APRIL 26, 2011 Meeting. Date: Tuesday, April 26, Time: Place: Program: Speaker:

Transcription

1 Volume 23 Issue 1 March / April 2011 MEETINGS Everyone welcome - Members, spouses, friends, non-members, subscribers, IRS & CDOR personnel and any other interested individuals!! Your Board wants to see you!!! This month and in future months at our regularly scheduled dinner meetings. They are one of the best places to meet new members, share your ideas, learn new resources and actually have fun while earning CPE credits. Reservations may be called to Debbie Lynn at or ed to dkl@myedl.com no later than the Sunday before the meeting. No shows will be billed if a reservation is made. DINNER MEETINGS MARCH, 2011 APRIL 26, 2011 Meeting Meeting Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 Time: Place: NO MEETING 5:00 PM Board Meeting 6:00 PM Dinner 6:30 PM Program - HAPPY TAX RETURNS Holiday Inn 4849 Bannock St. at I-25 and I-70 Directions on page 2 Program: Discharging Taxes in Bankruptcy Speaker: Frank Rooney, Esq. Meal Lasagna Date: Tuesday, April 26, 2011 Time: Place: Program: Speaker: 5:00 PM Board Meeting 6:00 PM Dinner Meal - Napa Valley Chicken 7:00 PM Program Holiday Inn 4849 Bannock St. at I-25 and I-70 Directions on page Exchange Steven W. Hickox, Esq. Cost for Dinner & Program: Members... $25.00 Non-members... $30.00 Program Only... $15.00 MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO CoSEA NO SHOWS WILL BE BILLED!

2 Page 2 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Colorado Society Of Enrolled Agents Every year my church sends out a Time and Talent form. No we re not looking for actors (although we could use a few for our Christmas Pageant) but looking for those that have administrative skills, communication skills, computer skills, carpentry, etc. So looking at your time and talents, would you be able to help on a CoSEA committee? Being a committee member doesn t necessarily mean a lot of meetings. Many things are done via telephone and . Education/Programs CoSEA currently has two committees under this standing committee. Monthly programs are chaired by Debbie Lynn. She and CJ Whiteley have lined up this year s monthly speakers. The Holiday party they have planned sounds like a blast! The Seminar committee is chaired by Dan Halleman. He is currently working on the 2011 seminar being co-sponsored by CoSEA and the IRS. Media/Website This standing committee consists of the Public Relations and Website. Joe Coscia heads the Public Relations. In February he attended the Metro Accounting Students Organization s Certification Night. There he set up a table and talked to the students about being an EA. He s also working on getting some articles published in the local community papers about EAs. Jan Edwards has been doing a fabulous job with our website. It does take some time to get all members information in our member section and to get all the areas of the website up to date. Newsletter Jeanine Buben-Croy has been our newsletter editor for the past several years. She has done a great job in making them very informative. Paul Ketcham is in the process of learning the ropes and will be taking over the editorship later this year. I cannot leave out Joan Lipinski of Misteren Graphics who publishes our newsletter and s to the membership. Are you a good photographer? We could always use photos of our meetings, seminars, etc. Those listed are only a few of the committees filled by our membership. Each month there will be a couple of articles from different committee chairs. So, what are your Time and Talents? Hope you are having a prosperous and extension free tax season! Linda Linda Ward, EA TAX AUDIT + APPEALS REPRESENTATION John R. Dundon, Enrolled Agent (fax) jddundon@comcast.net Reasonable rates Superior service Paid Advertisement by John Dundon MONTHLY MEETING LOCATION Our meeting site is at the Holiday Inn at the Mousetrap. The address is 4849 Bannock Street, located northwest of the intersection of 1-25 and Here s how to get there: Going east on 1-70: exit onto Pecos, go left (north) over the freeway to 48th Ave. Go right (east) to Bannock, turn left to 4849 Bannock. Going west on 1-70: exit onto Pecos, turn right (north) to 48th, turn right (east) to Bannock, go left. From 1-25: exit at 58th Ave., go west to 2nd light west of freeway, at Bannock, turn left (south).

