About
Kelly Phillips Erb is an attorney for The Erb Law Firm, P.C. in southeastern Pennsylvania where she focuses on tax law for businesses and families. She is also a freelance author and writer.
Kelly has published Ask the TaxGirl: Everything Parents Should Know About Filing Taxes (Including Child Care Expenses, Medical Costs, and the Earned Income Tax Credit) together with Forbes.
Kelly authors the popular Taxgirl blog for Forbes.com; the blog has been recognized by the ABA Journal as one of the top 100 blogs written by lawyers for the past several years running and in 2013, was named to the Blawg Hall of Fame. Kelly has also written about taxes for Reuters, Time, and AOL’s WalletPop, and has been tapped for her ability to explain taxes in plain English by Esquire, National Public Radio’s Marketplace, CBS Radio’s Marketwatch, Inc., and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In 2014, Kelly was tapped to the receive the inaugural award for the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Solo and Small Firm Section. The award, which was based on nominations from her colleagues, will be officially be presented in May.
In 2012, Kelly was named as a Philadelphia “40 Under 40″ by the Philadelphia Business Journal. The 40 Under 40 award, then in its 22nd year, recognizes young professionals in the Delaware Valley for outstanding success and contributions to their community.
Kelly is a graduate of Meredith College and earned her law degree and her Masters of Law in Taxation from Temple University School of Law. She lives and works in southeastern Pennsylvania. Kelly is also a mom to three children, so she can add “dinosaur expert”, “cupcake baker” and “princess dress designer” to her resume.
Hi Kelly, I enjoyed your work and presence during the play by play of the election this evening. I like the cut of your jib… as they say.
Regards,
David aka Orbman
Thank you!
Re: payroll tax cut expiring- Strange question… being someone that doesn’t pay into social security (will receive a city pension) , will I see a increase in my take home pay? I seem to remember my take home pay went down after the cut was put in place few yrs ago. Thx!
Hmm. Takehome pay shouldn’t have been affected if you weren’t affected by the payroll tax cuts.
Did the owners of Nifty Fifties, because they pleaded guilty to tax fraud and paid the IRS back plus interest, get no jailtime? Just wondering? Thanks!
Maryann, I don’t konw. That’s not always the case.
Hi Kelly,
Do you still answer really odd tax questions for posters? Got one that my CPA can’t answer, and even the IRS is stumped!!
Yup, Dave. Send it on! Try here for info: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2012/01/11/9-things-to-keep-in-mind-before-you-ask-the-taxgirl/
Thanks for the reply. This may be too specific of a problem, but nobody seems to know the answer!
If a person has a limited partnership in their 401/457/IRA/ROTH. and the dividends are TAX EXEMPT at the federal level (an example of this is ticker ATAX), how does one pull out the dividends from the 401/457/IRA/ROTH without getting taxed as ordinary income? These ‘dividends’ are reported on a K-1 form, and again, in this case are tax exempt at the federal level.
Or is a person just stuck with paying the going income tax rate on the non-taxable ‘dividends’.
Have asked a lot of CPA’s this question, as well as the IRS – haven’t got a good answer yet.
Thanks
Hi Kelly – Instant Tax Service is operating as Great Tax LLC. The Great Tax LLC website is just the old ITS one. They didn’t even change the logo. Can the Feds shut this down? These crooks need to be stopped
Hi Kellly,
Just read your last Forbes article on IRS CI group. You are on to something writing about this group. I am not sure if anyone knows all the amazing things they do in the terrorist, tax and money laundering world. I occasionally get to hear stories after they have been made public and they are entertaining and sometimes very funny. I also wish the tax paying public knew about the service they provide to us all. Could make Great TV topic! ( and most of the time no one get’s killed!)
Thank for writing article,
Don
BTW: can you keep me posted on your articles?
Hi Kellly,
Nice articles in Forbes regarding US tax scams… I found you because I received a strange email purportedly from the US IRS and investigated it… And yes it was another scam (only in America)!
IRD (the New Zealand taxation office) do not have such problems… In New Zealand tax payers have a voiceprint which mean that the tax office can authenticate tax payers and confirm it is them… Like your fingerprint, your voice is unique… The New Zealand tax office use this to confirm that you are the tax payer and not the fraudster… And if you are a fraudster you go onto the black-list so the system can identify exactly who you are and track your nefarious activities…
See http://www.armorvox.com/its-official-armorvox-powers-worlds-largest-most-successful-government-services-system-3/ for details…
Perhaps the IRS can follow the IRD’s example…
Clive
Great idea, Clive!