State doings; Medicare won’t wait; the wayside; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers. Dangerous curve ahead Tax Vox (https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/): While Congress talks about the federal debt, it’s still hesitant to deal with one major source of rising deficits — Medicare — that it can’t avoid much longer. Wolters Kluwer (https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/tax-accounting-us/industry-news): The new return … Read more
The Internal Revenue Service recently suspended a half dozen of its modernization programs, including two deemed essential to its plans for replacing its aging systems, according to a new report. The report, released Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office, urged the IRS to complete its long-delayed modernization plans and fully address its cloud computing requirements. … Read more
The Internal Revenue Service audits Black taxpayers at 2.9 to 4.7 times the rate of non-Black taxpayers, mainly due to automated algorithms that flag discrepancies in claims for tax credits, according to a new academic study that looked at racial disparities in tax audits. The study, released this week by Stanford University’s Institute for Economic … Read more
EITC education; onboarding is key; expats on the rise; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers. Classified information The Wandering Tax Pro (http://wanderingtaxpro.blogspot.com/): Another option for regulation of paid preparers: a voluntary credential program administered by the IRS. National Association of Tax Professionals (https://blog.natptax.com/): The IRS is stepping up cooperation with the Department of … Read more
Donald Trump demanded reams of information from the Internal Revenue Service as it was preparing to turn over his personal tax returns to a congressional committee, papering the agency with a deluge of Freedom of Information Act requests in search of a behind-the-scenes look at its deliberations, new documents show. The former president routinely works … Read more
The Internal Revenue Service highlighted its annual Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day on Friday as a way to help millions of people take advantage of the tax break, but the National Taxpayer Advocate is also pointing out that some of those benefits actually expired and don’t apply this year. Average tax refunds will probably … Read more
The Internal Revenue Service unveiled a long-awaited online portal Wednesday where businesses will be able to file their 1099 information returns for free. The Information Returns Intake System portal was originally expected to be available on Jan. 9, but needed a little extra testing first (see story). The IRS hopes the IRIS portal will enable … Read more
The licensing debate; IRIS AWOL; donating crypto; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers. All in the preparation National Association of Tax Professionals (https://blog.natptax.com/): A handy flowchart to let them see if they do, in fact, need a tax preparer. The Wandering Tax Pro (http://wanderingtaxpro.blogspot.com/): Regulation of paid preparers is again being discussed. Do … Read more
Tax professionals who have begun working on their clients’ tax returns this year are encountering a slight change in wording at the top of Form 1040 when it comes to declaring whether taxpayers bought or sold any cryptocurrency last year. The IRS decided to change the term from “virtual currency” to “digital asset” this year … Read more
The annual tax season now underway always presents an additional major task that’s usually ignored as Americans haul themselves across Uncle Sam’s deadline: How and why to buckle down and prepare yourself now for the same ritual next year. The year 2024 seems far down the road. But neglecting to review your income, spending and … Read more
