In a stunning blow to the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to regulate the tax preparation profession, a federal judge struck down the IRS’s licensing requirements for tax preparers on Friday, including testing and continuing education.

Clients have a lot of questions this year beyond just higher taxes. Preparers report they’ve already begun fielding inquiries about the later start to tax season and possible delays in refunds.

The recent fiscal cliff tax deal extends the ability to treat mortgage insurance premiums as qualified residential interest, and the Internal Revenue Service is providing guidance on how to report the premiums on Form 1098, both electronically and on paper.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have issued a long-awaited set of final regulations implementing the information reporting and withholding tax provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act aimed at combating offshore tax evasion, with far-reaching implications for U.S.-born taxpayers abroad, in addition to foreign financial institutions as well as U.S. banks.

Preparers who add more employees during tax season -- especially employees new to a practice -- must develop standards of communication and management, according to the Income Tax School’s white paper, “Leveling the Playing Field: How to Compete with the National Firms.”

The Internal Revenue Service faced challenges last tax season providing telephone service to taxpayers and responding to their correspondence, continuing the negative trends in recent years despite some efficiency gains and efforts to improve service, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.

For businesses relocating or expanding into new markets, taxation is now one of the top 10 site selection factors that determine where companies decide to set up shop, especially in high-cost states like California, Massachusetts, New York and Illinois.