Sure Financial and Tax Services LLC

10/07/2026

Never filed? The IRS can file for you. Under section 6020(b) it builds a return from what employers, banks and brokers reported.

What it leaves out: dependents, credits, itemized deductions, and often your basis.
What comes first: a CP59 alert, a 30-day letter, then a 90-day notice of deficiency.

The catch: its return reports what others said, not what is true. Filing your own signed return is the fix.

Full guide linked in the comments.

Surya Padhi, CPA, EA
Sure Financial and Tax Services LLC | 908-955-0696 | [email protected]

General information only, not individualized tax advice. Sources: IRC section 6020, IRS notice pages, TIGTA report 2026308047.

10/07/2026

If you never file, the IRS does not skip you. It files for you.

Under section 6020(b) it builds a return from what employers, banks and brokers reported. No dependents, no credits, and often no basis on your stock sales.

It is almost always worse than the return you would have filed yourself.

https://suryapadhiea.com/irs-substitute-for-return-unfiled-returns/


```
The stock sale — Post two or three days later. Narrow and concrete.
```
A brokerage report shows $60,000 of stock sale proceeds and no basis. A substitute return can tax all $60,000 as gain.

You paid $52,000. Your real gain is $8,000.

An illustration, not a client result. A real return is how $52,000 of income that never existed comes off.

https://suryapadhiea.com/irs-substitute-for-return-unfiled-returns/

If you never file, the IRS can prepare a return for you under section 6020(b), built only from income reported by employers, banks and brokers. It generally

10/06/2026

Scammed out of money? An IRS memo sorted five scams: three produced a theft loss deduction, two did not.

Allowed: compromised-account scams, pig butchering investment scams, phishing and hacked accounts.
Not allowed: romance scams and kidnapping scams.

The catch: being fooled does not change the label. Your motive decides, and the loss only helps if you itemize.

Full guide linked in the comments.

Surya Padhi, CPA, EA
Sure Financial and Tax Services LLC | 908-955-0696 | [email protected]

General information only, not individualized tax advice. Source: IRS Office of Chief Counsel, CCA 202511015.


```

10/06/2026

Being scammed and being able to deduct the loss are two different questions.

An IRS Chief Counsel memo sorted five common scams. Three produced a theft loss deduction. Two did not.

The line between them was not how convincing the fraud was. It was whether the money was tied to an investment made for profit.

https://suryapadhiea.com/scam-theft-loss-deduction-irs-memo/


```
The IRA catch — Post two or three days later. Narrow and concrete.
```
Say a scam takes a $100,000 IRA distribution. The theft loss can offset the income tax on it. The 10% additional tax, $10,000 in this illustration, does not go away.

The loss is also an itemized deduction, so your adjusted gross income still goes up.

An illustration, not a client result. Your facts decide.

https://suryapadhiea.com/scam-theft-loss-deduction-irs-memo/

Sometimes. An IRS Chief Counsel memo allowed a theft loss deduction for compromised-account, pig butchering and phishing scams, because the money was tied to

10/05/2026

Tax-free in India is not tax-free on a US return.
If you hold an EPF, EPS or PPF, your US return asks two separate questions: is it taxed, and is it reported. PPF interest is generally taxed as credited. The EPF and EPS are contested, so document your position. And the FBAR starts at $10,000 across your foreign accounts, even when you owe no tax.
The FBAR for 2025 is due October 15, 2026. Full guide linked in the comments.
Surya Padhi, CPA, EA | Sure Financial and Tax Services LLC
908-955-0696 | suryapadhiea.com
General information only, not individualized tax advice. Source: IRS and FinCEN.

10/05/2026

Tax-free in India does not mean tax-free on your US return.

If you hold an EPF, EPS or PPF, the US asks two separate questions: is it taxed, and is it reported. You can owe a form even when you owe no tax.

https://suryapadhiea.com/india-epf-eps-ppf-us-tax/


