Employers may reclassify independent contractors as employees and limit the resulting federal payroll taxes for their most recent tax year, plus avoid related penalties and interest for prior years, under an IRS program announced September 21.
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IRS Practice & Procedure
President Signs Patent Reform Bill Banning New Tax Strategy Patents
President Barack Obama signed into law the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (H.R. 1249), which reforms the U.S. patent system and stops the granting of patents for tax strategies.
President’s Jobs Bill Contains Many Tax Proposals
The president submitted his American Jobs Act to Congress on September 12, and among its provisions are several tax items, including a temporary payroll tax cut, a limit on itemized deductions for certain high-income taxpayers, and a proposal to tax carried interests as ordinary income rather than capital gains.
IRS Issues Accounting Software Examination Guidance, Meets with AICPA
The IRS Small Business/Self-Employed Division issued guidance for its field examiners on when to request backup files of taxpayers’ accounting software during an examination, what the limits are on reviewing those electronic files, and how examiners must safeguard those records.
Congress Passes Tax Patent Reform; Sends Bill to President
The Senate passed the America Invents Act which now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature. The act reforms the U.S. patent system, and among its provisions is one intended to stop the granting of patents for tax strategies.
Reportable Transaction Penalty Gets Final Regulations
The IRS issued final regulations, governing the Sec. 6707A penalty regime for failure to report reportable transactions, to reflect changes made by the Small Business Jobs Act.
IRS Expands Hurricane Irene Relief
The IRS expanded its Hurricane Irene relief to include four counties in Vermont, after the president declared those counties federal disaster areas.
Information Reporting Requirements Affect Corporations and Transferors of Securities
This item discusses new information reporting requirements that affect brokers, professional transfer agents, trustees, and also corporations undertaking actions in their own stock and acting as transfer agents for their own securities.
Final Regs. Governing Practice Before the IRS
Treasury issued final regulations governing practice before the IRS to increase taxpayer compliance and to ensure uniform and high ethical standards of conduct for all tax return preparers.
Taxpayers Hit by Irene Get Postponement
Taxpayers in certain areas affected by Hurricane Irene have until October 31 to file certain returns and make payments normally due before then, the IRS announced September 1.
Hurricane Postpones IRS’s Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Deadline
The IRS announced it had postponed the deadline for its 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI). The new due date for requests is September 9, 2011.
TIGTA: IRS Does Not Timely Resolve Math Error Disputes
TIGTA released a report in which it recommended that the IRS develop processes to ensure that math error disputes with taxpayers are resolved more quickly and accurately.
Final Regulations Govern Establishing Evidence of Delivery to the IRS
The IRS issued final regulations providing guidance on how taxpayers can prove the timely delivery of physical documents to the IRS or the Tax Court, absent direct proof of delivery.
IRS Revises Actuarial Tables
The IRS issued final regulations relating to the use of actuarial tables for valuing annuities, interests for life or a term of years, or remainder or reversionary interests.
Dispute Resolution Process for the 2011 Prescription Drug Annual Fee
This item describes the exclusive process available to covered entities to dispute the preliminary calculations of the annual fee on branded prescription drugs and obtain any change to data that would be reflected in the final fee allocation.
Codification of Economic Substance Affects All Tax Practitioners
This column discusses uncertainty surrounding the codification of the economic substance doctrine and explores selected areas of impact on CPAs’ professional obligations and practice.
No Reasonable Cause for $3.4 Million Omission from Income
The Tax Court held that a taxpayer did not have reasonable cause for omitting from income $3.4 million from the termination of a swap transaction that was reported to him on a Form 1099.
Final Circular 230 Regs. Implement Preparer Registration Rules
The IRS has issued final regulations implementing components of its initiative to register and regulate all paid tax return preparers.
IRS Removes Form 5472 Duplicate Filing Requirement
The IRS has issued temporary and proposed regulations to remove the duplicate filing requirement for Form 5472, Information Return of a 25% Foreign-Owned U.S. Corporation or a Foreign Corporation Engaged in a U.S. Trade or Business.
Congressional Committee Checks In on Registered Tax Preparer Program
While tax professional communities offered diverging opinions of the registered tax return preparer (RTRP) program to a congressional subcommittee, all agreed on one thing—the IRS made a significant effort to listen.
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.
