Tax

A group of plaintiffs are suing the Treasury Department, the Social Security Administration, and the District of Columbia, claiming the federal government is continuing to hold onto their tax refunds to pay for supposed overpayments of Social Security benefits decades ago.

The Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday it would begin a limited test at 10 of its Taxpayer Assistance Centers to determine whether an appointment-based service approach at its walk-in centers might help reduce taxpayer wait times during a time of severe budget cuts at the agency.

Tonya Keith typically spends four to eight hours doing her taxes each year. This year, she says, “I’ve got about 30 hours in, and I’m not done.” The reason: She and her wife got married last year in Seattle, but they live in Georgia, which doesn’t recognize their marriage.

Last Friday, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2015-20, which lessens the requirements for certain companies to file a Form 3115 while adopting the new repair regulations.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Congressman Charles Boustany, R-La., have re-introduced a bill in Congress aimed at enabling Enrolled Agents to advertise their credential in more states.

7 things can learn during tax prep to build a stronger client relationship

The House Ways and Means Committee voted to expand college savings tax incentives that President Barack Obama proposed limiting earlier this year.

Intuit Inc. Chief Executive Officer Brad Smith is facing one of the biggest challenges in his seven-year tenure: how to restore trust in his company after fraudulent tax returns were filed through its TurboTax program.

The Internal Revenue Service delivered a progress report Thursday on tax season so far, noting that it has issued 19.7 million refunds worth more than $66 billion, up slightly from last year’s totals.

Highlights of some of our favorite tax-related blogs from the past week.