Tax

Tax News & IRS Insights for Accounting Professionals

Accounting Today delivers news and analysis for accounting and tax professionals on federal and state tax developments, IRS guidance,information reporting, and operational implications for practices and clients. Our coverage focuses on legislative and procedural shifts that tax practitioners must monitor in planning, compliance, and advisory contexts.

Tax cuts

Trump tells House Republicans he wants funds to finish wall, tax cuts

The ambitious agenda includes extending Trump's signature tax cuts and enabling more oil and gas production.

By Billy House
Reporter

January 28
Tax season

Tax season kicks off with non-tax issues center stage

With relatively fewer tax changes to worry about, BOI and tariffs are top of mind for some experts.

By Roger Russell
Senior Editor

January 28
Tax cuts

Bessent wins Senate confirmation to be Treasury Secretary

The incoming Treasury chief will have to reconcile his deficit-reduction plans with the Trump administration's much-anticipated tax cuts.

By Bloomberg News

January 28
Practice and client management

Ethical wills can be a crucial tool for estate planning

They give advisors an opening into deeper conversations with clients, while their clients can express the larger vision behind their hopes for the future.

By Tobias Salinger
Chief Correspondent

January 27
Retirement

How HSAs pay off in retirement — with caveats

A client's immediate health needs make saving their accounts until they're 65 or over a difficult endeavor, and the accounts carry some highly specific rules.

By Tobias Salinger
Chief Correspondent

January 27
Tax fraud

Seven indicted in huge COVID-relief fraud

The charges include filing for over $600 million in false Employee Retention Credits and other funds.

By Jeff Stimpson
Freelance writer

January 27
IRS

IRS starts tax season with hiring freeze and rescinded job offers

The IRS kicked off tax season facing a hiring freeze imposed by President Trump in an executive order and uncertainty over $20 billion in budget cuts.

By Michael Cohn
Editor-in-chief, AccountingToday.com

January 27

Resources

The latest Accounting Today research and discussion:

Web Seminar Tax season postmortem: What to fix for 2027

Join us for a transparent look at the challenges facing firms this year and how to overcome them for 2027.

Partner Insights from Canopy
On-Demand Web Seminar Rethinking busy season: A modern operating model for K-1s

Busy season is over—but the bruises are still fresh. Many firms expected smoother K-1 workflows, yet encountered the same familiar bottlenecks, last-minute delays, and staff burnout. Instead of tweaking around the edges, we'll explore a modern operating model for managing K-1s at scale – from intake through exchange – designed to reduce rework, cycle time, and eliminate seasonal chaos.

Partner Insights from K1X
Tariffs and your clients

Dean Peterson and Blair Robbins of Eisner Advisory Group discuss the tax and business ramifications of the Trump administration's tariff policies that accountants should be advising clients about.

Sponsored by Intuit Quickbooks

Tax: Key Questions & Analysis:

What IRS guidance on forms and information reporting should practitioners prioritize?

The IRS continues to update thresholds and instructions for critical tax forms. This includes changes to information reporting requirements and guidance on evolving reporting standards, affecting 1099, W-2 and similar reporting obligations.

What procedural developments affect IRS automatic change consent for method changes?

Tax professionals must understand which accounting method changes qualify for automatic consent versus advance consent. This determines whether a Form 3115 must be filed with IRS National Office or via automatic procedures.

How are tip-related tax provisions evolving under current policy?

New tax provisions related to tip income will impact how service industry clients and payroll units handle tax reporting and compliance. This includes draft schedules and withholding considerations.

What IRS guidance will shape compliance for the 2026 filing season?

Practitioners will need to understand procedural updates, forms changes, and reporting shifts that will affect compliance workflows and client expectations for the 2026 filing season. This includes the implementation timeline for new schedules and reporting requirements as well as for emerging areas such as crypto broker reporting.