The IRS has already handed out tens of millions of income tax refunds, and the average refund amount is about $3,000.

IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman told a House subcommittee Thursday that the IRS had received more than 70 million individual tax returns as of March 10, up about 5 percent from the same time last year.

Shulman said the IRS had issued 59.2 million refunds as of March 10, for a total of $174 billion.

The $3,000 refunds are about the same as last year, according to Shulman’s testimony before a Ways and Means subcommittee.

If you’re more of a procrastinator than an early bird, don’t worry: You still have some time. The tax due datehas been extended to April 17 this year.

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Wondering where your tax refund is? Now, there's an app for that.

It seems there’s an app for everything these days, including checking the status of your income tax refund.

The Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday that it had updated its smartphone app, IRS2Go that lets you check whether your tax refund has come in yet.

The app also lets you sign up to get tax tips and quickly find out who to call if you have questions. It's free and available for Android and iPhones.

About 300,000 people have downloaded the app since the first version was launched last year, according to the IRS.

It’s not the only way the IRS is trying to keep up with those tech-savvy kids these days. If you’re so inclined, you can also follow the IRS on Twitter and get IRS tax tips on YouTube. They’re also strongly encouraging people to file their taxes online.

Would you use your smartphone to check the status of your tax refund?

John Brecher / msnbc.com

Steve DeAngelo of Harborside Health Center

In a potentially crushing blow to the burgeoning medical marijuana industry, the IRS has ruled that dispensaries cannot deduct standard business expenses such as payroll, security or rent.

Harborside Health Center, one of the nation's largest medical marijuana dispensaries and considered a model for the industry, is on the hook for $2.5 million in taxes from 2007 and 2008.  That is $2 million more than the Oakland, Calif.-based company paid for those tax years.

“I see only two outcomes here,” said Steve DeAngelo, director and chief executive of Harborside. “Either this IRS assessment has to change or we go out of business. There really isn’t a middle ground for us.”

DeAngelo says the ruling will likely be appealed. He has 90 days to respond to the ruling.

The IRS ruling is based on an obscure portion of the tax code -- section 280E -- passed into law by Congress in 1982, at the height of Reagan administration’s “war on drugs.” The law, originally targeted at drug kingpins and cartels, bans any tax deductions related to "trafficking in controlled substances."

Although 16 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws allowing medical use of marijuana, the federal government still considers it a Schedule I drug, the most restrictive category with the harshest penalties.

The Internal Revenue Service refused to comment on the specific case, but letters sent from Andrew Keyso, IRS deputy associate chief counsel, to some members of Congress spell out the official position:

“Section 280E of the Code disallows deductions incurred in the trade or business of trafficking in controlled substances that federal law or the law of any state in which the taxpayer conducts the business prohibits. For this purpose, the term “controlled substances” has the meaning provided in the Controlled Substances Act. Marijuana falls within the Controlled Substances Act.”

The news has spread rapidly through the cannabis community and is likely to have a chilling effect on businesses.

“We are all a bit nervous and frustrated,” said Ken Estes, owner of Patient To Patient Group Collective in San Jose, Calif. “We have tried to comply with every city, state and federal law. We ask for input from all the agencies. But we are still being punished for operating a legitimate business.”

Harborside, which celebrated its fifth anniversary Monday, serves 94,000 patients with 84 full-time employees and brings in about $22 million in annual revenue. According to DeAngelo, the center, set up as a not-for-profit business, pays about $1.1 million in taxes to the city of Oakland, $2 million to the state of California and $500,000 to the federal government.

“We have no complaint about the taxes we pay," DeAngelo said. "We are doing our part. All we ask is that we be treated like any other business enterprise. To treat us like criminals is simply wrong. Drug kingpins and cartels don’t file taxes. We do. But no business, including ours, can survive if it is taxed on its gross revenue. The IRS is trying to tax us out of existence.”

Keith Stroup, legal counsel and founder of NORML, the nation’s largest marijuana advocacy group, says the IRS ruling is likely to  stifle the quasi-legal industry and force people back onto the black market.

“You know, Al Capone was taken down by the IRS, not by the FBI or the police. And I can assure you that Steve DeAngelo is no Al Capone,” Stroup said.

Stroup believes the move also could make it more difficult for the medical marijuana industry to capture significant capital investment. Medical marijuana is now a $1.7 billion market, according to a report released this year by See Change Strategy, an independent financial analysis firm that specializes in new and unique markets. The figure represents estimated sales of marijuana through dispensaries in states with medical marijuana laws.

Although the IRS declined comment, Stoup says NORML has received e-mails from other dispensaries that are currently being audited and will likely receive similar rulings. “Harborside is one of the biggest, so that is why the IRS targeted them first,” Stroup said. “But there are other dispensaries that will suffer the same fate unless Congress acts.”

Some members of Congress have taken up the cause.

Reps. Pete Stark, D-Calif., Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Jared Polis, D-Colo., have introduced legislation to ensure the medical marijuana industry is treated like any other business.

