Tax practice

(Bloomberg) -- House Republican leaders canceled a planned vote on Thursday night on Speaker John Boehner's plan to allow higher tax rates for annual income above $1 million, throwing already-stalled budget talks deeper into turmoil.

Professional tax return preparers must renew their PTINs to prepare returns in 2013, the IRS said in a reminder to preparers. Current PTINs expire December 31.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released two reports related to the Internal Revenue Service’s Customer Account Data Engine 2 Program, suggesting that while the system has begun processing tax returns, there are still significant areas where improvement is necessary.

House Republicans plan a vote late Thursday on a measure that would have been hard to imagine before the November 6 election -- a tax increase for top earners, which they previously labeled as job-killing class warfare.

IRS Acting Commissioner Steven T. Miller warned Congress on Wednesday that if lawmakers fail to extend the traditional alternative minimum tax patch, up to 100 million American taxpayers could be affected, and most taxpayers might not be able to file their tax returns until late March 2013 or later.

CCH has introduced a new tax planning tool to help tax advisors and their clients keep a step ahead of the fiscal cliff negotiations in Congress and the White House.

A pair of lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill in the House to end a 78-year-old tax provision that includes dividends from controlled foreign corporations in personal holding company income.

Effective end-of-year letters and other communication with tax prep clients are more than reminders that those clients should hire you to do 2012 returns.

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Tuesday that House Republicans would introduce a bill to raise tax rates for millionaires as a “Plan B” in case his negotiations with President Obama on averting the fiscal cliff fail to produce an agreement.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said the state is investigating a fraudulent tax return scheme and warned East Texas residents to avoid recruiters from Syam Tax Services LLC.

President Barack Obama lowered his tax revenue demand by $200 billion and offered to start tax rate increases at $400,000 in income instead of $250,000, moving closer to a budget deal with House Speaker John Boehner.

The Internal Revenue Service has published amended temporary Repair vs. Capitalization regulations to incorporate the changes announced in the recent Notice 2012-73.

The Internal Revenue Service said its Central Authorization File system, which helps power its Transcript Delivery Service and Disclosure Authorizations systems, will be unavailable from December 26 through January 2.

House Speaker John Boehner offered to raise income tax rates on households earning more than $1 million a year in exchange for containing the cost of federal entitlement programs, as part of a deal with President Barack Obama to cut the federal deficit, according to two people familiar with the talks.

The IRS said that it issued more than nine out of 10 refunds to taxpayers in less than 21 days last year, and expects the same results in 2013.

As talks drag on between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, many business leaders believe there will not be an agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff before the end of the year, according to a new poll by KPMG.

States are creating fiscal risks for themselves by neglecting to control the costs of tax incentives for economic development, according to a new report from the Pew Center on the States.

The Internal Revenue Service said Thursday that low- and moderate-income workers can take steps now to save for retirement and earn a special tax credit in 2012 and the years ahead.

The Internal Revenue Service has given businesses an extra year to make sure they are compliant with new rules on how to treat service charges.

Republicans in Congress hardened their resistance to President Barack Obama’s proposed higher taxes for top earners and demanded a spending-cut plan, as lawmakers in both parties said it’s becoming less likely an agreement can be enacted before the Christmas holiday.