Practice Management

In a special area on its Web site (in a Q&A on home foreclosure and debt cancellation), the Internal Revenue Service advised, “Insolvency can be fairly complex to determine and the assistance of a tax professional is recommended.”Also, in recognition of the important role that the “insolvency exception” plays in excluding a beleaguered homeowner’s forgiveness-of-indebtedness income, the site further advised, “Consider the tax consequences before foreclosure.” This article explores what planning can be done to maximize the use of the insolvency exception to reduce or eliminate forgiveness-of-indebtedness income for the individual caught in the current mortgage financing or similar credit squeeze.

CPA firm Braver said it is merging with Edward Giardina P.C., as Giardina joins Braver as a partner at the firm.

Immigration attorney Grisel Ybarra got back a canceled check from the Internal Revenue Service for the two cents the IRS had billed her as a late fee.

Two firms in New York State have merged, with EFP Group's Eldredge, Fox & Porretti combining with Carnevale Niles Whitney & Davis.

President Bush plans to nominate Douglas Shulman as Internal Revenue Service commissioner.

Two CPA firms in Indiana are joining forces, with the Evansville office of Kemper CPA Group merging in Wright Consulting on Dec. 1.

Tax software vendors Intuit and H&R Block were hit with a potential multi-billion-dollar class-action lawsuit alleging that they charge excessive fees for electronic filing.

Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee have introduced a bill to prohibit the Patent and Trademark Office from granting any further patents for tax strategies and tax-planning inventions.

The Internal Revenue Service wants to track down 115,478 taxpayers who are owed approximately $110 million after their refund checks were returned as undeliverable.

More than 30,000 Medicaid providers had a total of over $1 billion in unpaid federal taxes last fiscal year, according to a report released by the Government Accountability Office.