Two Republican presidential candidates — Ron Paul and Gary Johnson — also support the legislation.

Stark’s bill, the Small Business Tax Equity Act, authorizes medical marijuana dispensaries to take the full range of business expense deductions.

“You’d think that a time of record budget deficits that the IRS would be happy that a legal business is doing the right thing and paying its taxes," Polis said. "Instead, the IRS seems intent on destroying a successful and legal business that creates jobs and strengthens our economy."

The confused legal situation is “an un-American  loop of nonsense,” says Jerome Handley, a tax attorney in Oakland who has more than 100 clients in the medical marijuana industry. “My advice to my clients is simple: Document everything … and stay out of the spotlight.”

William Panzer, an Oakland  tax attorney who helped author California’s medical marijuana law, Proposition 215, also successfully fought the IRS in a similar case in 2007.

In that case, U.S. Tax Court Judge David Laro declared that Californians Helping to Alleviate Medical Problems (CHAMP), a medical marijuana provider, could deduct the majority of employee costs as caregiving expenses. The IRS sought $426,000 in back taxes and penalties, but CHAMP ended up paying a tax assessment of less than $5,000.

“This law is not about protecting citizens from criminals. It is a concerted effort by the federal government to crack down on a legitimate business,” Panzer said.

DeAngelo points out the apparent craziness of the law. “The IRS allows me to deduct my cost of purchasing cannabis, which is the controlled substance they say is illegal. But I can’t deduct my payroll or my rent? That, clearly, defies logic and common sense.

"Besides," DeAngelo added, "have you ever heard of a drug trafficker that actually files a tax return? Me neither."

Can anyone really read enough IRS-get-egg-on-their-face stories? We can’t. So we enjoyed this piece from Forbes.

To sum up: Badri N. Abdi sounds like a very hard-working young man from a family in difficult financial straits. Guy works multiple jobs and goes to college — especially impressive since he manages to do it without a car in Southern California. He gives most of his pay to his mom for household expenses since he still lives there. What little is left after expenses for him he spends on his little sister.

When tax time rolls around, he claims the sister on his taxes as a dependent. Important to note: His mom doesn’t claim either him or the sister when she files. The IRS blows a fuse and says he’s about $3,332 short on his taxes — the dependency deduction, earned income credit and child tax credit.

So Abdi took the IRS to tax court. Where the IRS proceeded to lose the case.

Check out the details at Forbes here.

Zuma Press file

It pays to die. Check that. It pays to know who has died. If you then fleece the IRS, that is.

After reading on Forbes.com that the IRS paid $12.1 million in bogus tax refunds to 5,000-plus dead people for the tax year 2009, we won’t be using the word “victim.” See, we’re not sure who it applies to. The dead that had their identity stolen? The IRS? Every taxpayer? All of the above?

Interesting scam. Seems the Social Security Administration reports weekly to the IRS who dies. These reports are public, so persistent (note: not necessarily smart nor “computer-savvy”) criminals can then find out the deceased’s vital info, including Social Security number. They then need an Electronic Filing ID Number and boom.

The most open door in this unlocked house? All the claims were filed with the same Electronic Filing ID. It belongs to a Florida guy who says, naturally, he was paid $1,000 to apply for it, but never used it.

Forbes.com notes there have been no arrests yet.

More on the scam and a lengthy IRS response to Forbes.com’s inquiry is on their post.

We have one question: The filing ID always seemed a little stupid. We mean, the IRS got our SSN and bank info when we filed electronically. Why add another link in an obviously breakable chain? Aside from the last steps of e-filing seeming like filling out the same form at the doctor your filled out the last time and the last time and the last time, perhaps the IRS and Social Security Administration should worry about protecting a few, select pieces of information rather than add yet another to an already difficult-to-secure mix.

Getty Images stock

Who are the biggest tax cheats in America? Single men under age 45.

Sixty-four percent of people who admit to fudging their taxes were single men, and 55 percent were under 45, according to a recent survey by DDB Worldwide Communications Group. The good news: Only 15 percent of Americans admitted to cheating the tax man.

An inability to smartly manage money appears to be another characteristic of self-identified cheaters − 42 percent said their financial situation was "one missed paycheck away from disaster," the survey found. Cheaters are less likely to save money, with 45 percent describing themselves as "a spender rather than a saver."

"We've found that there are no major differences in income between tax cheaters and noncheaters," said James Lou, a strategist with DDB. "However, there are significant differences in how they make their income last and how they view themselves."

It comes as no surprise the survey found that those trying to fool the IRS are more likely than their noncheating counterparts to engage in shady behavior.

"Their willingness to cheat is not limited to their taxes but spans a wide range of situations and behavior where they are looking to get away with something," Lou said.

