Tax practice

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.

The IRS announced that all the designated empowerment zones where employers and other taxpayers qualify for special tax incentives will remain in effect through the end of the year.

The Internal Revenue Service continues to have problems with its Collections Due Process Program, according to a recent government report.

A massive case of organized tax and bank fraud culminated today with the unsealing of four federal grand jury indictments accusing 55 people of participating in one or more illicit schemes, including the theft of more than 2,000 identities that were used to claim more than 420 million in bogus IRS tax refunds. As a result the IRS paid out more than $7 million, even issuing payments in the names of dead people.

Bernard Madoff’s former accountant pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges he helped the convicted con man carry out a Ponzi scheme.

While keeping up with legislation and regulations remains the top risk facing corporate tax directors, global transfer pricing is quickly becoming a more serious concern for them, according to a recent survey

The Internal Revenue Service has set the per diem rates that taxpayers can use to substantiate the amount of expenses for lodging, meals and incidental expenses when traveling away from home.

The Internal Revenue Service needs to improve the process it uses to account for and report costs associated with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, according to a new government report.

Attorneys for the Internal Revenue Service presented their arguments before a federal appeals court in an effort to reinstate mandatory testing and continuing education of tax preparers.

Tax preparers are beginning to respond to the recent proposal by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to further regulate paid preparers.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service will offer customers free help enrolling in new insurance options under the Affordable Care Act.