Question about IRS?

ZomB13 F1Sh

Hi everyone I'm hoping you might be able to help me with something here, I did an internship in the United States last year I was on a J1-WT visa, since my return I have filed with a third party agency to get my tax back however the agency are giving me the run around saying I owe money to the IRS when I clearly don't. A group of students go on this internship from my college every year and they normally get their tax back this seems to be the first time this has happened. Does anyone have any advice who I could contact to get more clarification in this issue?

iusedtoknow

Do you have a copy of your W2? You should as it's a legal requirement for you to have it, you can AFTER you have taken possession of it hand it over to a 3rd party. If you don't have it, contact your company to have them fax or email you a copy.

You can plug in the data into H+R block calculators and see if what they are saying is true. Tax "professionals" vary a lot here - from crooked CPA's to Store-front agencies (HR Block etc), however they mostly try to get you a good return, as it can mean a higher cut for them.

Also, remember that your tax return has 2 parts- Federal and Local. Every tax return i've done, i've ended up out a couple of hundred with the local tax, which has been balanced off by my federal return.

ProudDUB

Who and where are this third party agency? Is it here, or in the States?

ZomB13 F1Sh

I have my W2, the third party is taxback.com they have an office here in ireland, but it's not the head office. The thing that's weird is that a group from my college do this every year and this is the first time this has happened.

iusedtoknow

I don't know about dealing with them, so won't comment.

However, tax law in the US is ridiculously complicated. Take a look at the figures via a 2013 calculator and see what it says. Last year, i looked at mine personally and thought I owed 400 to the fed, turns out I was owed 800 back from the IRS.

rockonollie

By chance were you paid as an independent contractor?.......If so, your employer may not have withheld taxes while you were being paid, which would result in you owing money.

If you were considered an independent contractor, you would have received a 1099-MISC instead of a W-2.....either way, what you earned and what taxes were paid on your behalf will be detailed on the document and, as has been said, websites like HR Block and TurboTax will allow you input the basic info and get a feel for the rough amout you owe/are owed.

ZomB13 F1Sh

Thanks for the help so far lads, no I wouldn't have been an independent contractor I have my W2 too, I ran my details through HR block and it says an estimation of $490 refund which also is similar to something an American citizen told me, not sure what to do at this stage!

rockonollie

First step is to insist that the company preparing your return give you a copy of your tax return. (You are entitled to this, they cannot refuse)

Once you have a return and the numbers still don't add up (or they refuse to give you a return)....your next step would be to contact the IRS directly.

The information regarding reporting suspect activities of 3rd party preparers is available here