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.

  • Two bills circulating on Capitol Hill are looking at different ways to generate tax revenue from the Internet.

    May 28
  • A U.S. appeals court told the judge overseeing the KPMG tax shelter cause that if he believes federal prosecutors violated the rights of former KPMG employees he should toss the entire case.

    May 24
  • The Internal Revenue Service announced that the commissioners of the Australian, Canadian, U.K., and U.S. tax administrations will open a second office of the Joint International Tax Shelter Information Center in London this fall.The commissioners have said that exchanging information in real-time is making a significant difference to the complex task of tracking tax avoidance and abusive cross-border transactions. In recent months, center members have identified and challenged the following fraudulent arrangements:

    May 24
  • National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson announced that the Internal Revenue Service has awarded almost $8 million in matching grants to Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics for the 2007 grant cycle.

    May 23
  • Federal prosecutors won’t pursue the Texas law firm of Sidley Austin LLP for its part in signing off on sketchy tax shelter structures.

    May 23
  • There’s no real question that something needs to be done about the fate of the alternative minimum tax.

    May 22
  • A federal court in Portland, Ore., sentenced a former Oregon chemical company executive to serve 18 months in prison and pay a $50,000 criminal fine following his conviction on two counts of filing false federal income tax returns.Trevor Smith, the former vice president of sales for Raisio Western North America, was convicted in March on charges of filing false returns for the 1999 and 2000 tax years. While employed at Raisio, federal prosecutors said that Smith received approximately $350,000 in kickback payments from the former general manager of Georgia-based Chemical Products Technologies. Those payments were related to Raisio’s purchases of a pulping additive used to increase pulp yield, and were not claimed by Smith on his returns.

    May 22
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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.