Tax season

Failure by Congress to act on the alternative minimum tax by year’s end will lead to “significant” delays in tax filing and a strain on taxpayers, said Steven Miller, the Internal Revenue Service’s acting commissioner.

Check out the digital edition of the December 2012 issue of Accounting Today.

Small businesses need to deal with several changes in W-2 and 1099 forms and reporting requirements this year as the IRS looks to close the tax gap.

Many tax practitioners focus on improving their efficiency during tax season, but there are plenty of things they can do in advance to ensure success from January to April, according to 2020 Group chairman and CEO Chris Frederiksen.

The Income Tax School has launched a Web site of more than 70 tax courses and products, plus many free resources for tax professionals. ITS said the move was in response to the new IRS regulations for tax preparers and the corresponding growing demand for tax education.

Last week I moderated an Accounting Today Web Seminar on Tax Office Workflow.

CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business, has released two new mobile tax information apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices -- CCH Applicable Federal Rates 2012 and CCH Tax Rates and Tables 2012 -- adding to its line of mobile applications.

New River Innovation has enhanced its Beyond415 Guidance product, a Web-based research center for resolving issues after tax filing, with key features including searchable guidance covering individual, business, and payroll areas of IRS practice and procedure.

The Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board has sent a letter to the leaders of Congress’s two tax-writing committees urging them to act swiftly to patch the Alternative Minimum Tax to keep it from spreading to millions more taxpayers.

Postcards can be an effective marketing tool during tax season if targeted precisely to existing clients and used to build brand recognition.

The option of allowing taxpayers to split up their tax refunds into different accounts has increased the risk of fraud, perhaps even among IRS employees, according to a new government report.

The Internal Revenue Service has made progress in deploying its Modernized e-File system, according to a pair of new government reports, but unresolved performance issues are hampering the retirement of its older legacy systems for processing tax returns.

Check out the digital edition of the November 2012 issue of Accounting Today.

The American Institute of CPAs has improved its Interactive Tax Checklists to allow tax professionals to work more efficiently next tax season.

The Internal Revenue Service identified 39.1 percent more attempts at fraudulent tax refunds last tax season than in the prior year, leading to tax refund delays early in tax season.

CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business, released new mobile applications to monitor the status of e-filed returns, as well as access to client data in ProSystem fx.

Millions of dollars in refundable tax credits that were determined to be erroneous after taxpayers received them may never be recovered by the Internal Revenue Service, but the IRS plans to clamp down on erroneous and fraudulent claims for tax breaks such as the Earned Income Tax Credit.

The Internal Revenue Service is warning tax professionals that starting October 1, it will no longer accept paper-based applications to become electronic filing providers.

With more than 127 million personal information records exposed in 2011, identity theft has led to a flood of fraudulent tax filings, and tens of thousands of honest taxpayers are now subjected to delays in their legitimate refund claims, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Preparing accurate tax returns is still a challenge for all too many participants in the Internal Revenue Service’s Volunteer Program, according to a new government report.