Tax practice

The Internal Revenue Service has introduced a new online tool for taxpayers who need to repay their First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.

IMGCAP(1)]The Tax Court’s decision last month in the case of Peco Foods, Inc. & Subsidiaries, v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue (T.C. Memo 2012-18) caused waves of angst amongst tax practitioners and cost segregation professionals alike.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., has introduced legislation to implement President Obama’s proposal in his State of the Union speech that millionaires should pay at least a minimum 30 percent income tax rate.

The cost estimates for an Internal Revenue Service program for matching data from tax returns with third-party information returns, which was used to justify the program’s projected budget of $115 million for fiscal years 2012 to 2016, “generally does not meet best practices for reliability,” according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

Just before the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released much-anticipated temporary and proposed regulations on the capitalization of tangible property (so-called "repair regs").

IRS BOOSTS AUDITS OF HIGH-INCOME TAXPAYERS

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson's annual report to Congress highlighted the combination of an expanding IRS workload and declining resources as the most serious problem facing taxpayers.

The Internal Revenue Service needed to put the brakes on its tax refunds this tax season when newly installed filters to prevent tax fraud and identity theft held up processing for a week or more.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department said Tuesday they have conducted a massive nationwide sweep to nab identity theft fraudsters as part of a stepped-up effort against tax refund fraud.

The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing Tuesday to examine the growing number of tax extenders in the Tax Code that need to be renewed every year or two, and how there could be greater predictability with overall tax reform.

President Obama encouraged Congress to act on a package of legislative proposals to expand tax breaks and financing for startups and small businesses.

Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., the ranking Democratic member of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, has introduced a new bill aimed at closing what he considers a “tax loophole” exploited by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

The Internal Revenue Service has approved the National Society of Accountants as a continuing education provider for tax professionals, as part of its efforts to regulate the tax preparation profession.

The Internal Revenue Service has increased its forecasts for the number of information-reporting forms it expects to receive this year and in subsequent years as a result of increased reporting requirements.

The break-up of Switzerland's oldest bank Wegelin on Friday shows the need to settle a dispute with U.S. authorities over tax cheats hiding cash in secret Swiss accounts, the finance minister said on Saturday.

The Senate Finance Committee plans to hold a hearing Tuesday to discuss finding a long-term way to handle “tax extenders”—tax provisions that frequently require annual or biannual renewals—to provide more certainty for taxpayers, not to mention tax preparers.

The National Consumer Law Center and the Consumer Federation of America are predicting that this year’s tax season will be the final one that refund anticipation loans will be available on a large-scale, nationwide basis.

Retail giant Sears is partnering with H&R Block this tax season, offering free federal 1040EZ tax filing online and in stores through Feb. 29.

More than 279,000 federal employees, including members of the military, collectively owed approximately $3.42 billion in unpaid taxes as of Sept. 30, 2010, up more than 3 percent from the prior year, according to a recently released report from the Internal Revenue Service.

H&R Block launched an app for iPhone and Android smartphones Friday with an offer for free federal 1040EZ and state tax preparation and electronic filing through February 29.