How cheaters compare with noncheaters:

• Taking money from their child's piggy bank: 28% vs. 8%
• Working a job under the table while getting unemployment: 73% vs. 20%
• Keeping the wrong change given to them by a cashier: 71% vs. 3%
• Asking a friend to pose as an ex-boss on a reference check: 59% vs. 13%
• Lying about their income to qualify for free government aid: 51% vs. 5%
• Lying about finding something in their food to get a free meal: 26% vs. 3%
• Wearing an outfit to an event and then returning it: 46% vs. 14%
• Keeping a $20 bill they saw somebody drop: 31% vs. 12%
• Shoplifting: 37% vs. 3%

   

Mike Segar / Reuters

The deadline for filing your taxes this year is April 18.

If you're overwhelmed by your federal taxes this year, the friendly folks at the IRS are offering their help this Saturday.

Nearly 100 IRS offices across the country will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. to aid frustrated taxpayers. IRS personnel will be available to assist with tax return preparation, answer account questions and help with a variety of other issues.

"If taxpayers can't get immediate help, they can be pointed in the right direction," said Dean Patterson, a spokesman with the IRS. In addition to the walk-in IRS offices, all taxpayer questions can be answered at the IRS website.

To locate an IRS office that is open Saturday, click here. The IRS is planning two more open houses later this year.

If you are 60 or older or you've earned less than $49,000 last year, free individual taxpayer assistance is available. Call 800-906-9887 to find a location near you.

Here's some good news from the IRS: Taxpayers have a few extra days to file this year. The deadline for filing returns is April 18.

LOUIS LANZANO / AP

Leona Helmsley was famously accused of saying that "only the little people pay taxes" -- and was conviced of tax evasion.
.

Pretty much since Americans started paying taxes, some have been claiming that there are perfectly legal reasons why the Internal Revenue Service does not have a legal claim to their money.

The IRS is here to tell you it’s having none of it.

In a brief entitled “The Truth About Frivolous Tax Arguments” the Internal Revenue Service lays out in painful detail its rebuttal to many of the arguments the anti-tax folks have used over the years.

Planning to argue the Constitution says you don’t have to pay taxes? Here’s a quick response, courtesy of the IRS:

“Some argue that taxpayers may refuse to pay federal income taxes based on their religious or moral beliefs, or objection to the use of taxes to fund certain government programs.  These persons mistakenly invoke the First Amendment in support of this frivolous position.”

Hoping to skirt the IRS with the argument that the Internal Revenue Service is not an agency of the United States? You’ll find their response to that one under “Fictional Legal Bases.”

It reads, in part: “There is a host of constitutional and statutory authority establishing that the IRS is an agency of the United States. “

Since this is the IRS, it should come as no surprise that this is a dense document, filled with legal notes and the like. As an example, look no further than the IRS’s response to those of you who would argue that paying taxes is voluntary:

“The word “voluntary,” as used in Flora and in IRS publications, refers to our system of allowing taxpayers initially to determine the correct amount of tax and complete the appropriate returns, rather than have the government determine tax for them from the outset.  The requirement to file an income tax return is not voluntary and is clearly set forth in sections 6011(a), 6012(a), et seq., and 6072(a). See also Treas. Reg. § 1.6011-1(a).”

Still hoping to find a way around paying taxes? Before you do so, you might want to check out Section III, “Penalties For Pursuing Frivolous Tax Arguments." 

Still tempted? You might want to consider the fate of Leona Helmsley, who was famously accused of saying that "only the little people pay taxes" -- and was convicted of tax evasion.

The Internal Revenue Service said this week that it may have as much as $1.1 billion in refunds for people who did not file a tax return in 2007.

The good news for the nearly 1.1 million people who may have money waiting for them: You can still get the refund, if you file a 2007 tax return by April 18.

There’s no penalty for filing the return late if you qualify for a refund. But you only have three years to do so.

This isn’t chump change, either: The IRS said the median refund is $640.

The IRS said some people may not have filed a return that year because they made too little money to require one, even though they had had taxes withheld from their wages.

Of course, there are some caveats. The checks will be withheld if you did not file a return in 2008 or 2009, either. You also may not see the money if you owe other federal taxes, if you are overdue on other government debt, such as student loans, or if you have unpaid child support bills.

Tax forms and instruction for prior years are available here.

Procrastinators, you now have one less reason to put off filing your taxes.

The Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday it can now accept tax returns for people who itemize their tax deductions.

The IRS had said in late December that people who itemize their returns would have to hold off on filing until the government could update its systems to reflect last-minute tax law changes Congress passed in mid-December. The change was expected to be completed by mid-February.

The delay potentially affected tens of millions of taxpayers. That’s because it included anyone who uses a Schedule A to claim itemized deductions for things like mortgage interest, charitable donations and medical expenses.

People who claim certain education deductions or deduct state and local sales taxes also couldn’t file their taxes while the IRS updated its systems.

Still, those who are prone to waiting to the last minute can hold off a bit longer. The IRS also said that it would extend its tax filing deadline to April 18 this year, because of holiday observed in Washington, D.C.

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What? Cheat on taxes? Never