The IRS finalized rules on the disparate topics of disregarded entities that collect the excise tax on indoor tanning and how certain exceptions from FICA and FUTA taxes work when a disregarded entity is involved.
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IRS Practice & Procedure
AICPA Reiterates Its Strong Concerns About IRS Voluntary Certification Program
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.”
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.
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.
IRS Advisory Panel Urges Changes to Risk Assessment Protocols
The IRS’s Large Business & International Division is focusing on new ways to identify large businesses for examination. This item summarizes recent IRS Advisory Council recommendations on the factors the IRS should consider when risk assessing large business taxpayers.
Circular 230 Case Processing and the Application of Monetary Penalties
One of the biggest issues practitioners have with the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility is a lack of information on what constitutes a violation of Treasury Circular 230 and how OPR applies sanctions for such violations.
E-File and Digital Signatures: Where Are We Now?
The e-file process can now be completely digital and paperless. This article reviews the new IRS guidance on electronic signatures and suggests process and technology changes to implement.
Bitcoins Are Property, Not Currency, IRS Says
The IRS issued its first guidance on the tax treatment of bicoins.
Regs. Clarify Employment Tax Responsibilities of Designated Payer Agents
Final regulations issued by the IRS contain rules on the liability for employment taxes when an employer designates an agent under a “service agreement” to pay its employees and to satisfy its employment tax obligations instead of following normal IRS procedures to designate an agent.
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.
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.
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.
Practical Approaches to Common Conflicts of Interest
This column highlights some common conflicts of interest encountered by CPA tax practitioners and offers some practical means of properly addressing the consequential ethical issues.
Implications of IRS Examination of Accounting Software Data
It is important to understand the expanded scope of “books and records” in the context of taxpayers using accounting software.
Issues With Employer Identification Numbers
This item reviews the few issues practitioners may face when obtaining an employer identification number from the IRS.
Decision Striking Down Tax Return Preparer Regulations Upheld on Appeal
The IRS’s attempt to regulate unenrolled tax return preparers was dealt another blow when the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the agency exceeded its statutory authority by issuing regulations imposing various requirements on tax return preparers.
AICPA Pushes for Simplification of Tax Return Due Dates
This column provides an update on the AICPA’s proposal to change the original and extended due dates for several important tax and informational returns.
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.
