Practice Management

In a stunning blow to the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to regulate the tax preparation profession, a federal judge struck down the IRS’s licensing requirements for tax preparers on Friday, including testing and continuing education.

Clients have a lot of questions this year beyond just higher taxes. Preparers report they’ve already begun fielding inquiries about the later start to tax season and possible delays in refunds.

The IRS will issue guidance soon to provide relief from the estimated tax penalty for farmers and fishermen unable to file and pay their 2012 taxes by the March 1 deadline due to the delayed start for filing tax returns.

The recent fiscal cliff tax deal extends the ability to treat mortgage insurance premiums as qualified residential interest, and the Internal Revenue Service is providing guidance on how to report the premiums on Form 1098, both electronically and on paper.

PMB Helin Donovan LLP of Austin, Texas has merged in San Francisco-based BBR LLP.

Guilmartin, DiPiro & Sokolowski LLC of Middletown, Conn., and Hamden, Conn.-based Lipman & Co. PC have merged.

SingerLewak LLP has merged with the San Francisco-based firm, Acquavell, Chiarelli, Shuster, Berkower & Co. LLP.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have issued a long-awaited set of final regulations implementing the information reporting and withholding tax provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act aimed at combating offshore tax evasion, with far-reaching implications for U.S.-born taxpayers abroad, in addition to foreign financial institutions as well as U.S. banks.

Tax seminars, new websites, new service to help clients gauge M&A deal values and more...

The Internal Revenue Service has provided guidance on the monthly transit benefit that was extended in the fiscal cliff deal earlier this month and how employers who paid more than the maximum exclusion limit can fix the discrepancy.