Practice Management

Two unmarried taxpayers can exclude gain from the sale of their home -- even though they fail the two-year ownership and use tests of the tax code -- because the primary reason for the sale was an unexpected pregnancy.In a Dec. 29 letter responding to a ruling request, the Internal Revenue Service said that a pregnancy meets the “unforeseen circumstances” exclusion outlined in Section 121(a)(c)(2) of the code.

The Internal Revenue Service recently issued a notice outlining how individuals and businesses can obtain refunds and credits on their 2006 returns of the long-distance telephone excise tax.

For taxpayers with income at or below certain levels, the Internal Revenue Service announced that user fees for payment-installment agreements will hold steady in 2007.

San Francisco’s Shea Labagh Dobberstein CPAs Inc. has announced that it will acquire San Mateo, Calif.-based Elwood Espina Ferrell LLP.Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

After four months, the Securities and Exchange Commission has already revisited its rule on disclosing executive compensation.In a statement issued Dec. 22, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said that the new requirements will make it easier for companies to prepare statements and for investors to understand the cost of stock options.

With the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 now signed into law, the Internal Revenue Service has rolled out guidance to help taxpayers filing in 2007 claim the extended deductions and other tax advantages contained in the act.

For a government agency with such a bad rap in popular culture, the Internal Revenue Service performed well in a recent survey asking taxpayers to comment on customer service levels.

Southwestern regional CPA firm Weaver and Tidwell, L.L.P said it would merge with Houston-based McDonald, Fox and Lund, P.C.

The thoroughness of Internal Revenue Service enforcement efforts for the nation’s largest corporations, measured by the number of hours devoted to each audit, has substantially declined since Fiscal 2002, according to data obtained by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.

The Internal Revenue Service is lifting a moratorium on determination letter applications for conversions from traditional defined benefit pension plans to so-called cash balance plans.