Tax season

The Internal Revenue Service will begin accepting individual tax returns on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016, it announced today.

The PTIN system will be down for approximately two to three hours for necessary maintenance beginning at 8 a.m. EST on Monday, Dec. 21, as well as a few days over New Year's.

The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 extends a number of important tax breaks, and makes many of them permanent.

Congress passed a $1.1 trillion spending measure that extends a number of important tax provisions, and makes several of them permanent.

Wolters Kluwer has introduced two new learning certification programs for tax professionals.

As the calendar year—and for many companies, the financial year—draws to a close, accountants are gearing up for or holding what can feel like a gauntlet of meetings with business owners to begin preparing financial statements and tax returns.

The Internal Revenue Service has selected TaxSlayer as the new tax software provider for the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly programs, starting with the 2017 tax filing season.

Michael Sonnenblick of Thomson Reuters discusses some of the main issues for next tax season, such as the Premium Tax Credit and the deduction for state and local taxes.

Congress has passed highway-funding legislation that includes two tax provisions that would allow the State Department to revoke the passports of long-term tax delinquents who owe more than $50,000 in tax debts and revive a program requiring the IRS to hire private debt collection agencies.

A host of tax tips for the approaching year-end.

Ernst & Young has released the EY Tax Guide 2016, adding new chapters of information on tax preparation.

Tax pros weigh in on who they most hate to see walk in the door

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service has opened for the next season with a new Year-End Tax Planner service that will estimate 2015 taxes and refunds.

The Internal Revenue Service is making yearly adjustments to W-2 and 1099 forms, while adding brand new 1095 forms related to the Affordable Care Act to the list of required forms for filers this year.

TaxAct has launched TaxAct ProAdvance, an online resource center to help professional tax preparers grow their businesses.

It’s never too late in the year for you and your clients to get ready for next tax season.

In my early days I would get many leads for clients who told me they were switching accountants because they believed they were paying “too much tax.”

A significant amount of planning is typically involved before most major events. For example, the D-Day invasion was planned and scheduled with extreme detail months before its execution on June 6, 1944. Likewise, accountants each year experience a tax season that requires detailed planning and precise execution.

Tax Season Preview

Internal Revenue Service commissioner John Koskinen told a group of tax practitioners that budget cuts at the agency are harming not only taxpayers, but tax practitioners as well, and warned that unless Congress acts on tax extenders legislation, tax season might need to be delayed next year. At the same conference, National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson complained of declining taxpayer service levels by the IRS and obstructions to the work of her office on behalf of taxpayers.