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.

  • Senate Finance Committee chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and ranking member Max Baucus, D-Mont., announced a plan Tuesday to extend the period of time in which Americans can claim tax deductions for charitable donations to assist victims of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Southeast Asia on Dec. 26.

    January 5
  • As the Internal Revenue Service kicked off its 2005 tax filing season this week, it announced that it expects that its e-file program will hit a milestone.

    January 4
  • The Internal Revenue Service has expanded a program aimed at enabling some business taxpayers to resolve certain tax issues before they file their returns.

    December 27
  • Tax and accounting software maker ATX has decided to hire a sales force to serve customers who are buying what it says is an increasingly complex product line.

    December 27
  • The Internal Revenue Service is allowing limited exceptions from coverage of the new deferred compensation rules for certain stock appreciation rights, or SARs, that "do not present potential for abuse or intentional circumvention of the purposes" of Section 409A.

    December 23
  • In addition to his role as a dictator who started World War II and sent millions of people to their deaths in concentration camps, Adolf Hitler was a tax evader, according to a recent report.

    December 22
  • H&R Block Financial Advisors, the investment arm of the tax prep giant, agreed to pay a $500,000 fine and to return $325,000 in clients' mutual fund trading profits to settle charges brought against it by the National Association of Securities Dealers related to the market-timing of mutual fund shares by two of its former financial advisors.

    December 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.