The AICPA sent a letter to the IRS, expressing its strong concerns that a proposed IRS voluntary certification program for unenrolled tax return preparers “would cause significant legal problems that may ultimately frustrate the IRS’s goals, confuse the public, and lead to litigation.”
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New Rules Allow One-Month Orientation Period Before 90-Day Health Plan Waiting Period Begins
Final regulations govern the maximum length of time an employee orientation period can last consistent with the 90-day waiting period under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which prohibits employers from requiring new employees to wait more than 90 days before they are eligible for health insurance coverage.
New Streamlined Procedures and Changes to the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program Are Announced
The IRS announced changes to its streamlined filing compliance procedures and its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program designed to make it easier for taxpayers to comply with their obligations to report offshore assets and accounts.
Supreme Court Issues Decision on IRS Summons Enforcement
A Supreme Court decision allows individuals to question IRS employees regarding their reasons for issuing a summons if the individual can point to specific facts that plausibly raise an inference of bad faith on the part of the IRS employee.
Supreme Court Holds Inherited IRAs Are Not Retirement Funds
The U.S. Supreme Court held that funds from an inherited IRA were not retirement funds that were exempt from the debtor’s bankruptcy estate.
IRS Adopts “Taxpayer Bill of Rights”
The IRS released a “Taxpayer Bill of Rights” intended to better communicate to taxpayers their existing statutory and administrative protections.
New Rules for Providing Written Tax Advice Are Finalized
The IRS issued final regulations under Circular 230 on the rules for practitioners to provide written tax advice and certain other related provisions.
Regs. Tighten Form 5472 Filing Requirements
The IRS is amending the rules for filing Form 5472, Information Return of a 25% Foreign-Owned U.S. Corporation or a Foreign Corporation Engaged in a U.S. Trade or Business.
Regulations Permit Election of Alternative Simplified Research Credit on Amended Returns
The IRS issued temporary regulations permitting taxpayers to elect the Sec. 41(c)(5) alternative simplified research credit on an amended return.
Practitioners Suspended or Disbarred from Practice Before the IRS Can Prepare Tax Returns
The IRS has decided that, as a result of the recent decision preventing it from regulating unenrolled tax return preparers, disbarment or suspension from practice before the IRS cannot include a ban on tax return preparation or blocking an individual’s PTIN.
Sec. 501(c)(4) Regulations Will Be Reproposed Following Outpouring of Public Comments
The IRS received a flood of comments in response to proposed regulations it issued on the rules governing the political activities of Sec. 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations. As a result, the IRS announced that it will repropose the regulations.
AICPA Has “Deep Concerns” About IRS Voluntary Certification of Return Preparers
The AICPA sent the IRS commissioner a letter expressing its “deep concerns” about a program for voluntary certification of tax return preparers.
Tax Lawyer: Code Reform Stymied by Dysfunctional Congress
Passage of major tax reform legislation appears unlikely soon, partly because of partisan gridlock in Congress as bad as any in the past century and a half, a noted tax lawyer told the AICPA Council.
Notice Clarifies Midyear Amendment of Certain Retirement Plans Post-Windsor
The IRS clarified that a qualified retirement plan will continue to be a qualified 401(k) or 401(m) safe-harbor plan if it adopts a midyear amendment to its plan to comply with the rules in Notice 2014-19 requiring qualified plans to conform to the Windsor decision.
TIGTA Finds $2.3 Billion Alimony Tax Gap
The discrepancies between alimony income reported by taxpayers and alimony deductions claimed resulted in $2.3 billion in excess deductions in 2010, TIGTA reported.
Commissioner Calls for Greater IRS Funding
The IRS needs more money to effectively do its job, especially with its added responsibilities under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. That was the message IRS Commissioner John Koskinen delivered to attendees at the American Bar Association Tax Section’s spring meeting in Washington on Friday.
Final Rules Govern Tax Treatment of Distributions to Pay Accident or Health Insurance Premiums
The IRS finalized regulations that provide that distributions from qualified retirement plans to pay accident or health insurance premiums are taxable unless a statutory exclusion applies.
Final Rules on Fiduciary Fees Are Issued
The IRS issued final regulations on the controversial question of which costs incurred by trust and estates are subject to the 2% floor on miscellaneous deductions under Sec. 67(a).
Accounting Method Change Procedures for Sales-Based Royalties and Vendor Allowances Are Announced
Taxpayers who are adopting the new rules for sales-based royalties and vendor allowances under Sec. 263A and Sec. 471 were given new procedures for obtaining automatic consent to accounting method changes to conform to those rules.
Proposed Rules Would Amend Definition of Acquiring Corporation in Corporate Reorganizations
The IRS issued proposed regulations under Sec. 381 that in certain acquisitions would change which corporation succeeds to the tax attributes, including the E&P, of the transferor or distributor corporation.
TAX PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
2025 tax software survey
AICPA members in tax practice assess how their return preparation software performed during tax season and offer insights into their procedures.
