IRS Updates

  • IRS Announces Contracts with Debt Collectors

    Taxpayers now know the private firms that could come calling to collect tax debt after September 23, 2021. This latest announcement from the Internal Revenue Service marks the fifth year the agency has used private debt collectors for overdue taxes. Which private collection agencies received a contract from the IRS? The IRS says that three…

  • Work Opportunity Credit Helps to Counter Hiring Crunch

    The American job market is a changing landscape these days. A year ago, the big push was to retain workers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the need is to find new workers to staff a growing economy. To help do just that, the Internal Revenue Service points to the work opportunity tax…

  • IRS Issues Extension Deadline Reminder

    This time of year, filing our income taxes may not top the other concerns of the day. Fall weather, school days and football all tend to take center stage. That said, we could all probably use a reminder that if a taxpayer filed an extension back in May, their income tax return is due in…

  • Employee or Independent Contractor?

    Choose wisely; that’s the message from the Internal Revenue Service to business owners when it comes to deciding whether people who provide services to the company are employees or independent contractors. Generally, anyone is considered an employee if they provide services to a company, with the company controlling what is to be done and how.…

  • IRS Announces Tax Relief for Pennsylvania

    Parts of Pennsylvania have been added to the list of locations eligible for tax relief measures in the wake of Hurricane Ida. The Internal Revenue Service has now extended various tax deadlines until Jan. 3, 2022, for six counties in Pennsylvania, joining specified counties in Louisiana, New York and New Jersey previously announced as eligible…

  • Employee Retention Credit Gets More Guidance

    As more employers utilize the employee retention credit to keep their workers employed—and as the pandemic continues to be a factor in American business—the Internal Revenue Service continues to issue guidance on who qualifies for the credit and how best to apply it. The latest round of guidance from the IRS includes clarification for employers…

  • Is This Text Really From the IRS?

    Impersonating the Internal Revenue Service is big business for identity thieves. These phishing scams often combine fear of the agency with urgency (and threats), and those who fall for them can soon find their information or money stolen. That’s why the IRS this week highlighted how they communicate with taxpayers.   Generally, the IRS provides…

  • IRS Announces August Child Tax Credit Payments Now Being Issued

    The Internal Revenue Service says millions of families across the U.S. should see their advance payment of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in their bank accounts or mailboxes any day now. This payment is the second in a series of advance monthly payments. The August payment goes out to some 36 million families and is…

  • New Guidance Aimed at Employers Claiming Employee Retention Credit

    New guidance from the Internal Revenue Service aims to help employers better understand the employee retention credit—and how they can qualify for it. The new guidance spotlights employers who pay qualified wages after June 30 of this year and before Jan. 1 of 2022. Additional guidance tries to answer various miscellaneous questions around the credit…

  • Truckers Reminded Highway Use Tax Due Aug. 31

    Long-haul truckers now have an extra chore on their August to-do list, right up there with an oil change and a truck wash. It’s time to file Form 2290, Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax Return for Tax Year 2021. Form 2290 is required of those who have registered—or who are required to register—large trucks, buses…