The latest straight from the IRS — new rules, deadlines, guidance, and announcements explained in plain English.
Taxpayers who deal – or even dabble – in virtual currency may be on the receiving end of a letter from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this month. The IRS has announced that they have begun sending letters to taxpayers who might have failed to report income and pay the resulting tax from virtual currency transactions or…
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Large Business and International division (LB&I) has announced six additional compliance campaigns for taxpayers. A compliance campaign is a targeted directive on a particular issue; they happen when the IRS determines that there are taxpayer issues that require a response from the agency. When the IRS announces a campaign (or campaigns), it’s…
If you’ve grown tired of digging into your wallet to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses, you might be getting a break. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has added treatments for a range of chronic conditions to the list of preventive care benefits that may be provided by a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) in tandem with a health…
If you’re looking to create or access your online payment plans with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), you should be aware of some key changes. The IRS recently updated its identity verification process to protect tax information better. An installment agreement is an option for taxpayers who can’t pay a tax bill in full. Typically,…
Chances are that you filed your federal income tax return electronically this year: the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimates that nearly nine in ten individual taxpayers e-filed their tax returns in 2019. That was just one of the findings reported by the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) in its 2019 Annual Report to Congress…
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued additional guidance on state or local tax (SALT) cap workarounds, and there are no real surprises. The guidance largely puts an end to the benefits of those workarounds aimed at mitigating the consequences of SALT caps following the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TJCA). Under the TCJA, the…
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has scheduled its 2019 Nationwide Tax Forum season. The first forum, planned for July 9-11, 2019, in National Harbor, Maryland, will focus on tax reform changes and cybersecurity tips for tax professionals. Tax lawyers, Enrolled Agents (EAs), Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), Certified Financial Planners (CFPs), Annual Filing Season Program participants,…
I can tell from the letters piling up on my desk: it’s officially correspondence season! Correspondence season is the term that tax professionals use to describe the period after tax season officially ends. Many taxpayers think that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) takes a break just after tax season, but that’s not the case. As…
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. And again. After a number of iterations, the Taxpayer First Act has finally passed the House and the Senate. The key provisions in the Taxpayer First Act have been reform talking points for well over a year. A proposal was introduced in the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee…
Technology has changed the world. It’s crazy to me that these days, I could sit on an airplane and send an email to my brother under the ocean (he’s a submariner). Or that I can, with the click of a mouse, have almost anything delivered to my house from trees to laundry detergent to a…