Tax practice

With only a few days remaining on Congress's 2014 legislative calendar, there is still no clear answer for whether and how Congress will deal with the nearly 60 "extender" tax provisions—the temporary provisions that have been routinely extended on a one- or two-year basis but were allowed to expire at the end of 2013.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a notice, regulations and other guidance related to the Affordable Care Act, including information on getting a hardship exemption from the individual mandate for health insurance coverage.

Holiday shoppers who are planning spending sprees at their local stores on Black Friday and Thanksgiving weekend will be contending not only with door-buster bargains, but also with sales taxes, which in some states and localities can be much higher or lower than others.

Tax refund fraud associated with prisoner Social Security Numbers remains a growing problem for tax administration despite the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to curb it, according to a new government report.

Microsoft Corp. sued the Internal Revenue Service seeking information about the agency’s contract with a law firm tied to audits of the software maker’s transfer pricing practices.

Some of the missing e-mails of former IRS employee Lois Lerner have been found.

Our weekly roundup of tax-related investment strategies and news that your clients may be thinking about.

The Internal Revenue Service’s Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee has selected three new members and a chairman.

Some of our favorite recent tax fraud cases.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a new revenue ruling on mass transit passes provided as fringe benefits to employees and how to pay for them.

The Internal Revenue Service has insufficient controls over the outside employment or business activities of its employees, according to a new government report.

The Net Investment Income Tax, which was included as part of the Affordable Care Act, will be hitting taxpayers and practitioners alike this coming tax season.

If the lame duck session of Congress fails to address the tax extenders, it will fall to incoming House Ways and Means Committee chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to see that they get passed early in the next session of Congress.

A former CPA and tax attorney has been sentenced to 57 months in prison and ordered to pay $2.2 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for stealing the identities of deceased children.

Tax professionals who give advice to marijuana businesses in the states where marijuana is legal should not have to suffer adverse consequences because the businesses are illegal under federal law, recommends a new report from a key advisory council for the Internal Revenue Service.

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

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the former vice presidential nominee, has been selected by members of the House Republican Steering Committee to serve as chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, Congress's main tax-writing committee.

An official from the American Institute of CPAs testified at a Senate hearing Tuesday on the need for Congress to pass legislation giving victims of natural disasters automatic access to permanent and timely tax relief.

Crowe Horwath LLP has issued a year-end tax-planning guide with information on income tax deductions, education planning, investing, retirement and estate planning, and tax rates.

The National Society of Accountants is suggesting some year-end tax tips to help businesses save money on taxes for this year and beyond, courtesy of Wolters Kluwer CCH.