Skip to main content

News

IRS developing contingency plan as government shutdown looms

September 22, 2023

The IRS is developing a contingency plan for a probable government shutdown, the union that represents the Service's workers said in a statement Friday.

  • federal tax

ERC abuse brings renewed push for regulation of paid tax preparers

September 21, 2023

Abuse of the employee retention credit (ERC) by aggressive promoters who make questionable promises has pushed Treasury to renew the call for the regulation of paid tax return preparers, an action that has the AICPA's support.

  • advocacy - federal
  • federal tax

IRS to establish special pass-through organization to help with high-income compliance efforts; new workgroup to blend current employees and new hires to focus on complex partnerships, other key areas

September 20, 2023

As work continues to focus more attention onto high-income compliance issues, the Internal Revenue Service announced plans today to establish a special area to focus on large or complex pass-through entities.

  • federal tax

IRS orders immediate stop to new Employee Retention Credit processing

September 15, 2023

To protect taxpayers from scams, the IRS has ordered an immediate stop to new Employee Retention Credit processing amid a surge of questionable claims, concerns from tax professionals, and aggressive marketing to ineligible applicants, posing unacceptable risk to businesses and the tax system.

  • advocacy - federal
  • federal tax

IRS previews changes in R&D tax credit form

September 15, 2023

The Internal Revenue Service released a sneak peak Friday of some of the changes it's hoping to make to the form for claiming research tax credits.

  • federal tax

IRS clarifies rules for new corporate alternative minimum tax

September 12, 2023

The Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service today issued Notice 2023-64PDF to provide additional interim guidance designed to help corporations determine whether the new corporate alternative minimum tax (CAMT) applies to them and how to compute the tax.

  • federal tax

IRS vows new enforcement efforts aided by AI

September 08, 2023

In what he described as "the start of sweeping, historic effort," IRS commissioner Danny Werfel announced a plan to focus more tax enforcement efforts on the wealthy and those who abuse the law. While some of the plans are familiar — such as auditing more millionaires — the specificity is new, particularly an announced focus on large partnerships.

  • technology and cybersecurity
  • federal tax

Businesses must e-file Form 8300 for $10,000+ cash payments in 2024

August 31, 2023

Certain businesses that receive payments of over $10,000 in cash must file Form 8300, Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business, electronically starting in 2024, the IRS said Wednesday in a news release (IR-2023-157). This new requirement applies to businesses that are required to file at least 10 information returns of one or more types other than Form 8300 in 2024.

  • business and industry
  • practice management
  • federal tax

IRS issues guidance on state tax payments

August 30, 2023

The IRS today provided guidancePDF on the federal tax status of refunds of state or local taxes and certain other payments made by state or local governments to individuals. The IRS previously provided guidance on state payments made in 2022 in news release IR-2023-23, IRS issues guidance on state tax payments to help taxpayers.

  • state tax
  • federal tax

IRS announces administrative transition period for new Roth catch up requirement; catch-up contributions still permitted after 2023

August 25, 2023

Today, the Internal Revenue Service announced an administrative transition period that extends until 2026 the new requirement that any catch-up contributions made by higher‑income participants in 401(k) and similar retirement plans must be designated as after-tax Roth contributions.

  • personal financial planning
  • federal tax

Tax pros give mixed reviews to wait times, service on PPS line

August 25, 2023

Tax professionals are giving mixed reviews to the wait times and quality of service for the IRS's Practitioner Priority Service (PPS) line, especially since the Service ended its pilot program to thwart line-jumping companies at the end of March.

  • federal tax

Location of millions of tax records uncertain, TIGTA says in IRS critique

August 11, 2023

The IRS is uncertain about what happened to millions of tax records with sensitive information that could be used "to commit tax refund fraud identity theft," the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) said in a report posted Tuesday.

  • technology and cybersecurity
  • federal tax

TIGTA faults IRS cybersecurity program on 3 out of 5 metrics

August 07, 2023

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said the IRS cybersecurity program should not be considered fully effective, as three out of five of the criteria outlined in the agency's framework were considered to be "not at an acceptable maturity level."

  • technology and cybersecurity
  • federal tax

2023 tax software survey

August 01, 2023

The software that CPA tax preparers use to prepare clients' income tax returns is one of their most important professional tools. These products vary not only in such basic features as how tax return data is input and displayed but also in their adaptability to the myriad variations in tax clients' sources of income, deductions and credits, and other pertinent details. CPAs naturally take a keen interest in how performance of the products compares.

  • state tax
  • technology and cybersecurity
  • federal tax

IRS launches paperless processing initiative

August 01, 2023

Taxpayers will have the option to go paperless for IRS correspondence by 2024 filing season, IRS to achieve paperless processing for all tax returns by filing season 2025.

  • federal tax

FASB Seeks Public Comment on Proposal to Improve Disclosures around Income Statement Expenses

July 31, 2023

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) today published a proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU) intended to provide investors with more decision-useful information about a public business entity’s expenses. Stakeholders are encouraged to review and provide comment on the proposal by October 30, 2023.

  • accounting and auditing
  • federal tax

Final regs. allow assessment of COVID-19 related tax credit refunds

July 26, 2023

Final regulations issued Monday (T.D. 9978) authorize the assessment of erroneous refunds of paid sick leave credits, family leave credits, and employee retention credits paid to employers under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, P.L. 116-127; the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, P.L. 116-136; and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, P.L. 117-2.

  • coronavirus
  • federal tax

IRS Commissioner signals new phase of Employee Retention Credit work; with backlog eliminated, additional procedures will be put in place to deal with growing fraud risk

July 26, 2023

With the Internal Revenue Service making substantial progress in the ongoing effort related to the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claims, Commissioner Danny Werfel said the agency has entered a new phase of increasing scrutiny on dubious submissions while renewing consumer warnings against aggressive marketing.

  • federal tax

Taxpayers see wave of summer email, text scams; IRS urges extra caution with flood of schemes involving Economic Impact Payments, Employee Retention Credits, tax refunds

July 21, 2023

The Internal Revenue Service warned taxpayers today to be on the lookout for a summer surge of tax scams as identity thieves continue pounding out a barrage of email and text messages promising tax refunds or offers to help 'fix' tax problems. The latest email schemes touch on a variety of topics, but many center around promises about a third round of Economic Impact Payments. The IRS is seeing hundreds of complaints daily pouring into phishing@irs.gov about this scam, which has an embedded URL link that takes people to phishing website to steal sensitive taxpayer information.

  • federal tax

At the ripe old age of 21, he’s advising the IRS on change

July 20, 2023

As a preteen, one of Aidan Hunt's favorite times of year was the day after his father filed taxes. That was when he was allowed to play with the software his dad used. "After he had finished using it, I would just make some different returns and try out the different options and see what they did," Hunt, who recently turned 21, said in an interview with the JofA. "You could say I was interested in seeing the different forms that would produce when you check all the different options. I just thought it was cool how many different forms and lines and possibilities that there were."

  • federal tax