3 Colorado Society Of Enrolled Agents Page 3 Jeanine Jeanine s s Journal Dear Members and Friends: Jeanine Buben-Croy, MT, EA jeanine_3151@yahoo.com Vice-President, Newsletter Editor for CoSEA You should be deep into tax season by now! I trust that all goes well and that things are prosperous for your businesses. President Linda invites you to volunteer your time and talents to a CoSEA committee. Our organization has been blessed by many wonderful volunteers over the years. We continue to need new contributors with their unique ideas and fresh energy. Our board members are both joyful and helpful when it comes to our common goals. We welcome your involvement and invite you to join us as a part of the board. Debbie Lynn tells us about the 2011 holiday party at a mystery theatre. I know that I want to go, and take my family too! It sounds extremely fun! Do check it out on page 7. Remember that there is no program meeting in March. We will see you back on April 26 for the April program meeting. Happy Tax Season to all! Yours, Come to the Meetings FTD COUPONS HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED! Consistent with its prior announcements, the IRS stopped accepting Federal Tax Deposit (FTD) coupons for tax deposits after December 31, Payments will be made online or by telephone using EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payment System). Banks have already issued notices informing their customers that they have stopped accepting FTD coupons.information on EFTPS, including enrollment, is available at the With EFTPS, payments can be made online or by telephone 24 hours a day, seven days a week from virtually any location. Payments can be scheduled up to 120 days in advance of the payment date.businesses who pay a minimal amount of tax may be able to make their payment with the related tax return instead of using EFTPS. Have You Updated Your Profile Lately? The details of your NAEA profile can impact whether you are matched with a potential new client. To update your profile, go to log in (User name is your NAEA ID and password is your zip code) and click on View/Edit My Profile. You can change your login & password, see financial history, change your specialties and edit you contact information (click on Edit at bottom of screen). There you can change all your contact information and also enter a description of your practice in the Supplementary Information tab.in addition, please check and update your information on the Colorado website, go to Use the same User name and password as for NAEA website. Please send your updated contact information, i.e. addresses, phone numbers and/or s to Richard Van Buren at (303) or to rmvanb84@aol.com This will help your Board stay current and ensure that all notices, newsletters, etc. will be delivered to you in a timely manner. Please note that your newsletters are ed to you by Joan Lipinski of Misteren Graphics, our printer. This is not spam, so please do not block this . As a Board we have been trying to stay on top of all changes submitted but would like your assistance in verifying that everything is correct for you.

4 Page 4 Colorado Society Of Enrolled Agents Join us for NAEA s Annual Fly-in Day! Save the Date Wednesday, April 27, 2011 Washington, DC A Fly-in is an opportunity to campaign personally for issues of interest to all EAs and to raise our profile with legislative decisionmakers. Join us for an exciting day of citizen advocacy on Capitol Hill! The day will include: Breakfast briefing on NAEA s public policy agenda Advocacy preparation and training Personal meetings with Congressional staff and Members Hors d oeurves and cocktail reception SAVE the Date: NAEA s Annual Fly-in Day! NAEA s Annual Fly-in Day is fast-approaching, taking place on Wednesday, April 27. NAEA encourages you as NAEA members to get involved and advocate for issues important to all enrolled agents in this exciting day on Capitol Hill. A fly-in day is an excellent opportunity to increase your awareness of legislative issues affecting enrolled agents, to foster relationships with legislators and their staff members, and to gain real-life education in the practical aspects of citizen advocacy. The deadline for participation is March 25, Deborah Towers, EA is spearheading the CoSEA delegation for the Fly-in. If you are interested in attending please contact Deb ( or deb@towerstax.com), so we can get our group organized. Space is limited and dependent upon scheduling and member availability.

