Tax/H & R. Block help

Factual Questions
1

One of the elderly residents where I work asked for my help because she took all her tax records to the local H&R Block office several months ago and hasn’t heard anything from them since. She is frail but mentally sharp. The local office is closed now so I contacted the one in the City nearby and asked for their help. I gave them the name of the preparer but that office says they cannot reach her by phone. They have sent her a letter asking for her to contact their office. The H & R. Block office says there is no record of any tax preparation or tax papers in their office. Meanwhile, my little old lady (age 88) is afraid the IRS will descend on her. All her tax records for 2003 are gone.

What is the next step, assuming the preparer doesn’t reply to the H & R. Block letter?

2

  1. Send a certified letter to the tax preparation company (TPC), demanding immediate return of her records and demanding that TPC pay for any of the taxpayer’s IRS interest and penalties; and

  2. Contact each entity that sent the taxpayer a W-2/1099, including Social Security and ask for a duplicate of the 2003 copy. If she can’t remember who gave her such forms, take her 2002 tax return and contact the entities that sent her a statement in 2002 and ask them for a duplicate of the 2003 return. Use the duplicates to prepare the 2003 return.

  3. Have her attach a statemetn to her return to the IRS, asking the IRS to abate all interest and penalties based on the TPC’s failings.

Good luck.