Tax practice

The owner of a Long Island tax preparation service was sentenced to serve one year and one day of imprisonment for preparing false federal tax returns for her clients.

The American Institute of CPAs has written to Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman outlining its concerns with what it sees as a “widespread problem affecting numerous taxpayers”: erroneous letters from the IRS to taxpayers filing foreign trust forms.

The Internal Revenue Service has stepped up its efforts to investigate possible misconduct in the municipal bond sector, more than doubling the number of examinations it conducts per year.

The Senate Finance Committee has released the legislative text of the tax extenders bill, spelling out the reasons for extending certain tax breaks or for letting them expire, along with dissenting views from a trio of senators.

Republicans are pitching their tax overhaul plan on the appeal of lower rates and a simpler system—and figuring that voters won’t mind the lack of details about the potential pain.

The Internal Revenue Service reminded truckers and other owners of heavy highway vehicles on Tuesday that their next federal highway use tax return is due in most cases this coming Friday, Aug. 31, 2012.

Thomson Reuters has posted a new series of blog articles for users of its UltraTax CS software with advice on how they can take advantage of the software’s data mining features to help their clients navigate the possible tax law changes coming next year.

The Internal Revenue Service is making progress toward its goal of processing tax returns on a daily basis, according to a new report.

A Phoenix tax preparer has pleaded guilty to filing a tax return in which he falsely claimed expenses on behalf of a client.

As schools prepare to reconvene across the country, tax preparation chain Jackson Hewitt Tax Service is reminding taxpayers of a number of education-related tax credits and deductions.

A former Internal Revenue Service employee has been sentenced to two years in prison for identity theft and filing fraudulent income tax returns.

The Newark Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation division has stepped up its efforts this year to investigate tax fraud and other financial crimes.

Three Republicans from the House Committee on Oversight and Government have written a letter to IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman demanding he explain a recent rule that would extend tax credits to individuals who buy health insurance from an exchange set up by the federal government when their state has failed to set up such an exchange.

CCH has released a special tax briefing providing guidance and analysis of the Internal Revenue Service’s temporary regulations for repairs of tangible property and how they may require companies to change their accounting methods.

The Internal Revenue Service announced that many of its services will be unavailable over the Labor Day weekend, to accommodate an annual power outage and electric upgrades.

The Internal Revenue Service is offering a sneak preview of its revamped Web site, which is slated to go live at the end of the month.

The optional reporting of Announcement 2012-19 should be made permanent on the Form 990, according to the American Institute of CPAs.

David Williams, director of the IRS Return Preparer Office, has issued a Facebook “heads up” to preparers who haven’t yet scheduled an RTRP test.

A former tax return preparer from Macon, Ga., has pleaded guilty to filing a false claim for tax refund, theft of government money and aggravated identity theft.

A federal court in Kansas City, Kan., has permanently barred Ahferom Goitom from preparing federal tax returns.