5 Colorado Society Of Enrolled Agents Page 5 FEDERAL UPDATES Stakeholder Liaison Meeting Summary January 2011 In attendance at the IRS Stakeholder Liaison Meeting on behalf of the Colorado Society of Enrolled Agents was Sandy Kemper and David Miles. The following summarizes each presentation. Kenneth Cooper, IRS Examination, talked about the 3 main examination focuses The first one is Off Shore Voluntary Disclosures. More than 15,000 people came forward and currently there are 6000 cases in the Western region with 800 Revenue Agents focusing on these returns. It is our highest priority to attempt to finish by the end of September. There is a special group inside Examination focusing on UBS cases that will continue for the next several years. There are more than 10,000 UBS accounts. The next program is called Return Preparer visits. There are about 500 of those cases in the western area. The program has already started and we re attempting to consolidate the E-file visits with the knock and talk program. AICPA expressed concerns about the visits, but the program expanded through the commissioner s office. High Income Non-filers round is the third area of focus. This program is expanding in the West. A small group works exclusively on this issue with a focus on income of $200,000 or more. Additionally 10,000 letters were sent out in the Western Area which includes Colorado. There are 344 practitioners to focus on this program. There are only 10 return preparer visit cases in Colorado. E-file monitoring cases number is 125, including follow-ups from last year. EITC Due Diligence has 27 visits in the Western area. Patience Ellis, IRS Automated Collections ACS There is a change in process for the practitioner priority service gate. They heard the complaints last year regarding the full scope, meaning IRS employees were not able to work some cases. Now they are looking at employees that can work the full scope of casework. Their wait and response times have produced a level of service of 82.9% due to the new call site in Iowa which has helped improve our response time. The practitioner hotline has an 88 second average wait time. Automated collection site is hoping that Practitioners shouldn t be experiencing any long wait times. ACS is starting to work cases that are 4 to 5 years old. We will try to make contact with the taxpayer and bring them into compliance, e.g., filing and/or paying tax due. Jack Estoll, IRS Appeals Appeals moved to Dominion Towers, the new address is th St, Suite 400, South Tower, Denver, CO Area Counsel and Tax-Exempt Government Entities are moving to Dominion Towers also. The telephone numbers remain the same. They hope to hire settlement and appeals officers, after the Continuing Resolution is lifted. The hope is that we can hire 5-6 here in Denver and over 200 nationwide due to attrition in our workforce. Andrea Ventura, IRS Collection Collection currently has eight group managers between Denver and Cheyenne. The Revenue Officers in this area mostly deal with employment taxes. We are currently on a hiring freeze but may be able to hire students under the student career experience program. IRS Collections is starting to use an imaging system called the Correspondence Imaging System (CIS) and more information is found in IRM Charles Musso, IRS Taxpayer Advocate Chuck is the Acting Local Taxpayer Advocate. He has 30 case advocates of which eight are bilingual. They received 12,000 cases last year with quite a few ID theft cases. John Wilton, Colorado Department of Revenue The new tax system will add fuel taxes in August. They are starting administrative hearings on conservation easements. John introduced Betsy Castro as the new disclosure officer. They are currently back logged to the tune of 35,000 tax returns. Michael Rogers, IRS Governmental Liaison The Governmental Liaison office works with State agencies and Congressional offices at the Capital. They have an internal help desk in disclosure. They are currently looking at opening the Disclosure help desk to the public. The EITC Awareness Day is coming up on January 28th. The Governmental Liaison office works with Taxpayer Advocate and Stakeholder Liaison on disaster situations. Kristen Hoiby, IRS Stakeholder Liaison Kristen spoke about the Issue Management Resolution System (IMRS) as being one of the key Stakeholder Liaison programs. It is designed to help practitioners and others address systemic problems within the IRS policies and procedures. Two of the most pressing issues for practitioners are the Preparer Registration and the delayed electronic filing. Kristen also mentioned that the Booklet for Form 656 Offer in Compromise is being revised and a request has been made for feedback. The next meeting will be June 23, Respectfully submitted, John Dundon, CoSEA Secretary

