Tax season

New York City has launched a free Web-based tax preparation and electronic filing service that is available to all residents who earn less than $58,000.

The Internal Revenue Service is considering requiring some business taxpayers to report uncertain tax positions on their tax returns, according to Commissioner of Internal Revenue Douglas Shulman.

The Internal Revenue Service listed the guidelines for the tax deductions that taxpayers can take for the contributions they make toward Haiti earthquake relief this year.

The Internal Revenue Service issued guidance that designates the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010 as a qualified disaster for federal tax purposes.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued advice on how to claim the Making Work Pay Tax Credit that was included in the Recovery Act if an employer has not provided the full credit.

The Senate has unanimously passed legislation that allows taxpayers to deduct charitable contributions to aid victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

The House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation Wednesday that would allow individuals who make charitable contributions to victims of the earthquake in Haiti to claim an itemized charitable deduction on their 2009 tax return instead of having to wait until next year to claim the deductions on their 2010 tax return.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress plan to introduce legislation that would allow individuals who make charitable contributions to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti to claim an itemized charitable deduction on their tax return this year instead of waiting until next year.

The Internal Revenue Service has released the new form that eligible homebuyers need to claim the First-Time Homebuyer Credit this tax season and said that processing of those tax returns will begin in mid-February.

The free electronic filing service has been made available to even more taxpayers.

The Internal Revenue Service has added a revised Virtual Small Business Tax Workshop to its Web site with updated content, interactive features and a new reference section.

Intuit has created a Lacerte and ProSeries Tax Certification program that 1040 tax preparers can use to demonstrate their proficiency and firms can use to test their existing staff and find qualified job candidates.

The Internal Revenue Service will be sending out newly redesigned, less confusing notices to taxpayers that aim to improve the way it corresponds with its core constituency.

Tax law changes - both in volume and complexity - will make this season more confusing for taxpayers and preparers alike.

Jackson Hewitt has signed an amended agreement with Republic Bank & Trust to act as a partner for refund anticipation loans after the tax prep chain’s previous partner, Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, was forced to stop providing RALs.

H&R Block will be among the tax preparation businesses that will be taking advantage of a new IRS initiative aimed at helping taxpayers build their nest eggs by allocating a portion of their tax refund toward the purchase of U.S. savings bonds.

Volunteers who prepare tax returns for free through the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly programs prepared nearly half the returns inaccurately, according to a new report.

H&R Block said it is re-aligning its tax and corporate structures and putting CEO Russ Smyth in charge of tax operations.

A record total of 90.6 million tax returns were filed electronically this year, with more than a third coming from home computers.

H&R Block reported that the total number of tax returns prepared as of April 15 fell by 667,000, or 3.1 percent, compared to last year, excluding economic stimulus filers, but Block still earned a record amount on fees.