Tax planning

This year-end is proving to be one of the most difficult for investors in many years. There's the uncertainty resulting from the financial credit crisis and government reactions to the crisis. There's the uncertainty from the close presidential election. There is also the uncertainty from the existing tax laws, under which the tax rates for capital gains and dividends and the top marginal tax rates for ordinary income would increase in 2011 under current law even if nothing were done by Congress.Faced with this uncertainty, the market has been in retreat, evaporating gains and producing potential losses. While most investment advisors are advising clients to remain in the market, and even use downturns such as this as an opportunity for further investment, taxpayers facing investment losses should keep in mind some tried and true tax planning opportunities, as well as some potential new developments in the tax law.

IRS OFFERS GUIDANCE ON ARSWashington, D.C. - The Internal Revenue Service issued a revenue procedure that provides guidance on the treatment of taxpayers who accept certain types of settlements of potential legal claims relating to auction rate securities.

Tax-related measures will be on the ballots of at least 23 states on Tuesday, and they could have far-reaching ramifications.

The Deloitte Foundation has announced the regional winners of the Deloitte Tax Case Study Competition, an interscholastic competition that brought together nearly 60 teams from colleges and universities in 11 cities across the country in October to tackle complex tax case studies.

Learn what practitioners should be focusing on in their upcoming year-end and general tax planning with both individual and corporate clients in this free webcast.

The financial rescue plan approved by Congress included many extensions of expiring tax credits and deductions that helped it win passage in the House, but it also left out some tax issues that will surely be bones of contention for the next Congress."It's safe to predict that not much will happen in a lame duck session," said Tom Ochsenschlager, vice president of taxation at the American Institute of CPAs.

The Internal Revenue Service distributed roughly $1.6 billion in refunds to taxpayers who filed falsified tax returns in 2006 and 2007, despite efforts to stop them, according to a new report from the Treasury Department's inspector general.

The Internal Revenue Service plans to increase the fee for obtaining an exact copy of a previously filed and processed tax return with all the attachments.

Online sales tax management provider SpeedTax is partnering with consultancy TaxConnex to offer sales tax automation and consulting services to business clients.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have issued guidance on indirect ownership of preferred stock in mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The American Institute of CPAs has appointed Alan Einhorn, national director of Deloitte Tax LLP's Quality Assurance Group, as the new chair of its Tax Executive Committee.

An advisory committee on tax information reporting has recommended a number of changes for the Internal Revenue Service to make to improve taxpayer identity protection, disaster reporting and other matters.

The Tax Foundation has selected three videos as winners of a contest that aims to draw attention to the high rate of business taxes in the U.S.

The Texas Society of CPAs has provided five tips that CPAs can pass along to their clients to calm their financial worries.

It might seem strange, pairing the phrase “love fest” with the AICPA Fall Council meeting, but I tell you, the lovely and heartfelt moments were flowing as freely as the wine and margaritas at the opening reception.

States are getting pounded by the economy, with tax collection revenues in the third quarter among the worst in years, according to a new report.

The Internal Revenue Service has withdrawn a tentative assessment of more than $319 million in tax penalties against FedEx.

CCH Small Firm Services, part of Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting, has acquired IntelliTax, a tax software company formerly known as Orrtax Software Solutions.

An attorney for New York Governor David Paterson's chief of staff has attributed his client's neglect in filing tax returns between 2001 and 2005 to "failure-to-file syndrome."

The Internal Revenue Service said that more than 279,000 economic stimulus checks, totaling about $163 million, and over 104,000 regular refund checks, totaling about $103 million, have been returned by the U.S. Postal Service due to mailing address errors.