Practice Management

With the State of the Union address just a week away, advisors to President Bush said that new tax breaks for health care costs are being considered.

It didn't take long for the Internal Revenue Service to move forward in combating one of the major complaints outlined in the Jan. 10 report from the national taxpayer advocate.

A memo out of the Internal Revenue Service's Office of Chief Counsel makes the case that gender reassignment surgery cannot be deducted as a medical expense for tax purposes.

Tax fraud promoter Paul D. Harris was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Denver to five-and-one-half years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, the Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service said.

As taxpayers begin to prepare their tax returns, the Internal Revenue Service noted that some may be sending their returns to a different service center than last year.

The Internal Revenue Service announced the opening of Free File, the free tax preparation and free electronic filing initiative now in its fourth year. More than 70 percent of the nation's taxpayers -- over 92 million people -- qualify for Free File this year.

I discovered the most amazing thing this week -- a report on a federal agency that was actually readable.

The Internal Revenue Service has revoked the tax-exempt status of more than 30 credit-counseling firms, which collectively account for more than half of the industry's revenue.

The accounting firms of Mengel, Metzger, Barr & Co. LLP and Kirby Beals Maier announced that they will merge in a deal effective immediately.

Taxpayers can file their 2005 tax returns electronically beginning Jan. 13 as the Internal Revenue Service's E-file program opens for its 20th tax season.