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.

  • Lawmakers have passed more than 100 new tax law changes that could help millions of individual taxpayers save money on their taxes this coming season.

    December 26
  • The Internal Revenue Service collected about $3 billion less in revenue from audits this year after assigning staff to work on processing economic stimulus payments.

    December 24
  • New York Governor David Paterson is trying to close a record deficit of $15.4 billion with 137 new tax and fee increases, including a new tax on sugary sodas.

    December 24
  • The National Retail Federation has asked President-elect Barack Obama to include a series of sales tax holidays within the economic stimulus legislation he is drafting with Congress.

    December 24
  • There are possible tax strategies that are particularly suited to the times that we are in. Here are two that I keep seeing, with the latest in a press release from a major tax publisher. According to analysts with the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters, C corporations may secure a refund of overpaid estimated taxes, or use projected current-year NOL to offset taxes owed for the previous year.

    December 23
  • The Internal Revenue Service is changing its lockbox payment addresses in five states for individual taxpayers and 23 states for business taxpayers in the New Year.

    December 23
  • Edward Mendlowitz, a partner at accounting firm WithumSmith+Brown, outlined a series of tax strategies that could help offset the staggering losses incurred from investments with Bernard Madoff’s scandal-scarred securities firm.

    December 23
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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.