invest with your friends!
www.bivio.com

Become our Facebook friend!  www.facebook.com/bivio
Follow us on twitter!  www.twitter.com/bivio

I agree this is pretty confusing wording but this looks like the
penalty is now $195 per member per month. It appears as though the
$89 penalty was only for 2009.

http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/article/0,,id=210603,00.html

--
Laurie Frederiksen
Invest with your friends!
www.bivio.com

Become our Facebook friend!  www.facebook.com/bivio
Follow us on twitter!  www.twitter.com/bivio