6 Page 6 Colorado Society Of Enrolled Agents STATE UPDATES Third Party Designee Option Now Available Taxpayers can now allow another person (such as a tax professional) to discuss their 2010 Colorado individual income tax return with the Colorado Department of Revenue. The easiest way to designate a third party is for a taxpayer to check the Yes box in the Third Party Designee area of the 104 Individual Income Tax return and enter the designee s name, phone number, and any five digits the designee chooses as his or her personal identification number (PIN). Look for the option above the signature area on the 104 return. This option is also available through Colorado NetFile and through federal/state e-file services. Using the Third Party Designee option makes it easier for the taxpayer s designated representative to resolve matters quickly and get answers now from the Colorado Department of Revenue, saving time and follow-up calls to the department. Normally, if an account didn t have a designee or Power of Attorney on file, the person contacting us would have to fill out and submit the Power of Attorney form and allow one week to process. With this new option, there is no need to wait or send additional authorization forms. When contacting the department, we ll simply verify the designee is on the account and proceed to answer any questions immediately. When checking the box in the third party designee area, the taxpayer and their spouse (if filing a joint return), are authorizing the Colorado Department of Revenue to contact the designee to answer any questions that may arise during the processing of a return. This also authorizes the designee to: Give the Colorado Department of Revenue any information that is missing from the return, Call the Colorado Department of Revenue for information about the processing of the return or the status of a refund or payment(s), Receive copies of notices or transcripts related to the return, upon request, and Respond to Department of Revenue notices about math errors, offsets, and return preparation. This does not authorize the designee to receive any refund check, bind the taxpayer to anything (including any additional tax liability), or otherwise represent the taxpayer before the Colorado Department of Revenue. To expand the designee s authorization, a taxpayer must complete Power of Attorney for Department Administered Tax Matters (DR 0145) and submit it to the department. The third party designee authorization will automatically end no later than the due date (without regard to extensions) for filing a 2011 tax return. This is April 17, 2012, for most people. If a designee wants to revoke the third party designee authorization, send a written statement of revocation to the Colorado Department of Revenue, Denver, CO The statement of revocation must indicate that the authority of the designee is revoked, list the tax return, and must be signed and dated by the taxpayer or designee. Colorado Department of Revenue Taxpayer Service Division Taxation Web Site: CDOR Tax Info Address: tpspublicinfo@spike.dor.state.co.us COLORADO UPDATES If you are not currently getting the Colorado Tax Professionals updates via from the Taxpayer Service Division, you may sign up at tpspublicinfo@spike.dor.state.co.us and put SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

7 Colorado Society Of Enrolled Agents Page 7 ANNOUNCEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES Being the Program Director for CoSEA can be a very challenging position. However, this year I have enlisted the assistance of C.J. Whiteley to help me. We are in the process of contacting speakers to give presentations at our monthly meetings and focusing our efforts toward topics that will interest everyone. If you know an engaging speaker on an appropriate topic, please contact me at dkl@myedl.com. This coming year we are modifying our procedures at the monthly meetings regarding the sign-in sheet, collection of money and distribution of CPE Certificates. There will be an officer and/or board member seated at every table to oversee the sign-in sheet, collection of money and distribution of the CPE Certificates for the people seated at his or her table. As a reminder: the CPE Certificates will NOT be distributed until after the conclusion of the program. Hopefully this new procedure will be more efficient. In addition, we are going to start raffling off valuable door prizes at the monthly meetings, i.e. QuickFinder, movie tickets, gift cards, etc. Again, if you know of a speaker or are interested in a particular topic, please contact me or C.J. Deborah Lynn CoSEA HOLIDAY PARTY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11, NOON TO 3PM Murder on Pirate Island Sail the High Seas on the good ship, Rusty Bucket. The destination is Pirate Island. Pirate crews from all over the world have assembled...the occasion, to crown the new Pirate King. You ll meet Captain Blight, the former officer in his Majesty s Royal Navy, Saucy Wench from the Barbary Coast, Red Legs Treach from Madagascar, Blackjack Davey from Tortuga, with his Pirates of the Caribbean, and Lady Prudence Twilliger. What is she doing in the company of these cutthroats? Perhaps the answer lies within the Treasure of Deadman s Cove...Treasure? Deadman? We need to notify Adams Mystery Playhouse by October 1 st with our number of reservations. In order for them to open the show as a Public Show they need a minimum of 30 tickets. (A Public Show is much cheaper than a Private Show, and in this case would also be more fun. More people are available to interact with the actors.) Ticket Prices: Sunday Mysteries: Lunches 12pm-3pm $48.00 per person for general seating $52.00 per person Front Row seating BUFFET MENU Chablis Artichoke Chicken Breast Rice Pilaf or Paisley Rice Big Field Salad Fresh Fruit Bowl (Sugarless) Bread and Butter Chef s Choice Finger Desserts Coffee and Iced Tea Above Ticket Prices include: Mystery Show Lunch, tax and gratuity. Alcohol and Handwriting Analyst NOT included. Public tickets are paid 100% in full at the time of booking. We can not hold additional seats. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable to another date. What Interests You? Know a Speaker? The Program Committee needs your suggestions on topics and speakers. Contact Deborah Lynn at or her at dkl@myedl.com.

