Practice management

The Internal Revenue Service reacted Tuesday to the surprise ruling Friday by a federal judge striking down the IRS’s authority to regulate tax preparers, shutting down its Preparer Tax Identification Number registration system and its testing system for tax preparers.

Reactions among tax preparers to Friday’s court decision striking down the legality of the IRS RTRP mandate ranged from relief to recognition that the tax prep industry needs standards. But a survey of various tax prep-related groups on LinkedIn shows that the decision mostly raised questions.

In a stunning blow to the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to regulate the tax preparation profession, a federal judge struck down the IRS’s licensing requirements for tax preparers on Friday, including testing and continuing education.

Clients have a lot of questions this year beyond just higher taxes. Preparers report they’ve already begun fielding inquiries about the later start to tax season and possible delays in refunds.

The IRS will issue guidance soon to provide relief from the estimated tax penalty for farmers and fishermen unable to file and pay their 2012 taxes by the March 1 deadline due to the delayed start for filing tax returns.

The recent fiscal cliff tax deal extends the ability to treat mortgage insurance premiums as qualified residential interest, and the Internal Revenue Service is providing guidance on how to report the premiums on Form 1098, both electronically and on paper.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have issued a long-awaited set of final regulations implementing the information reporting and withholding tax provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act aimed at combating offshore tax evasion, with far-reaching implications for U.S.-born taxpayers abroad, in addition to foreign financial institutions as well as U.S. banks.

Tax seminars, new websites, new service to help clients gauge M&A deal values and more...

The Internal Revenue Service has provided guidance on the monthly transit benefit that was extended in the fiscal cliff deal earlier this month and how employers who paid more than the maximum exclusion limit can fix the discrepancy.

Preparers who add more employees during tax season -- especially employees new to a practice -- must develop standards of communication and management, according to the Income Tax School’s white paper, “Leveling the Playing Field: How to Compete with the National Firms.”

The Internal Revenue Service faced challenges last tax season providing telephone service to taxpayers and responding to their correspondence, continuing the negative trends in recent years despite some efficiency gains and efforts to improve service, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.

Despite efforts by the Internal Revenue Service to prevent tax fraud by prison inmates, the problem has been growing with the amount of fraudulent tax returns filed by prisoners and identified by the IRS increasing from more than 18,000 in calendar year 2004 to more than 91,000 tax returns in 2010, with the refunds claimed on these returns climbing from $68 million to $757 million.

A former CPA and tax preparer who spent three years on the run as a fugitive in Pakistan has pleaded guilty to charges of engaging in a tax refund conspiracy after he was accused of using the names and Social Security numbers of dead people to submit false claims for income tax refunds.

The Internal Revenue Service is providing information on some of the retirement plan provisions of the fiscal cliff deal that was signed into law earlier this month.

For businesses relocating or expanding into new markets, taxation is now one of the top 10 site selection factors that determine where companies decide to set up shop, especially in high-cost states like California, Massachusetts, New York and Illinois.

Bloomberg has introduced a Tax Practice Center to complement its tax law research service.

The former treasurer of a local union chapter of IRS and other Treasury Department employees has been charged with embezzling over $20,000 of the union’s funds.

The Internal Revenue Service plans to introduce a simplified way for small business owners and home-based employees to claim the home office tax deduction.

Last November, marketing professionals at BKR International demonstrated the challenge that surrounds creating a culture.

Approximately 60 percent of taxpayers who claim large-dollar noncash charitable contributions on their returns may not be complying with federal reporting requirements, according to a new report, with potentially erroneous contributions estimated at $3.8 billion in 2010.