Harlan Lunsford wrote:

- quote -

The IRS will check mortgage files and such for returns (or
things that look like returns, and a Schedule C by itself
would certainly count) for nonfilers. Apparently alot of
people do that - or give the bank/mortgagor a "more
optimistic" tax return than what was filed.

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Jo Firey wrote:
- quote -

When I worked there, the extension form only posted to the
PRIMARY SSN keyed module and NOT to the secondary. In most
cases, the primary is the husband, so the wife may be
treated as not having filed the extension. What that is
dependent on is whether or not the IRS employee processing
the return is smart enough to check the husband's tax
account for an extension (but I don't recall anything that
indicates it was a jointly filed extension without pulling
the actual document out of the stacks) when handling the
wife's MFS return. It can be even worse if the
secondary-SSN-taxpayer files as HoH, where a spouse's SSN
isn't required to be listed.

I never worked at a service center, but base my answer on
what I remember about IDRS transcripts as a field-office
employee and what I actually saw in the audit files. Please
remember that this season marks my 10th anniversary of
DEPARTURE from the IRS, but I know of nothing that indicates
that my view would have changed.

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Jo Firey at JAfirey[at]netzero.net wrote:
- quote -

Yes, and it is a real pain to resolve. In Ohio, people
switch back and forth between MFS and MFJ all the time
because there are Ohio benefits to MFS in certain income
ranges. I always have both TP and Spouse file extension
requests just to make sure. Payments are a problem as well.
They usually get credited to the TP instead of the Spouse.
The spouse ends up in the hole and pays interest and the TP
gets a big refund. IRS is reluctant to give transfer the
money.

All freely provided advice guarantee correct or double your
money back

Frank S. Duke, Jr. CPA
Cincinnati, OH USA

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D. Stussy wrote:
- quote -

I think I may just follow up on this thread and see. A
client, always joint return in the past, is on extension for
the 2001 1040 return, and sent in estimated payment of 3500
with the extension. (well, WAS on extension!) Both
husband and wife have separate businesses. I've yet to do
even their 2000 return, but working on it now (Don't even
ask about 2002 and 2003, also subject of the "automatic
extensions!)

One of those years, 2000 I think, I had given wife a
schedule c to use to give to banker so she could get set up
with a credit card facility, and somehow, it ended up in
IRS's hands, and they later wrote her asking for the rest of
her return!

This might become an intersting case, ya think?

Cheer$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

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"D. Stussy" <kd6lvw[at]bde-arc.ampr.org> wrote:
- quote -

I've wondered about this. Does anyone really believe the
IRS even records or keeps track of all the extension forms
it gets that don't include a payment? Anyone ever had them
claim one wasn't filed?

Jo

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peter desmond wrote:

- quote -

No, but I bet that the IRS will say that only ONE of them
filed an extension.

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peter desmond <TaxHombre[at]cs.com> wrote:

- quote -

Is there a signatuure line on the 4868?

__
Art Kamlet ArtKamlet [at] AOL.com Columbus OH K2PZH

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in other words, does filing a joint form 4868 bind them
irrevocably to file a joint form 1040?

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