8 Page 8 Colorado Society Of Enrolled Agents Stacy J. Santmyer, EA Trivista Tax Foundation, LLC W 120th Ave, Ste 400, Broomfield, CO Telephone: x 105 Fax: stacys@trivistafoundation.com Website: Grace A. Beckett, EA Beckett Accounting Quail Ridge Dr., Lamar, CO Telephone: Fax: beckettacctg@centurytel.net April L. Roof, EA Caraker Law Firm P.C Old 63 S, Ste 5, Columbia, MO Telephone: Fax: april@carakerlawfirm.com Charles Edward Cox, EA 865 E 132nd Ave., Thornton, CO Telephone: Fax: luca8656@msn.com Charlene E. Heggerston, EA Lone Star Tax and Accounting Services 555 Tunnel 19 Rd., Golden, CO Telephone: texasgirl8@gmail.com Welcome New Members Jared A Sheade 1933 Parnell Ave., Los Angeles, CA Telephone: jsheade@gmail.com Diane Johnson, EA Double D Accounting, LLC PO Box 706, Lyons, CO Telephone: Fax: dee@dd-accounting.com Website: Marilyn Galiano, EA Galiano Business Services Inc Saddleback Dr., Castle Rock, CO Telephone: Fax: marilyngaliano@aol.com Deta Hower E 157th Ave., Brighton, CO Telephone: deehower@comcast.net MEMBERS IN THE NEWS Audrey Dean, EA was interviewed for a Denver Post article on assisting taxpayers by Aldo Svaldi. It was published on February 8, Joe Coscia, EA - Wrote article entitled Hire a Tax Professional This Tax Season Hire an Enrolled Agent currently published on then change location to Highlands Ranch and look under stories. MEETING DOOR PRIZES JANUARY Free Dinner At Monthly Meeting Jim McGowen FEBRUARY Dan Halleman free dinner certificate for our monthly meetings C J Whiteley - $30.00 gift certificate to AMC theaters MEMBER NEWS Are you or know of some member that has been in the news recently or received some award? Let us know so we can all celebrate their achievements. Contact the Newsletter Editor.

9 Colorado Society Of Enrolled Agents Page 9 MEET THE 2011 BOARD Front Row: (l to r) Jeanine Buben-Croy, Linda Ward, Debbie Lynn and Audrey Dean Back Row: (l to r) Jan Edwards, Richard Van Buren, Joe Coscia, Ed Bunetta and John Dundon Absent were Charlie Brady and Janeen Ryan.

