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Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Daniel Werfel is looking to build on the successes the agency has experienced with the first year of supplemental funding provided to the agency by the Inflation Reduction Act.


The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is seeing a "concerning" increase in state and federal payroll tax evasion and workers’ compensation fraud in the U.S. residential and commercial real estate construction industries.


NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins is hoping that collections notices from the Internal Revenue Service will resume in the coming months.


Taxpayers, by the 2024 filing season, will be able to digitally submit all correspondence, non-tax forms, and notice responses electronically to the Internal Revenue Service, the agency announced.

Additionally,"by Filing Season 2025, the IRS is committing to digitally process 100 percent of tax and information returns that are submitted by paper, as well as half of all paper correspondence, non-tax forms, and notice responses,"Department of the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said August 2, 2023. "It will also digitalize historical documents that are currently in storage at the IRS."


An IRS Notice provides a transition rule that generally allows taxpayers to claim the Code Sec. 25C energy efficient home improvement credit for home energy audits conducted in 2023 even if the auditor is not certified. The Notice also describes regulations the IRS intends to propose for qualified home energy audits.


The Internal Revenue Service will end, except in very limited circumstances, the practice of making unannounced visits to taxpayers’ homes and businesses."This change is effective immediately,"IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel said during a July 24, 2023, teleconference with reporters. Werfel said the change is being made in reaction to an increase in scam activity as well as for IRS employee safety."With a growth in scam artists, taxpayers are increasingly uncertain who was knocking on their doors," Werfel said. "For IRS employees, there were fears about their own personal safety on these visits. I also learned that these concerns were shared by our partners as the National Treasury Employees Union."


The IRS has released a revenue ruling providing additional guidance concerning receipt of cryptocurrency. If a cash-method taxpayer stakes cryptocurrency native to a proof-of-stake blockchain and receives additional units of cryptocurrency as rewards when validation occurs, the fair market value of the validation rewards received is included in the taxpayer's gross income in the tax year in which the taxpayer gains dominion and control over the validation rewards. The same is true if a taxpayer stakes cryptocurrency native to a proof-of-stake blockchain through a cryptocurrency exchange and receives additional units of cryptocurrency as rewards as a result of the validation


Problems with the Internal Revenue Service’s handling of the Employee Retention Tax Credit took center stage before a House committee hearing, with tax professionals airing issues they have experienced and ongoing concerns they have.


The IRS announced substantial progress in the ongoing effort related to the dubious Employee Retention Credit (ERCclaims. The IRS successfully cleared the backlog of valid ERCs. The period of eligibility for the credit for affected businesses is very limited, covering only between March 13, 2020, and December. 31, 2021. Under the current law, businesses can typically continue to file claims for the credit until April 15, 2025.


The Internal Revenue Service is looking for ways get its post-filing alternative dispute resolution programs greater exposure and use.

The agency recently issued a public call for comment on a variety of topics related to the use of ADR, including learning why taxpayers choose not to use ADR; issues that keep taxpayers from using ADR that should be changed to allow for inclusion; how best to improve ADR; how best to education about ADR; feedback on when ADR proved particularly useful; and ideas on how to achieve tax certainty or resolution sooner beyond existing ADR programs, including ideas for new programs.


National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins is reiterating her call for the Internal Revenue Service to stop automatically assessing penalties related to international information returns.


A new IRS ruling confirms that HRAs are entitled to significant tax breaks. Properly structured, they can provide a deduction for the business, tax-free benefits for employees, and more direct and personal control over health care costs…a classic "win-win" situation, compliments of the tax code.


U.S. Savings Bonds can be a relatively risk-free investment during time of upheaval in the stock market, such as we are experiencing now. There are two different types of savings bonds for tax purposes. The first includes Series EE bonds and Series I bonds. If you invest in these bonds, you have a choice of reporting interest as it accrues each year you hold the bond until you sell it or redeem it. A second category consists of a special type of savings bond, HH bonds, on which income generally must be reported as accrued.


Generally, if you do volunteer work for a charity, you are not entitled to deduct the cost of services you perform for the charity. However, if in connection with the volunteer work you incur out-of-pocket expenses, you may be entitled to deduct some of those expenses.


A pre-tax benefit can come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but usually can fit into one of two categories.


The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) allows individuals and businesses to make tax payments by telephone, personal computer or through the Internet.


Q: What tax deductions am I entitled to as an investor?

A: Certain investment-related expenses are deductible, others are specifically restricted. Still others won't get you a deduction, but you will be able to add them to your tax basis in the underlying investment, or net them from the amount you are otherwise considered to have received on its sale.


New IRS rules substantially simplify the computation of required minimum distributions (RMDs). In addition, Congress has forced the IRS to adopt new life expectancy tables that reflect longer life expectancies, resulting in distributions to be made over a longer time-period and for the RMD to be smaller than would have been required in previous years. You could realize some significant tax savings.

Making gifts is a useful, and often overlooked, tax strategy. However, when thinking about whether to make a gift, or gifts, to your children or other minors, the tax consequences must be evaluated very carefully. Many times, though, the tax consequences can be beneficial and lower your tax bill.


No use worrying. More than five million people every year have problems getting their refund checks so your situation is not uncommon. Nevertheless, you should be aware of the rules, and the steps to take if your refund doesn't arrive.

Is a property transfer to your child or other minor a possible event on your horizon? If it is, just don't cover yourself on the tax consequences of such transfers. There are important legal considerations over and above the transfer's tax impact.

Q: An extension to file my tax return seems such a painless procedure, is there any good reason for me not to postpone my filing deadline to avoid just one more hassle during the busy start of Spring?


Q. My husband and I have a housekeeper come in to clean once a week; and someone watches our children for about 10 hours over the course of each week to free up our time for chores. Are there any tax problems here that we are missing?


In the wake of the Enron collapse has come a new interest in the accounting profession and the spin on the news is often not too flattering. That's wrong. Accounting professionals play a very important role in our global economy but it's a role not too many people understand.

In a nutshell, auditors certify the accuracy of profits, losses, debts and other financial data reported by companies. They are hired by a company's board of directors - and the shareholders - to make sure that financial statements comply with federal law.


In 2009, individuals saving for retirement can take advantage of increased contribution limits for various retirement plans. More money can be socked away with tax advantages like tax-deferred growth and possible tax-deductibility.