Tax season

Following last week’s tax law changes, the Internal Revenue Service announced Thursday the upcoming tax season will start on time for most people, but taxpayers affected by three recently reinstated deductions need to wait until mid- to late February to file their individual tax returns.

The Internal Revenue Service has released a new form that will allow tax preparers to request a hardship waiver to exempt them from the IRS’s new electronic filing requirements.

Intuit has been closely monitoring congressional and IRS activity on the tax extension legislation passed by Congress late Thursday night and said it has completed various scenario plans and programmed its professional tax software applications to be prepared for all the latest tax law changes.

The modern era of tax return preparer administration began on Sept. 28, 2010.

As the end of the year fast approaches, the Internal Revenue Service is strongly encouraging paid tax preparers to register now for their new or renewed Preparer Tax Identifications Numbers to avoid any last-minute rush.

Preparer Tax Identification Numbers, e-file mandates, and pending tax legislation are weighing heavily on tax preparers' minds as they take a breath just prior to the start of filing season.

While lawmakers have pledged to patch the Alternative Minimum Tax this year, there remains plenty of uncertainty in the current tax landscape.

Preparers looking for a wish list of provisions for the lame duck session of Congress to pass have a number of items to consider.

The Internal Revenue Service has begun sending more than 10,000 letters to tax return preparers nationwide to remind them of their obligation to prepare accurate tax returns, and during the 2011 filing season, IRS representatives will visit approximately 2,500 tax return preparers who received the letters to discuss their responsibilities and verify their compliance.

The Internal Revenue Service detailed how, starting Jan. 1, 2011, paid tax return preparers can comply with a new law that requires them to electronically file tax returns for individuals, trusts and estates.

Intuit has launched an online sweepstakes contest that will award free Lacerte Tax or ProSeries Tax software to two winners for a year.

California’s Franchise Tax Board said it would no longer directly mail tax booklets to taxpayers in the Golden State, as more taxpayers and preparers migrate to electronic filing.

This month the Illinois CPA Society is launching a new program, "Generating Results from Your Generation Y Staff ," that is geared to help young accountants understand how to deliver a better return on investment for their firm through bridging the expectation gap and better communication between themselves and their senior partners - especially during busy season.

Continued growth in the do-it-yourself tax prep market, ongoing federal and state e-filing mandates and the Internal Revenue Service's discontinuation of a debt indicator to facilitate refund anticipation loans will affect both preparers and their software providers during next year's filing season.

Here’s some good news for those who haven’t renewed their Preparer Tax Identification Number by the end of the year. The process to renew it will be the same beginning in January as it is now, and it takes only about 15 minutes to do online.

Nearly 99 million individuals filed their federal income tax returns electronically during 2010, a 3 percent increase in the IRS e-file rate, mainly due to taxpayers who prepared and filed their own taxes from their home computers.

H&R Block released an update on its lawsuit against its refund anticipation loan provider, HSBC, saying the two have been “in discussions.”

H&R Block has filed suit against its refund anticipation loan provider, HSBC, seeking to require the bank to provide the funding for RALs and refund anticipation checks next tax season.

The dog days of summer are ending and the 2010 tax season isn’t far behind.

The Internal Revenue Service responded to only 339 out of 350,000 calls made to a special phone line it has set up for hearing- and speech-impaired taxpayers, according to a new government report.