1. Victims of the Oklahoma Tornadoes will get relief from the IRS. They have until September 30 to file and pay taxes for any return that was due after May 17, 2013. This applies to the June 17 and September 16 deadlines for individuals to pay estimated taxes. Also, any payroll tax deposits that were due between May 17 and June 2 can be deposited by June 3 without any penalties.

2. The Service will not have the ability to see taxpayers’ medical records. As I recorded in earlier blog entries, the Service is going to be in the business of enforcing the penalty on people who don’t have health insurance after 2013. It is true that the Service will be the enforcement arm of a law commonly known as Obamacare. They will not have access to your medical records. Here is how it’s supposed to work: Insurance companies will send a report to the IRS and taxpayers regarding coverage. The report will list the name, address, and tax I.D. of all of the individuals with coverage. If an employer is self-insured, then that employer is responsible to make the report. No medical history will be included. The IRS will then check the report to make sure that any individual who is not covered will pay a penalty which can be no higher than $95 per person for 2014. Also keep in mind the IRS can enforce that penalty by keeping a portion of your tax refund. It cannot hit you with a tax lien or a tax levy.

3. The IRS is continuing to pursue offshore tax evasion. Everyone has read the newspaper articles or seen the news about people with bank accounts in Switzerland and how the Service has worked with those banks and so forth. The Service’s latest project is working with authorities in Australia and the United Kingdom. The countries have all agreed to share information on the owners of trusts and companies and the individuals with such accounts. They will also be sharing information on the advisors who helped create the offshore trusts and companies.