Now that you’re all grown up, you’ve got a different set of assignments you have to turn in. Few of them are more important than your annual tax return. Of course, even grownups sometimes forget their homework. But the IRS won’t be buying that school kid whine!

Take supermodel Christie Brinkley, for example. Earlier this month, the IRS filed a lien for $531,720 in unpaid taxes against the “Uptown Girl’s” $30 million country estate in swanky Bridgehampton, NY. That unpaid balance, of course, is also subject to interest compounded daily and a 0.5% monthly late payment penalty. Brinkley’s publicist told E! Online that she “was surprised to hear today that a tax lien has been filed, and has instructed her team to resolve the matter immediately.” Brinkley herself stated that “I have been, and remain focused on my whole family as both my parents navigate serious health issues.”

At least Brinkley is facing the music willingly. Rapper Bow Wow — who must not think his “real” name (Shad Gregory Moss) gives him the street cred he wants — is putting up more of a fight. In November, the IRS filed a $91,105.61 lien against him for taxes dating back to 2006, when he was just 19 years old. But Bow Wow isn’t taking this one lying down, declaring “we all know not to believe anything the media writes or blogs.” And Bow Wow isn’t the only rapper to run afoul of the IRS. In August, Beanie Sigel pleaded guilty to failing to file tax returns for three years in a row. (Prosecutors believe he owes up to $700,000 more in unpaid taxes dating back to the 1990s, but the statute of limitations has run out.) And in July, Ja Rule earned 28 months of federal housing for failing to file returns for tax losses from 2004 through 2008.

Rappers aren’t the only musicians who don’t always pay their taxes. Back in April, the IRS hit former Black Sabbath frontman and reality star Ozzy Osbourne with liens totaling over $2 million for unpaid taxes from 2007, 2008, and 2009. Ozzy’s wife Sharon took to the “twitterverse” to admit her finances had gone off the rails. “You can’t rely on anyone but yourself,” she tweeted. “You have to be on top of your own business affairs. My fault…lesson learned.”

And musicians, in turn, aren’t the only celebrities who don’t pay taxes. Former Green Bay Packers left guard Frederick “Fuzzy” Thurston dominated the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field from 1959-1967, then opened a chain of restaurants called the Left Guard after retiring. He and his partners withheld taxes from their employees’ paychecks — just like they were supposed to — but they didn’t actually pay the bill. Way back in 1984, the court flagged him with a $190,806 penalty for “roughing the IRS.” With interest, that bill has grown to $1.7 million. Federal marshalls even seized his Super Bowl II ring commemorating Green Bay’s 33-14 victory over Oakland to help pay!

Of course, our job is to make sure you don’t need excuses for not paying your taxes. Proper planning is the key to making that bill affordable, and making sure you don’t ever have to tell the IRS that the dog ate your homework!

Jan Elizabeth Van Dusen is a graduate of UC Hastings College of Law and an attorney in Oakland, CA. She’s also a volunteer for Fix Our Ferals, an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free spay/neuter clinics for feral cats in San Francisco’s East Bay area. Van Dusen devoted essentially her entire life outside work to the organization. She trapped feral cats, had them neutered, obtained vaccinations and necessary medical treatments, housed them while they recuperated, placed some of them for adoption, and released others back into the wild.

In 2004, Van Dusen reported keeping between 70-80 cats — so many, in fact, that she couldn’t recall where they all came from. Seven of the cats were her own pets; the rest were foster cats she cared for as part of her volunteer activity. Most of them roamed freely around her home (except for bathrooms); however, some of the less-domesticated cats stayed in a room called the “feral room” or lived in cages for taming or because of illness. Every day she fed, cleaned, and looked after the cats, laundered their bedding, and sanitized the floors, household surfaces, and cages. She even bought her house “with the idea of fostering in mind.”

Van Dusen also spent a small fortune taking care of the cats, including pet supplies (food, medicine, litter and litter boxes, pet dishes, and other supplies), cleaning supplies (garbage bags, paper towels, laundry and dish detergent, and other similar cleaning supplies), and even higher utility bills from laundering so many loads of cat bedding and running a special ventilation system to ensure fresh air. (Let’s face it, folks, with 80 cats in the house, it had to smell at least a little gamey.) Even her garbage bill went up because of all the cat waste!

For 2004, Van Dusen claimed $12,068 in noncash charitable contributions for her rescue work on behalf of Fix Our Ferals — $1,381 in supplies, $9,607 in vet bills, and $1,080 in utilities. The IRS shot her down. But tax deductions for foster cats, like Van Dusen’s cats themselves, may really have nine lives — so Van Dusen appealed to the Tax Court and even chose to represent herself.

Last week, the Court issued a 42-page opinion in Van Dusen v. Commissioner. The Court found that portions of Van Dusen’s veterinary expenses, pet supplies, cleaning supplies, and utilities were “directly connected with and solely attributable to” her services to Fix Our Ferals. After several pages examining the state of Van Dusen’s records (including three full pages on the woodstove pellets she used as cat litter), the Court let her take 90% of her vet bills and 50% of the supplies and utilities. However, charitable contributions of $250 or more must be substantiated with a contemporaneous written record from the charity itself. Since Van Dusen had no such acknowledgment, the Court disallowed all expenses above $250.

You don’t have to be a crazy cat lady to deduct your volunteer expenses. You just have to know the rules. Keep good records! Make sure you get a statement from the organization acknowledging any expenses over $250. And call us with your questions, so we can help you make the most of those often-overlooked deductions!

In this video, I will reveal astonishing ways to beat the high cost of college that your guidance counselor and the colleges aren’t telling you – BUT, smart parents across the country are using to pay almost nothing for college. In fact, many who have attended my seminars have discovered easy secrets and strategies to send their children to schools they never thought they could afford.

Here’s just part of what you will learn:

• The 5 greatest myths about planning for college-and why listening to other parents or a guidance counselor will cost you big time.
• How to double, or in some cases triple, your eligibility for FREE grant money.
• How to get the colleges to practically line up and beg your student to come to their school.
• The amazing way some parents will put their kids through college, and end up in better financial shape than when they started—even though they hadn’t saved a nickel for school.
• The ONE single mistake 91% of all parents make that costs them thousands….and they don’t even realize it. PLUS, how YOU can avoid making the same mistake.
• How even millionaires and parents making a good six figure income are getting tons of free grant money, and how you can too!
• What to do right now if you haven’t saved a single dime for college; or, what to do if you did save money for school—-but…… it’s not enough, you lost it all in the market, or you had to or would like to spend it somewhere else. BONUS: How NOT to be punished if you did save enough for college– don’t lose out because you were thrifty!
• How to obtain a “tax scholarship” to pay for ALL of your tuition—right from the IRS. 100% legal, but not one in 1000 accountants knows how to get it!
• Why following the advice of the wrong accountant or financial planner can cost you buckets of free money…AND, why you need to be careful with the new college savings plans! Believe me, what you don’t know on this CAN cost you a boatload.

NOTE: If you think you make too much money to get any aid (or that’s what you’ve been told), you absolutely MUST watch this video to learn the shocking truth about how families that make 6 figure incomes, right here in Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley, are getting thousands of dollars of free money each and every year.

As you know, I’ve been advising clients on various aspects of their financial lives for almost twenty years. In fact, I’ve saved clients literally hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years with my tax strategies.  Due to this, I enjoy using my expertise to help others navigate their way through the college funding maze.