Tax practice

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

The Internal Revenue Service is being urged to modernize the process of filing amended tax returns in a new government report that estimates the IRS could be losing billions of dollars from erroneous tax refunds claimed on amended tax returns.

Some of our favorite recent tax fraud cases.

American manufacturer Ingersoll-Rand Co. forged the tools that carved the Panama Canal and shaped Mount Rushmore. When it shifted its legal address to Bermuda in 2001 to reduce taxes, the maneuver sparked bipartisan outrage in Congress.

Better management of correspondence audits by the Internal Revenue Service could improve tax compliance and reduce the burden on taxpayers, according to a new government report.

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance said it has helped 42,415 taxpayers who called its Taxpayer Information Center with language assistance in 79 different languages.

Recent highlights from some of favorite tax bloggers.

The Internal Revenue Service plans to put in place new procedures starting next January to limit the number of refunds electronically deposited into a single financial account or pre-paid debit card to three, as part of an effort to combat fraud and identity theft, including fraud committed by unscrupulous tax preparers.

The Internal Revenue Service’s Taxpayer Advocate Service could improve its processing of so-called “systemic burden” cases that involve instances in which an IRS process, system or procedure has not operated as intended, according to a new report.

The Internal Revenue Service is suffering from several new deficiencies in its internal controls, although it has managed to address a number of older problems, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

The Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday it has updated its FATCA Foreign Financial Institution List to coincide with the rollout of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.

The Internal Revenue Service has introduced a new 1023-EZ form that shortens the application that charities need to submit if they want to be granted tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)3 of the Tax Code.

The Internal Revenue Service said that unused Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, or ITINs, will expire if they are not used on a federal income tax return for five consecutive years.

The Internal Revenue Service has released a new revenue procedure describing the details of its new voluntary tax preparer continuing education program, known as the Annual Filing Season Program.

Health care reform tax issues for 2014

A roundup of recent tax-related news.

Educating your clients on the ACA

Foreign financial institutions will face tax withholding penalties on Tuesday, July 1 if they have not begun to make efforts to comply with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA.

The Supreme Court clarified a portion of the ACA applying to closely held businesses, by deciding, in a 5-4 ruling, that the Department of Health and Human Services regulations under the Affordable Care Act, which impose a contraceptive mandate, violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.

Sole proprietors and practitioners mainly generate their revenue during tax season from tax preparation clients, but there are other opportunities for them.