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It could happen to you too

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Re: It could happen to you too

#31

Post by flrpsrmblrb »

whalesalad wrote: post #26

This happened to my dad recently. All accounts frozen. For $22 in unpaid taxes due to a discrepancy. The funny part is that you can't write them a check for $22 when all of your accounts are frozen. #recursion To everyone who is alarmed by this it actually happens a lot and is not necessarily Chase's fault. A lot of banks do this. Blame the IRS, our large government, and their incessant need to take everything from e…

> Okay I didn't really need to add that last bit

Damn right you didn't. The vast majority of tax revenue in the US is spent on the military. Is that your idea of a "social program"?

Re: It could happen to you too

#32

Post by drunkpotato »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #27

Sigh. I understand the angst, tax organizations are the worst. However, a piece of advice. If you file a tax return in a state, and then you leave. Make sure you file a tax return the next year as well but put down zero taxable income. What I have seen states do, is take the last year you filed a return "presume" you made that much in the next year but just "forgot" to file, and then charge you for back taxes. You co…

That's excellent advice, thank you!

If however this is a commonly expected thing to do, shouldn't a CPA (such as the one the author hired) be expected to advise you of that?

Re: It could happen to you too

#33

Post by axusgrad »

Interesting; I finished A Handmaid's Tale last week, and the same thing had happened to the main character's family. Everybody had stopped keeping cash, and without their bank card working they were powerless.

Re: It could happen to you too

#34

Post by joedev »

Why does the author keep hounding on "Again, I have not lived in MA or earned income in that state since 2003"? It sounds like MA isn't after anything to do with residency or wage income.

Re: It could happen to you too

#35

Post by _delirium »

whalesalad wrote: post #26

This happened to my dad recently. All accounts frozen. For $22 in unpaid taxes due to a discrepancy. The funny part is that you can't write them a check for $22 when all of your accounts are frozen. #recursion To everyone who is alarmed by this it actually happens a lot and is not necessarily Chase's fault. A lot of banks do this. Blame the IRS, our large government, and their incessant need to take everything from e…

I'm not sure the fact that a lot of banks do it should get Chase off the hook, unless they were legally mandated to do it. I would expect a bank to protect their customers' assets to the extent allowed by law. That said, it's unclear from the post whether the Chase policy is legally required, and I'm not familiar enough with this area of the law to speculate.

Re: It could happen to you too

#36

Post by cpressey »

whalesalad wrote: post #26

This happened to my dad recently. All accounts frozen. For $22 in unpaid taxes due to a discrepancy. The funny part is that you can't write them a check for $22 when all of your accounts are frozen. #recursion To everyone who is alarmed by this it actually happens a lot and is not necessarily Chase's fault. A lot of banks do this. Blame the IRS, our large government, and their incessant need to take everything from e…

More specifically: #deadlock

Re: It could happen to you too

#37

Post by Zimahl »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #27

Sigh. I understand the angst, tax organizations are the worst. However, a piece of advice. If you file a tax return in a state, and then you leave. Make sure you file a tax return the next year as well but put down zero taxable income. What I have seen states do, is take the last year you filed a return "presume" you made that much in the next year but just "forgot" to file, and then charge you for back taxes. You co…

But filing a state return with $0 on it is pretty straight forward thing these days with efiling.

It's stupid to have to do that. They shouldn't be estimating your income, they know exactly how much you make from your W-2s, 1099s, etc. This is all to be reported to the state by an employer.

As for the guy in the article, there isn't something quite right. The state could be completely wrong here but there is something fishy with his ownership of part of a business in MA. If everything is as he says is true and the MA tax lawyer isn't getting this settled, he needs to get a different lawyer.

Re: It could happen to you too

#38

Post by epoxyhockey »

What is the statute of limitations for tax issues in Massachusetts? I looked it up, and it appears that there is an unlimited amount of time that MA can come after you: http://www.mass.gov/dor/individuals/filing-and-payment-infor...

However, using the technique that ChuckMcM described, that limitation would be 6 years. Sounds like we should start filing $0 returns for states we don't reside in anymore..

Re: It could happen to you too

#40

Post by ChuckMcM »

drunkpotato wrote: post #32
ChuckMcM wrote: post #27

Sigh. I understand the angst, tax organizations are the worst. However, a piece of advice. If you file a tax return in a state, and then you leave. Make sure you file a tax return the next year as well but put down zero taxable income. What I have seen states do, is take the last year you filed a return "presume" you made that much in the next year but just "forgot" to file, and then charge you for back taxes. You co…

That's excellent advice, thank you! If however this is a commonly expected thing to do, shouldn't a CPA (such as the one the author hired) be expected to advise you of that?

Yes, I would expect a CPA who handled your taxes the previous year, knew you weren't filing in some state you filed in before this year, would suggest you file a $0 income return in that other state.
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