Practice management

The Internal Revenue Service’s Free File program, which the IRS operates in conjunction with tax prep software providers, could well entice more taxpayers to self-file this tax season, despite new challenges like the Affordable Care Act.

Fans attending the Super Bowl this weekend may look up in the sky and see a cryptic message: “NAEA, America’s Tax Experts,” and “WhatisanEA.org.”

The Internal Revenue Service is partnering with community-based organizations across the country to promote the annual Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day, an effort to alert millions of low and moderate-income workers who may be missing out on a significant tax credit that can be worth up to $6,000.

Senators Rand Paul and Barbara Boxer are proposing a tax incentive for U.S. companies to bring home their offshore cash stockpiles and pledging to use that revenue to fund highways.

The best-laid estate plans just got muddled.

Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee have sent a letter to the Republican chairman, Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, outlining their main principles for tax reform.

In the first Tax Court case that addressed the tax consequences of human egg donations, the court concluded that the compensation received by an egg donor for two donations of eggs was includible in her income.

The small business mentoring organization SCORE has compiled some new statistics demonstrating how much time and money small businesses spend each year on accounting, taxes and payroll administration.

The Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayers to be on the lookout for unscrupulous tax preparers, citing preparers as one of the most common “Dirty Dozen” tax scams seen during tax season.

As many as 6 million U.S. taxpayers will have to pay a penalty of as much as 1 percent of income because they went without health insurance in part or all of 2014, the Treasury Department said.

Highlights of some of our favorite tax-related blogs from the past week.

Like the advent of the Internet, social media has proliferated in everything we do.

An ongoing pilot program from the IRS is offering an Identify Protection Personal ID Number to taxpayers who filed federal returns last year in certain states.

The IRS has announced the new members of its Advisory Council and its Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee.

The Affordable Care Act will have almost no effect on most taxpayers’ tax preparation and filing experience, according to federal officials.

Reznick Capital Markets Securities has officially changed its name to CohnReznick Capital Markets Securities and is now an affiliated company of the accounting, tax and advisory firm CohnReznick.

NetJets Inc., the private-plane company owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., defeated a U.S. Internal Revenue Service effort to collect more than $366 million in taxes and penalties the agency said were past due.

A common mistake among retailers is selling based on price rather than on value, a retail industry consultant wrote recently. When retailers focus on price, it results in customers “cherry-picking the best item while avoiding the profit-filled add-ons,” said The Retail Doctor founder Bob Phibbs. “It’s like they go to the bargain matinee but never visit the concession stand.”

It’s often a challenge to get clients to open up when they come in for their annual appointment during busy season. Maureen Schwartz, executive director of the global public accounting firm association BKR International, offers these 10 conversation starters to ask your clients.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a notice that provides some relief this tax season from tax penalties for taxpayers who find out when they file their taxes that they received an overpayment of premium tax credits for buying health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.