Roger Russell

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled that the Internal Revenue Service doesn’t have the authority to regulate CPA tax return preparers’ contingent fee arrangements in the preparation of ordinary refund claims.

The tax reform proposal put forward by House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp earlier this year attempts, like other proposals before it, to broaden the base and lower the rates.

The trend is up in the business-for-sale marketplace, according to the latest BizBuySell survey of business brokers.

A federal appeals court has upheld a penalty assessed against the estate of a deceased man because the executor filed the return late, even though estimated taxes had been paid.

The Supreme Court clarified a portion of the ACA applying to closely held businesses, by deciding, in a 5-4 ruling, that the Department of Health and Human Services regulations under the Affordable Care Act, which impose a contraceptive mandate, violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.

Now that school is out (unless you live in a part of the country still making up for lost “snow days”), it’s easy to get caught up in the general euphoria and take a vacation from thoughts of tax preparation for the summer. But now is precisely the time preparers need to keep communication lines open with their clients, according to Chuck McCabe, president of Peoples Income Tax and The Income Tax School.

The Supreme Court held Monday that securities fraud plaintiffs need not prove loss causation in order to obtain class certification.

The Supreme Court has held that a taxpayer has a right to conduct an examination of Internal Revenue Service officials regarding their reasons for issuing a summons when he points to specific facts or circumstances plausibly raising an inference of bad faith.

Several due dates for those with offshore accounts are approaching, with far-reaching consequences for those who don’t comply.

A unanimous Supreme Court has held that the funds in an inherited IRA do not qualify for exemption in bankruptcy because they do not share the same characteristics as “retirement funds” that traditional IRAs have.

You probably know more about Donald Sterling and his mistresses, his infamous recording, and the proposed forced sale of his team, the Los Angeles Clippers, than you want to know. Nevertheless, as tax professionals we should be aware of the tax opportunities and issues for the Sterlings as sellers, if only to make conversation at the next tax-themed gathering we attend.

The Tax Court, in a division opinion, has concluded that a Finnish employee of the Finnish Mission to the United Nations waived her treaty right to exclude income from a foreign government from taxation, because she had become a permanent resident of the U.S.

RootWorks LLC has announced an expansion of its continuing education programming for the accounting profession with the opening of a new state-of-the-art learning center located in the PNC Center in Indianapolis.

Beyond opening a lemonade stand, many tax preparers who haven’t yet grown their business into a full-service accounting practice are used to seeing their income dry up during the hot summer months.

For tax preparers who were somewhat dismayed by the recent IRS statistics indicating a slight drop-off in the number of taxpayers who were using a professional to prepare their taxes as opposed to do-it-yourself tax software, take heart.

Enhanced Section 179 expensing allowances, along with dozens of other “temporary” tax provisions, expired at the end of last year.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the Tax Court on an appeal arising out of nine consolidated cases regarding the tax implications of an S Corporation’s election to treat its subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary, or Qsub, under Section 1361 of the Tax Code.

The summer months are typically the time that CPAs fall out of touch with their clients. Some may send out or email one or two newsletters, but most taxpayers and preparers have thoughts that are far from next year’s taxes.

There are a number of due dates that don’t apply to all taxpayers, but are easily missed when they do apply and will subject the taxpayer to harsh penalties if they overlook them.

In a decision at odds with five other circuit courts, the Tenth Circuit quashed IRS summonses that were issued after the 23-day notice requirement of Section 7609(a)(1) of the Tax Code. As a result, the issue could be ripe for Supreme Court review.