10 Page 10 Colorado Society Of Enrolled Agents Get Ready To Learn Published bimonthly by COLORADO SOCIETY OF ENROLLED AGENTS Affiliate of the National Association of Enrolled Agents ON-LINE CPE TESTING NAEA has launched the online CPE testing for the EA Journal. The CPE tests are based on the articles in each issue of the EA Journal. With the online tests, your results are immediate! Read the articles, log on and take the test. Go to for all the details. COMING EVENTS 2011 MONTHLY MEETING PROGRAMS May 24, June 28, July 26, August 23, Medicaid Tax Issues David Sutton, Esq. Meal Stuffed Chipotle Chicken Estate Tax Planning for Business Owners James Parke, Esq. Meal Mediterranean Chicken Innocent Spouse Relief Steven R. Anderson, Esq. Luncheon Key Employee Incentive Compensation Planning James Parke, Esq. Meal Charbroiled Tuna September 27, Ethics Frank Rooney, Esq. At Johnson s Corner October 25, November 15, December 11, Colorado Tax Update Alan Poe, Esq. Buffet - Taste of Sicily IRS Tax Update Deborah Rodgers, IRS Senior Stakeholder Liaison Buffet Mexican Fiesta Holiday Party at Adams Mystery Playhouse Murder on Pirate Island Paid Advertisements for Services to CoSEA Members Advertisements in this newsletter are paid advertisements for services available to CoSEA members and their clients. Submit invoices with payments to Jeanine Buben-Croy, EA, 7330 W. 88th Ave., Unit E, PMB # 171, Westminster, CO Make checks payable to CoSEA. Jeanine will forward all to treasurer Audrey Dean upon verification for newsletter. Please contact Jeanine at businesstaxcompliance@yahoo.com with your word copy advertisements. Sizes and pricing are available on the back page of each newsletter. The editor will inform you when the board approves your ads for a newsletter issue. Please call Jeanine at or if you have any questions on your ad. Visit our website at ADVERTISING RATES Full Page $ Half Page Horizontal $ Half Page Vertical $ Quarter Page $ Eighth Page $ Column Inch $ Classified bimonthly ad rates are $1.75 per line (or partial line) per issue, with a $10.00 minimum. Open rates are subject to change, and open rate advertising is subject to space availability. For further information, call Jeanine Buben-Croy, EA All contents and design are subject to publisher s approval. Publisher reserves the right to reject or cancel any advertising at any time. Advertiser agrees to indemnify the publisher against any loss, damages or expense arising from the use by advertiser of any unauthorized names, photographs, sketches or words protected by copyright or trademark. The newsletter is sent bimonthly to all members of the Colorado Society of Enrolled Agents, nonmember subscribers, selected members of the National Association of Enrolled Agents, government officials and others. Additional mailings are targeted to other Enrolled Agents and/or other tax professionals. Deadline is the 15th of the month prior to cover date (i.e. June 15 for July-August issue). Submit Word attachments to jeanine_3151@yahoo.com. Submit invoices with payments to Jeanine Buben-Croy, EA, 7330 W. 88th Ave., Unit E, PMB # 171, Westminster, CO Make checks payable to CoSEA. Jeanine will forward all to treasurer Audrey Dean upon verification for newsletter. Please contact Jeanine at or her at jeanine_3151@yahoo.com for question about advertising or rates.

11 COLORADO SOCIETY OF ENROLLED AGENTS OFFICERS President... Linda Ward, EA... (303) Past President... Janeen Ryan, EA... (303) Vice-President... Jeanine Buben-Croy, EA... (303) Treasurer... Audrey Dean, EA... (303) Secretary... John Dundon, EA... (720) DIRECTORS Charlie Brady, EA... (303) Ed Bunetta, EA... (303) Joseph Coscia, EA... (303) Jan Edwards, EA... (970) Deborah Lynn, EA... (303) Richard Van Buren, EA... (303) COMMITTEES Budget & Finance Audrey Dean, EA, Chairperson... (303) Members: Open Position By-laws Dan Halleman, EA, Chairperson... (720) Members: Open Position Ethics Paul T. Matonis, EA, Chairperson... (970) Members: Open Position Legislative John Dundon, EA, Chairperson... (720) Members: Dan Halleman, Richard Van Buren Meeting Programs Deborah Lynn, EA, Chairperson... (303) Member: CJ Whiteley Membership Richard Van Buren, EA, Chairperson... (303) Member: Janeen Ryan Nominating Audrey Dean, EA, Chairperson... (303) Member: Ed Bunetta Publications Jeanine Buben-Croy, EA, Chairperson... (303) Member: Paul Ketcham Publicity/Public Relations Joseph Coscia, EA, Chairperson... (303) Members: John Dundon, Dan Halleman, Richard Van Buren Review John Dundon, EA, Chairperson..... (720) Member: Ed Bunetta Seminars Dan Halleman, EA, Chairperson.... (720) Members: Open Position Web Site Jan Edwards, EA, Chairperson... (970) Members: Open Position The Colorado Enrolled Agent is published bimonthly by the Colorado Society of Enrolled Agents. Your comments, suggestions and submissions are invited. Copy must be typed and double-spaced on 8-1/2 x 11 white bond paper with 1-1/2 margins or submitted in MS Word on a 3-1/2 diskette. Copy not received by the fifteenth of the month preceding publication will be held for a future issue. We reserve the right to edit all copy for length and clarity. Material published in The Colorado Enrolled Agent may be reprinted. We request only that suitable credit be given. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is published with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional service. The services of a competent professional should be sought when legal, accounting or other expert assistance is required.