Tax Preparer

T he days are numbered for paid tax preparers who don't understand tax law - or intentionally flout it - yet file returns anyway, leaving the taxpayer to suffer the consequences. The IRS proposed last week that all paid preparers be registered and, with a few exceptions, undergo testing and continuing education. Maryland also has a law that allows state regulators to license preparers, but that effort has been stalled by a lack of funding. A state regulator hopes money is made available this year despite a huge budget shortfall.

The Baltimore CASH Campaign is hosting its 7 th annual Money Power Day Saturday, March 10. Consumers will be able to get a free credit report, one-on-one credit counseling and help with connecting to public benefits. Also, taxpayers will be able to get free tax preparation, provided household income is less than $50,000. Troubled homeowners will receive advice on avoiding foreclosure, and prospective buyers will get free housing counseling. Plus, there will be more than 45 nonprofits, government agencies and businesses that will provide financial advice.

Services for Florence K. McCubbin, a bookkeeper and tax preparer who was a former head of the state organization of the Order of the Eastern Star, will be held at 11 a.m. today at the Ruck Towson Funeral Home, 1050 York Road.Mrs. McCubbin, who was 67 and lived on Foster Avenue in Parkville, died of cancer Sunday at Union Memorial Hospital.A bookkeeper for the Friendly Ice Cream Shop in Dundalk for about five years, she also had prepared tax returns with H & R Block for many years.The former Florence Keyes was a native of Baltimore and a graduate of what is now the Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School.

For years, anyone in Maryland could prepare tax returns for money, so it wasn't unheard of to find tax services offered at laundromats, car dealerships or palm-reader shops. The industry is no longer unregulated. Starting this year, individual tax preparers in Maryland must register with the state before they can fill out a return for a fee. They will have to undergo continuing education if they want to stay registered. And consumers now have a place to go to find out if there have been complaints or disciplinary action against a local tax preparer.

WITH TAXES on most people's minds, here is a warning from Tax Hotline: "Don't let your accountant send you to jail. Some unsophisticated accountants use fictitious cost figures to reduce capital gains taxes -- or even create losses."It describes understating income, padding deductions and other ways to lower your taxes."Remember you sign the return. You're on the hook for tax fraud if you sign a return knowing you understated your tax liability. Fire an accountant who gives in to the temptation to cheat."

You recently advised someone who works in the film industry about saving for retirement, suggesting that he set up a Simplified Employee Pension or SEP-IRA. I am a film worker, and I got into trouble with the IRS last year because I have been putting my retirement savings into a SEP-IRA.Although most people who work in the film industry think of themselves as self-employed because they aren't on the payroll of a studio or production company, they probably do not qualify for a SEP-IRA either.

Looking for a way to make tax season less taxing this year?If you're not among the 14.5 million people who prepare their returns on their home computers, this may be the time to retire your pencil and calculator.Recent changes to federal and Maryland tax laws are finally hitting the dining room table. The upshot: You may get more money back, but you'll have to work harder for it. There are more than 150 new or revamped federal income tax forms this year. Maryland taxpayers, meanwhile, face longer short forms and extended long forms this season.

Charles Warren West, a retired surveyor and bridge and road inspector for the Baltimore County Bureau of Highways who was also a tax preparer, died Wednesday of a heart attack at University of Maryland Medical Center. The Woodstock resident was 80. Mr. West was stricken while attending prayers at the St. Jude Shrine on North Paca Street and was taken to the nearby medical center, where he died. "He was devoted to the Wednesday novena at St. Jude," said a daughter, Patricia A. Smith of Ellicott City.

After 5 1/2 days of deliberations, a federal court jury announced yesterday it had failed to reach a verdict on charges that former state Delegate Lester V. Jones failed to pay about $130,000 in federal income taxes in 1983 and 1984.Federal prosecutors Joseph L. Evans and Ira L. Oring said the government will retry the case.The six-man and six-woman jury notified federal Judge Marvin J. Garbis that they were unable to agree on a unanimous verdict about 2 p.m. yesterday. Mr. Jones was charged with two counts of tax evasion for 1983 and 1984 and two counts of false reporting on amended returns he filed to correct errors on his original returns.

