Practice management

The IRS effort to combat identity theft couldn’t have come at a better time. With the IRS closing in on its goal of 80 percent e-filed returns (aided in part by the e-filing mandates on return preparers), the last thing it needs is a decline in confidence in the system. Yet that’s just what has happened, according to a survey commissioned by tax software developer Taxsoftware.com.

Michigan-based CPA and wealth advisory firm Godfrey Hammel, Danneels & Company and Indiana-based CPA firm Katz, Sapper & Miller have teamed up to form GHD/KSM Medical Consultants to provide financial, accounting, tax and business advisory services to health and medical industry clients.

The Internal Revenue Service has released guidance and forms that can be used to claim a recently expanded tax credit for employers who hire veterans, with newly streamlined certification requirements.

The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the interaction of tax and financial accounting rules on tax reform.

For most accounting firms, the Internet is game changing.

Intuit has made several updates to its Tax Research and Tax Import for Lacerte and ProSeries products, in response to a recent survey of accounting professionals.

A pair of Democratic senators who chair influential committees have introduced legislation aimed at closing a variety of tax loopholes to reduce the budget deficit.

The Internal Revenue Service has released an expanded version of its smartphone application, IRS2Go, with a new YouTube video feature and additional tax help for taxpayers.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department have released an eagerly anticipated set of proposed regulations for implementing the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.

The tax refund delays this tax season could be tied not only to new identity theft detection filters, but also to overly tight business rules written into the IRS’s Electronic Fraud Detection System.

An investor in a foreign currency trading fund has been sentenced to five years in prison for evading more than $150,000 in taxes.

A pair of Republican members of Congress have introduced a bill to prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from implementing a new tax-reporting requirement for small businesses to reconcile their 1099-K reports from outside providers such as credit card companies with their own internal records.

Clarifying Form 1099-R would help the Internal Revenue Service identify more taxpayers who are underreporting their retirement income, according to a new report.

The Internal Revenue Service has released procedures for issuing determination letters and rulings on the tax-exempt status of nonprofit health insurance providers that want to participate in the CO-OP program included in the health care reform law.

A new app for Apple’s iPhone relies on data from eBay to estimate the fair market value of goods donated to charity for charitable deductions.

Julius Baer is prepared to pay a fine to escape an escalating U.S. crackdown on offshore bank accounts after last week's indictment of smaller rival Wegelin raised tension among Swiss private bankers.

The Internal Revenue Service has debuted an online tool to help low- and moderate-income taxpayers find Volunteer Income Tax Assistance locations where they can get help with their taxes.

A majority of taxpayers are concerned about the security and privacy of their personal and financial information when filing their state and federal tax returns online, according to a new survey.

During his recent State of the Contradiction address before a joint session of Congress, the President in typically impressive oratory tried his carnival barker best not to allow anyone to examine the fine print.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued proposed regulations to provide guidance on the excise taxes imposed on the sale of medical devices under the health care reform law.