A pattern of fraudulent conduct in a tax accountant’s preparation of his clients’ returns was not sufficient to prove that underpayments on his own returns were due to fraud.
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TOPICS / PROCEDURE
Representations & Examinations
Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative
Many practitioners find that the IRS does not process their Form 2848 filings and returns them because the form was prepared or filed incorrectly.
Regulations Lower PTIN User Fee
The IRS issued temporary regulations lowering the user fee for preparer tax identification numbers.
PTIN User Fee Will Be Lowered
The IRS issued regulations lowering the fee for PTINs, effective for the coming filing season, from $50 to $33, effective Nov. 1, 2015.
AICPA Expresses Concerns About Tax Return Preparer Legislation
The proposed grant of authority to the IRS to regulate all aspects of tax practice is overly broad, the AICPA said in a letter to the Senate Finance Committee.
Final Rule Does Not Require PTIN Holders Be Told of Investigation
The Treasury Department issued a final rule that exempts it from having to reveal to holders of preparer tax identification numbers the names of agencies or individuals that have asked for their files.
Treasury Will Not Have to Tell PTIN Holders That They Are Under Investigation
The Treasury Department issued a final rule on Monday that exempts it from having to reveal to PTIN holders the names of agencies or individuals that have asked for their files.
D.C. District Court Invalidates Regulation That Bans Contingent Fees for Preparing Refund Claims
A federal district court found Section 10.27(b) of Circular 230 invalid as it pertains to refund claims and permanently enjoined the IRS from enforcing the regulation with respect to fees for preparing refund claims.
CPAs Claim IRS Not Authorized to Charge PTIN Fees, Seek Return of Past Payments
CPAs filed suit in federal court for the District of Columbia, asking the court to stop the IRS from charging fees for issuing PTINs, to obtain refunds of fees paid in the past, and to enjoin the IRS from asking for more information than needed to issue PTINs.
AICPA Sues IRS Over Annual Filing Season Program
The AICPA filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on July 15, asking the court to halt the IRS’s recently introduced Annual Filing Season Program. The AICPA’s three-count complaint asks the court to declare the rule implementing the program unlawful and stop its operation.
Court Says IRS Cannot Prevent Contingent Fee Arrangements for Refund Claims
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a motion of summary judgment and issued an injunction to prevent the IRS from regulating contingent fee arrangements for the preparation and filing of ordinary refund claims under Circular 230.
CPA Practitioners Sue to Stop PTIN Fees
Two CPAs have filed suit in the federal district court, asking the court to stop the IRS from charging fees for issuing PTINs, to obtain refunds of fees paid in the past, and to enjoin the IRS from asking for more information than needed to issue PTINs.
IRS Offers Voluntary Certification of Return Preparers
Following the defeat in federal court of its mandatory tax return preparer regulation program, the IRS in late June introduced a voluntary program of tax return preparer certification.
Suspended or Disbarred Practitioners to Be Allowed to 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.
Court Halts IRS Regulation of Contingent Fees for Refund Claims
A federal court granted summary judgment and issued an injunction to prevent the IRS from regulating contingent fee arrangements for the preparation and filing of ordinary refund claims under Circular 230.
AICPA Sues IRS to Stop Return Preparer Program
The AICPA filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asking the court to halt the IRS’s recently introduced Annual Filing Season Program.
Complete Rules for the IRS’s Voluntary Return Preparer Certification Program Are Released
The IRS published guidance introducing its new, voluntary Annual Filing Season Program, which permits tax preparers who are not CPAs, attorneys, or enrolled agents to complete tax education requirements and receive a certificate
IRS Reveals Details of Voluntary Preparer Certification Program
The IRS announced that it will soon introduce a voluntary program for tax return preparers called the Annual Filing Season Program.
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.”
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.
employee benefits & pensions
Profits interests: The most tax-efficient equity grant to employees
By granting them a profits interest, entities taxed as partnerships can reward employees with equity. Mistakes, however, could cause challenges from taxing authorities.
