News, practice tips, and industry updates for CPAs, enrolled agents, attorneys, and everyone else working in tax professionally.
The Third Party Designee box is a relatively new feature on tax returns (I said “relatively” – clearly, I’m dating myself on this one). It’s also one of the most confusing because so many taxpayers don’t know exactly what they’re designating a third party for… In fact, many of my clients are in a mild…
Right off the bat, let me say that I believe that there is real value in finding a competent, reliable tax professional. Like many taxpayers, I use an accountant to prepare my taxes, not because I enjoy paying for it but because I want to stay married… Let’s face it. Taxes can be stressful for…
What if, as a tax professional, I came up with an idea to reduce your taxes that was so amazing, I wanted to patent it so that nobody else could use it without my approval? Fair? Some members of Congress say no. Just last week, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced…
The ABA Section of Taxation has announced the winners of its 10th Annual Law Student Tax Challenge: Wes Hill and Sims Rhyne III of Samford University School of Law were awarded first place in the J.D. Division. Judson Bryant and John Goodell of Northwestern University School of Law were awarded first place in the LL.M….
It’s trash talk season. The insults are flying. And nooo, I’m not talking about the Super Bowl. I’m talking about tax season. Jackson Hewitt, the nation’s #2 retail tax preparer service, has filed a lawsuit against H&R Block, the nation’s #1 retail tax preparer service, for making what it called “false, misleading and highly disparaging…
Taxpayer asks: I had my tax returns prepared, and I don’ t think the CPA did a good job. I have not signed the forms nor have i provided the original copies of my various financial statements. Can I ask someone else to do them and discard the “first draft”? Thank you. taxgirl says: Absolutely….
The IRS has announced it will air a free webinar, “Starting Off Right (Part II): What New Non-501(c)(3) Organizations Need to Know” on February 24, 2011. The webinar will be broadcast at 2:00 pm (ET); 1:00 pm (CT); Noon (MT); and 11:00 am (PT). The webinar has been developed especially for: New 501(c)(4), (c)(5), (c)(6),…
I woke up this morning determined to go for a run… until I saw that the temps, according to Accuweather, “felt like 5 degrees.” The wimp in me won over. In fact, it’s cold across most of the nation this morning which makes it a pretty good day to grab a cup of coffee and…
Sex may sell… but not when it comes to taxes. H&R Block, the nation’s top tax preparation service, has decided to pull its ads from MTV’s controversial show, Skins. Sort of. The company claims that it wasn’t planning to be a sponsor on the show anyway and that the ad that ran during the premiere…
We have a winner! See the correct answer in the comments. Our next tax trivia question for the giveaway is: The National Taxpayer Advocate report to Congress cited tax complexity as one of the most serious problems facing individual taxpayers. The study found that 60% of taxpayers paid preparers to do their returns for them…