So, you decided to hire a professional tax preparer this year. Problem is, you want someone who can find every deduction, credit or allowance you legally deserve.Many people instinctively turn to an accountant, says Bob Kamman, a Phoenix attorney specializing in tax law. In reality, he says, an "enrolled agent" would do just as well -- and cost you about half as much money."If you file a typical nonbusiness return, you need a CPA as much as you need an industrial engineer to work on your car," Mr. Kamman says in the February issue of Tax Savings Report, a newsletter published by the National Taxpayers Union.

Accounting students at the Community College of Baltimore County will offer free assistance with 2011 federal and state tax returns to members of the community, as well as school staff and their fellow students. The service, through the Internal Revenue Service's IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program and supervised by CCBC instructors, will be offered Wednesdays, 2-4 p.m. on the third floor of the Y Building on the Catonsville campus, 800 South Rolling Road. Those who have a hard time preparing the forms on their own and want help must make less than $50,000 a year.

If you don't make a lot of money, the Baltimore CASH Campaign thinks you shouldn't be forking any of it over to get your tax returns prepared. The nonprofit group is heading into its 11th tax season, offering free help for low- and moderate-income area residents. It's part of an effort to bolster families' financial security — "CASH" stands for Creating Assets, Savings and Hope. Staff and volunteers, who will officially begin the season Tuesday, help people determine the tax breaks they're eligible to receive and can direct tax refunds into savings bonds to build nest eggs.

Howard County is launching a volunteer program this year to help people of limited means prepare and electronically file their taxes for free. The county has started the service this tax season as a pilot program, said Rebecca Bowman, administrator of the county's Office of Consumer Affairs. "We are hoping to interest the nonprofits to take on doing it in the future," she said. Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA, is part of a program operating across the country.

Tax season is officially here, with the Internal Revenue Service and state of Maryland starting Tuesday to accept electronically filed returns. This is a good year for procrastinators. April 15 — the traditional due date for returns — falls on a Sunday and the following Monday is Emancipation Day, a holiday celebrated in Washington. This pushes the deadline to April 17. But this is also a leap year, so Feb. 29 gives us one more day to ponder our taxes. Many filers could use the extra time.

Mammie Lee Davis, a retired professional seamstress and tax preparer, died Saturday of renal failure at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. She was 78. Mammie Lee Benjamin was born and raised in Florence, S.C. She was a 1951 graduate of Wilson High School. She worked for Wentworth Manufacturing in Florence, and in 1955, she married Sam Davis Jr. Two years later, the couple settled in Baltimore, and Mrs. Davis went to work as a professional seamstress at Raleigh Manufacturers Inc. on Wicomico Street.

Mammie Lee Davis, a retired professional seamstress and tax preparer, died Saturday of renal failure at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. She was 78. Mammie Lee Benjamin was born and raised in Florence, S.C. She was a 1951 graduate of Wilson High School. She worked for Wentworth Manufacturing in Florence, and in 1955, she married Sam Davis Jr. Two years later, the couple settled in Baltimore, and Mrs. Davis went to work as a professional seamstress at Raleigh Manufacturers Inc. on Wicomico Street.

Charles Warren West, a retired surveyor and bridge and road inspector for the Baltimore County Bureau of Highways who was also a tax preparer, died Wednesday of a heart attack at University of Maryland Medical Center. The Woodstock resident was 80. Mr. West was stricken while attending prayers at the St. Jude Shrine on North Paca Street and was taken to the nearby medical center, where he died. "He was devoted to the Wednesday novena at St. Jude," said a daughter, Patricia A. Smith of Ellicott City.