```
The PPF number — Post a few days later.
```
A $60,000 PPF balance credited at 7% is $4,200 of interest. At a 24% federal bracket, that is $1,008 of US tax on money India never taxed. (Illustrative figures.)

And the same balance clears the FBAR threshold.

https://suryapadhiea.com/india-epf-eps-ppf-us-tax/

Tax-free in India does not mean tax-free on a US return. A US resident is taxed on PPF interest as it is credited. The EPF and the EPS are contested, with no

10/04/2026

NRE & NRO Accounts: Tax-Free in India, Taxed by the IRS
```
Facebook caption
```
Your Indian bank may call NRE interest tax-free. The IRS does not.

If you are a US citizen, green card holder or resident alien:
- Report the interest on your Form 1040
- File an FBAR when combined peak balances pass $10,000
- Check Form 8938, which is a separate filing

No single account over $10,000? The FBAR adds up the highest balance of every foreign account, so it can still apply.

The full breakdown is linked in the comments.

Surya Padhi, CPA, EA
IRS Enrolled Agent · Chartered Accountant (India)
908-955-0696 · [email protected]

Indian filings stay with a practising Chartered Accountant in India.
General information only, not individualized tax advice. Source: IRS and FinCEN.

10/04/2026

Your Indian bank may call NRE interest tax-free. The IRS does not.

If you are a US citizen, green card holder or tax resident, that interest belongs on your Form 1040, and the account may belong on an FBAR.

Here is how the rules fit together.

https://suryapadhiea.com/nre-nro-accounts-us-tax-reporting/


```
The dollar figure — Post two or three days later. Built on the $10,000 aggregate test.
```
No single account over $10,000? You can still owe an FBAR.

The test adds up the highest balance in every foreign account during the year. An NRE savings account, an NRO account and one fixed deposit can cross the line together.

https://suryapadhiea.com/nre-nro-accounts-us-tax-reporting/

10/03/2026

Own a rental abroad? It depreciates over 30 years, not 27.5.

A rental abroad goes on Schedule E like any other rental. Three things change:

📌 Depreciation: 30-year ADS, straight line, no bonus depreciation on the building. Property in service before 2018 stays at 40 years.

💵 Currency: everything in US dollars, with the building's basis fixed on purchase day.

📋 Reporting: real estate held directly is not on Form 8938. An interest in a foreign entity that holds it can be. Foreign accounts over $10,000 combined also mean an FBAR.

The catch: using 27.5 years overstates depreciation every year (by $1,115 in our illustrative example), and basis at sale drops by what was allowable, not just what was claimed.

Full guide linked in the comments.

Surya Padhi, CPA, EA, CAA
Sure Financial and Tax Services LLC
908-955-0696 | [email protected]

General information only, not individualized tax advice. Source: IRS.


```
First comment (post it immediately after publishing):
```
Full guide with the figures and sources: https://suryapadhiea.com/foreign-rental-property-us-taxes

10/03/2026

Foreign Rental Property: 30 Years, Not 27.5
Own a rental abroad? It depreciates over 30 years, not 27.5.

A rental abroad goes on Schedule E like any other rental. Three things change:

📌 Depreciation: 30-year ADS, straight line, no bonus depreciation on the building. Property in service before 2018 stays at 40 years.

💵 Currency: everything in US dollars, with the building's basis fixed on purchase day.

📋 Reporting: real estate held directly is not on Form 8938. An interest in a foreign entity that holds it can be. Foreign accounts over $10,000 combined also mean an FBAR.

The catch: using 27.5 years overstates depreciation every year (by $1,115 in our illustrative example), and basis at sale drops by what was allowable, not just what was claimed.

Full guide linked in the comments.

Surya Padhi, CPA, EA, CAA
Sure Financial and Tax Services LLC
908-955-0696 | [email protected]

General information only, not individualized tax advice. Source: IRS.


```
First comment (post it immediately after publishing):
```
Full guide with the figures and sources:

A rental abroad goes on Schedule E like any other rental, with three differences. The building is depreciated over 30 years under the alternative depreciation