Tax practice

As 2013 comes to an end, employers, employees and self-employed individuals should make sure they are complying with the new 0.9 percent additional Medicare tax, according to Thomson Reuters.

It won’t be long before tax season gets underway again, and before the upcoming busy season fades from mind to join all previous busy seasons, I encourage you to reflect. Think about your clients because, after all, they’re the people who contribute significantly to making your busy season what it is, in all its glory and misery. My question for you is: which three clients are you going to fire?

A New Jersey tax preparer pleaded guilty Monday to preparing false tax returns.

The Return Preparer Office of the IRS has released details on the professional credentials of those who currently hold Preparer Tax Identification Numbers, or PTINs.

The U.S. Supreme Court turned away an appeal by Robert Coplan, a former Ernst & Young LLP executive convicted of selling illegal tax shelters that cost the federal government as much as $2 billion.

Mortimer Caplin, who served as commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service in the Kennedy administration and the early months of the Johnson administration, sees problems ahead for taxpayers and practitioners from the government shutdown.

“Oh what I’d give to get a good night’s sleep.” We’ve heard that before, maybe even said it ourselves, especially during tax season. But tax preparer Joyce Linzy was prepared to spend money to make it happen.

Mr. and Mrs. Friedberg were just another couple of average married taxpayers like any other married taxpayers happily minding their own business until the IRS decided to wage a war of terror on them.

The Internal Revenue Service has temporarily stopped sending out tax refunds, and the Tax Court has suspended operations during the federal government shutdown, as lawmakers in Congress continue their battle over delaying or defunding “Obamacare” for a year.

‘Obamacare’s’ opening day drew millions of consumers to the law’s core insurance exchanges, offering supporters and investors confidence that if the websites can stay up and running, customers will follow.

Thomson Reuters has released a new report on the Internal Revenue Service’s guidance on same-sex marriage in the wake of the Supreme Court striking down section three of the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against three auditors Tuesday for violating federal securities laws or failing to comply with U.S. auditing standards.

The final two defendants charged in relation to an identity theft scam that used identities stolen from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services to file fraudulent tax returns were sentenced to federal prison Monday.

New tools (and less late legislation) have tax software vendors hopeful for 2014

Unlike year-end 2012, planning for year-end 2013 is not burdened by the uncertainties over the extension of the Bush tax cuts or the political theater that took place surrounding last New Year's Day. Nevertheless, enough change and uncertainty remains that impacts year-end 2013 tax strategies to warrant special attention by taxpayers and their tax advisors.

Recent news in tax

In response to this action by the IRS, American University professors Donald Williamson and David Kautter have created a list of "Tax Best Practices for Small Businesses," a checklist designed to help small business entrepreneurs stay up to date on all tax-related issues, and away from the scrutiny of the IRS.

The IRS needs to tighten up its procedures for handling requests for tax account information, according to a recent report.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged a New Jersey-based audit firm and one of its founding partners Monday for their roles in the botched audits of a China-based company that failed to disclose related party transactions by its CEO and others.

With a political stalemate looming in Washington, the Treasury Department and the IRS released their contingency plan for what would happen at the service in the event of a government shutdown -- and one thing that wouldn't happen is any postponement of tax filing deadlines.