Tax Laws

  • IRS Releases Final Rule on Net Investment Income Tax Under the ACA

    The IRS has released final regulations under section 1411 of the Internal Revenue Code to provide guidance on the general application of the Net Investment Income Tax and the computation of Net Investment Income. The regulations affect individuals, estates, and trusts whose incomes meet certain income thresholds.  The tax does not apply to a nonresident…

  • IRS Issues Rules on Additional Medicare Tax

    After receiving limited input during the required comment period, the Internal Revenue Services has issued the final regulations relating to Additional Hospital Insurance Tax on income above threshold amounts (“Additional Medicare Tax”), as added by the Affordable Care Act. 

  • Report: IRS Develops ACA Health Care Premium Tax Credit System

    The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has completed development and testing of software to calculate the Advanced Premium Tax Credit and the Remainder Benchmark Household Contribution (RBHC) which is the household’s contribution towards the monthly insurance premium.  In a report on the system, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) concludes that the IRS now…

  • Accounting Fraud and Waste Is Standard Procedure at the Pentagon

    The Pentagon routinely commits accounting fraud in order to balance its books with the U.S. Treasury’s, according to a new report from Reuters. The practice, which apparently has been standard procedure for decades, effectively conceals billions of dollars in waste and fraud from prying American eyes. 

  • The IRS Did Not Properly Implement Law Penalizing Erroneous Refunds

    WASHINGTON – By incorrectly interpreting Federal law, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) significantly limited the number of erroneous tax refunds and improper tax credit claims on which it could assess penalties, according to a study released publicly today by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act…

  • 3 ways to speed up your tax refund, despite IRS delays

     (From CBS News MoneyWatch) While the CBS news item is aimed at consumers, professional tax preparers may want to note these tips to advise their clients.  People who file their tax returns early in order to get their refunds sooner will have to wait a few extra weeks. The IRS announced this week that it…

  • Fast Track Settlement Program Now Available Nationwide

    IR-2013-88, Nov. 6, 2013  The Internal Revenue Service today announced the nationwide rollout of a streamlined program designed to enable small businesses under audit to more quickly settle their differences with the IRS. 

  • IRS Contractor Employees Owe Millions in Tax Debts

    A report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration points out that the IRS’s own employees and contract employees are required under the Internal Revenue Manual to pay any federal tax debts and file their taxes on time, but employees of IRS contractors are not held to the same standards.  So notes Accounting Today. …

  • IRS Releases Details on PTIN Holders

    The Return Preparer Office of the IRS has released details on the professional credentials of those who currently hold Preparer Tax Identification Numbers. Just over 690,000 people hold PTINs, which are required of all paid tax preparers. By far the largest professional group among them are CPAs, with 214,267 PTINs. Enrolled Agents follow with 46,795…

  • IRS Rides 1884 ‘dead horse’ Law to Defense of Tax Preparer Rules

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration defended its effort to regulate the tax return preparation business for the first time in US history, basing its case largely on a 19th century law dealing with horses lost or killed in the Civil War, according to Reuters.