Tax season

The IRS’s annual pick of the worst of the worst

The Internal Revenue Service reported Friday that tax season is off to a strong start this year, with the tax-filing volume running ahead of last year so far.

Picture this scene in households across the country: the daily fat stack of mail arrives. Among the magazine subscriptions and car insurance junk mail is an odd-sized, but strangely familiar envelope. The W2 has landed—the annual scorecard of the year that was.

Three Republican lawmakers are calling on the Social Security Administration to work with the Internal Revenue Service to do more to stop fraudulent claims for the Earned Income Tax Credit, particularly by the self-employed.

The Affordable Care Act requires that in 2014 all Americans must have qualified health insurance or face a Shared Responsibility Payment.

The Internal Revenue Service has launched a new, online public directory of tax return preparers as part of its effort to promote its Annual Filing Season Program for testing and continuing education of tax preparers on a voluntary basis.

The U.S. Treasury Department and the Department of Education are working with H&R Block and Intuit this tax season to raise awareness of the income-based repayment options for federal student loan borrowers.

Former Internal Revenue Service commissioner Mark W. Everson is worried about the impact of continuing budget cuts on his old agency’s ability to help taxpayers and tax practitioners this tax season as the IRS is encouraging taxpayers to check the IRS.gov Web site for answers to questions before picking up the phone.

Check out the digital edition of the February 2015 issue of Accounting Today.

Issues to keep an eye out for as the 2015 tax season progresses

Does it have to be as bad as all that?

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.

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.

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

The Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants recently surveyed its CPA members in public accounting on the most outrageous tax deductions clients tried to take on their tax returns. Their responses included everything from pets and weddings to cars impounded by the police.

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.