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.

FDIC

NY sues FDIC over $44M in unpaid Signature Bank taxes

The city's department of finance audited Signature after the bank shuttered in March and found tax deficiencies for years 2015 through 2021 related to unreported income allocation and adjustments to investment and capital income.

By Bloomberg News

January 30
Tax fraud

Ex-Freshfields partner convicted over tax scandal

An ex-Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner who helped top investment banks navigate the Cum-Ex trading strategy behind Europe's biggest tax scandal was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

By Karin Matussek
Reporter

January 30
Practice management

Practice profile: A passion practice

Joshua Beal's DeafTax thrives by serving the hearing-impaired community — as clients and employees

By Danielle Lee
Managing Editor

January 30
AT Think Understaffed? Under-budgeted? Your tax department can still thrive

These five management tips can lead dwindling teams to meet compliance requirements — and turn tax departments into value-add parts of an organization.

January 30

Michael Hickman

Exactera
IRS

Ex-IRS contractor who leaked Trump tax data gets five years

Charles Littlejohn, 38, pleaded guilty to stealing Trump's tax data and leaking it to the New York Times and admitted taking tax information about thousands of other wealthy Americans, that he passed to ProPublica.

By Sabrina Willmer and David Voreacos

January 29
Growth Content

The 20 best states for saving

The best state to be a saver scored 0 out of 100, where a lower score means it's easier to save.

January 29
Practice and client management

The taxman tango: The key tax question about gambling income

Financial advisors and tax professionals with clients who bet online or at casinos must guide them through the choice of classifying as amateur or professional.

By Tobias Salinger
Chief Correspondent

January 29

Resources

The latest Accounting Today research and discussion:

Web Seminar Tax season postmortem: What to fix for 2027

Join us for a transparent look at the challenges facing firms this year and how to overcome them for 2027.

Partner Insights from Canopy
On-Demand Web Seminar Rethinking busy season: A modern operating model for K-1s

Busy season is over—but the bruises are still fresh. Many firms expected smoother K-1 workflows, yet encountered the same familiar bottlenecks, last-minute delays, and staff burnout. Instead of tweaking around the edges, we'll explore a modern operating model for managing K-1s at scale – from intake through exchange – designed to reduce rework, cycle time, and eliminate seasonal chaos.

Partner Insights from K1X
Tariffs and your clients

Dean Peterson and Blair Robbins of Eisner Advisory Group discuss the tax and business ramifications of the Trump administration's tariff policies that accountants should be advising clients about.

Sponsored by Intuit Quickbooks

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.