Tax practice

Highlights of some of our favorite tax-related blogs from the past week.

Three Swiss bankers accused in 2012 of helping Americans hide more than $1.2 billion from the Internal Revenue Service face new charges of obstructing the agency from collecting taxes on undeclared accounts.

It takes a heap o’ living just to make a house a home, as the old poem teaches. In Joel Evans’ case, he did enough living in two houses in Louisiana to make the U.S. his tax home.

The Internal Revenue Service recently created a group whose goal is to centralize several prior ad hoc efforts to authenticate taxpayers across its systems in an effort to combat identity theft-related tax fraud, but the IRS lacks a good estimate of the costs, benefits and risks, according to a new government report.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state is expanding its network of free tax assistance sites, opening 80 new sites across the Empire State and offering 942 free sessions to New Yorkers, while also dedicating more money toward combating tax fraud.

H&R Block is warning that taxpayers in 12 states will be unable to use certain federal tax breaks on their state tax returns because of Congress’s late passage of tax extenders legislation, leading to lower state tax refunds.

Caterpillar Inc. said the Internal Revenue Service has “proposed” tax increases and penalties of about $1 billion after examining its U.S. returns for 2007 to 2009, including a loss carryback to 2005.

A CPA has released what he is calling a “survival kit” for the Internal Revenue Service’s recently revised repair regulations for tangible property.

Ah, the emotions of tax season: the rising sense of intensity and excitement followed by the descent into exhaustion.

The Internal Revenue Service warned tax preparers and other tax professionals to be on guard against bogus emails seeking updated personal or professional information that in reality are phishing schemes.

The Treasury Department said Wednesday that it would delay enforcement of an Affordable Care Act prohibition relating to standalone health reimbursement arrangements until July 1.

A group of plaintiffs are suing the Treasury Department, the Social Security Administration, and the District of Columbia, claiming the federal government is continuing to hold onto their tax refunds to pay for supposed overpayments of Social Security benefits decades ago.

The Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday it would begin a limited test at 10 of its Taxpayer Assistance Centers to determine whether an appointment-based service approach at its walk-in centers might help reduce taxpayer wait times during a time of severe budget cuts at the agency.

Tonya Keith typically spends four to eight hours doing her taxes each year. This year, she says, “I’ve got about 30 hours in, and I’m not done.” The reason: She and her wife got married last year in Seattle, but they live in Georgia, which doesn’t recognize their marriage.

House Republicans won’t agree to fix Obamacare if the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the law bars health-insurance subsidies for millions of people, said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan.

Last Friday, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2015-20, which lessens the requirements for certain companies to file a Form 3115 while adopting the new repair regulations.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Congressman Charles Boustany, R-La., have re-introduced a bill in Congress aimed at enabling Enrolled Agents to advertise their credential in more states.

7 things can learn during tax prep to build a stronger client relationship

The American Institute of CPAs sent a comment letter Friday to the Internal Revenue Service about two interpretive issues.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a notice proposing some requirements for employee consents that can be used to support a claim for refund of employment taxes.