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.

  • The last few months have seen the problems in sub-prime lending start to have a national and even international impact on the credit and stock markets.The combination of expanded sub-prime lending programs with mortgage rates that adjust upward after two to five years, reduced or eliminated down-payment requirements, and a housing market that has seen real estate prices actually decline in many markets, has left many marginal borrowers unable to pay higher monthly mortgage payments, unable to refinance to more traditional mortgages, and unable to sell homes at a price sufficient to cover the mortgage obligation.

    October 7
  • The Internal Revenue Service has seen a 60 percent increase so far this year in electronic filing of tax returns by small businesses and large corporations.

    October 4
  • Three Democratic congressmen have announced plans to draft legislation that would impose a war surtax to pay for operations in Iraq as a way to demonstrate their opposition to the war.

    October 3
  • Tax technology vendor Vertex said it planned a major hiring initiative that would double the size of its consulting group over the next six months.

    October 3
  • A report by the Treasury Department's inspector general raised concerns about the screening done by the Internal Revenue Service of electronic filing providers.

    October 2
  • CCH has introduced CorpSystem, a new line of software for corporate professionals who do tax and accounting work.

    October 1
  • Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., has proposed a bill that would change the tax treatment of corporate stock option deductions.

    October 1
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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.