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 heads of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform announced that both of the panel's meetings scheduled for September will be postponed indefinitely.

    September 8
  • Trustfile, a manufacturer of electronic state sales and use tax e-filing and payment technology, announced a reselling agreement with Independent Systems and Programming, a developer of sales and use tax calculation software, databases and forms.

    September 6
  • The decision by the Internal Revenue Service to launch a new compliance study of S corporations has drawn a mixed response from tax practitioners and industry groups.

    September 4
  • The Internal Revenue Service currently has no corporate strategy to combat identify theft, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Until it adopts an agency-wide strategy, it will be unable to help taxpayers and the government combat what TIGTA calls "the growing threat" of identity theft and support the prosecution of offenders.

    September 4
  • A federal judge has filed paperwork alerting the Internal Revenue Service that he plans to halt their experiment in outsourcing debt collection, siding with a Texas company that claimed they had been unfairly excluded from the bidding process.

    September 4
  • Plans by Internal Revenue Service officials and federal lawmakers to establish new national certification and testing requirements for unlicensed tax return preparers are drawing cautious support from mainstream tax professionals.

    September 4
  • The Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005, passed as part of the 2005 Energy Act and signed by President Bush on Aug. 8, 2005, includes a series of new credits aimed at encouraging the purchase of various types of new alternative fuel vehicles.

    September 4
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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.