June 16, 2015
IRS Extends All Tax Incentive Empowerment Zones
Congress created Empowerment Zones in 1993. Most zones had an expiration date of Dec. 31, 2009. This is the third extension of the expiration date.
June 11, 2015
IRS Interest Rates to Remain Same for Q3 2015
Under the Internal Revenue Code, the rate of interest is determined on a quarterly basis. For taxpayers other than corporations, the overpayment and underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points.
June 10, 2015
Congress Considers 7.7% Cut to IRS Budget
The fiscal year 2016 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill, which provides funding for the Treasury Department, the Judiciary, the Small Business Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and several other agencies.
June 5, 2015
How to Handle Short Time-Frame Tax Audits
As if getting audited wasn’t bad enough, now the IRS has added a new twist: the short timeframe audit. With these types of audits, it is possible that an audit case could be closed by the IRS before your client has a chance to show you the letter. This ar
May 28, 2015
Despite Recent Breach, Report Says IRS Getting Better At Detecting and Preventing Tax ID Theft
The extent of the IRS’s ability to stem this problem is still limited because it does not have access to third-party income and withholding information until well after tax return filing begins.
May 27, 2015
How Tax Professionals Can Avoid Getting Involved with Tax Frauds
A whopping 11 percent of Americans believe that it is okay to cheat on their taxes, according to the most recent IRS Oversight Board Survey of Taxpayer Attitudes. Unfortunately, successful fraud for many individuals will require either lying to their ...
May 27, 2015
What Taxpayers Should Do If Their Info Was Exposed On IRS Website
Taxpayers whose accounts were compromised will be notified by the Internal Revenue Service. Individuals who believe their identities have been compromised in this, or any other attempt, should review the IRS “Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft,” which ...
May 27, 2015
IRS Data Breach Sets Off Alarms, FBI to Investigate
A serious security breach at the IRS has the agency scrambling to beef up its ID theft efforts while the public and lawmakers stew. The IRS announced on May 26 that hackers had gained access to the personal information of more than 100,000 American househ
May 19, 2015
CPAs Tell IRS to Improve Service, Provide Permanent Disaster Tax Relief and Preserve Cash Accounting Method
Concerned about the impact of IRS service reductions on taxpayers and tax practitioners, the AICPA Council on May 17 adopted a resolution urging policy makers to create a bi-partisan forum to “make recommendations that enable the IRS to achieve its ...
May 12, 2015
Is Your Firm Using Electronic Signatures?
So you think you’re a progressive firm, right? You’re committed to going digital and eliminating, or at least minimizing, paper. Your engagement letters are all electronic and are emailed to clients and prospects for signature.
May 6, 2015
In Past Decade, 1,580 IRS Employees Fired or Punished for Not Paying Taxes
TIGTA found that, over a 10-year period (Oct. 1, 2003 through Sept. 30, 2013), 1,580 IRS employees were found to be willfully tax noncompliant.
May 5, 2015
IRS Watchdog Says Improvements Needed on ACA Processes
The new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR) fee is used to offset the costs of the PCOR Institute, which funds research that will provide information to assist patients and their healthcare providers make more informed health care decisions.