The IRS started accepting e-filed and Free File returns on Jan. 14, marking the official start of the 2011 tax filing season. However, many taxpayers will not be able to file until some time in February while the IRS updates forms and reprograms its systems to account for legislative changes
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Social Security “Do-Over” Now Limited
The Social Security Administration issued a final rule that limits beneficiaries’ ability to stop their Social Security retirement payments, repay their cumulative past benefits, and start receiving higher payments available to older applicants. The SSA said the restrictions were necessary to prevent abuse of the option, which has been called
International Greenhouse Gas Assurance Standard Proposed
The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) on Tuesday released a proposed standard to provide assurance on companies’ reporting of greenhouse gas emissions, a key component in sustainability reporting. The IAASB says the proposed International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3410, Assurance Engagements on Greenhouse Gas Statements, addresses the
Treasury Introduces Prepaid Debit Cards for Tax Refunds
The Treasury Department on Thursday announced a pilot program of prepaid debit cards to allow taxpayers without bank accounts to receive their tax refunds more quickly. The Visa debit cards will be available only to taxpayers who receive an offer letter from the Treasury Department. During the pilot program, the
IRS Oversight Board Releases Latest Taxpayer Attitude Survey Results
The IRS Oversight Board has released the results of its 2010 Taxpayer Attitude Survey showing that taxpayers feel that income tax cheating is unacceptable and are generally satisfied with their personal interaction with the IRS. The nine-member IRS Oversight Board was created by the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of
COSO Publishes New ERM Implementation Guidance
The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) on Tuesday released two new thought papers relating to enterprise risk management (ERM) and aimed at providing guidance to help organizations advance their ERM programs. The first thought paper, Embracing Enterprise Risk Management: Practical Approaches for Getting Started, describes how an
AICPA: Lease Proposal Fails to Address Application Issues
The AICPA’s Financial Reporting Executive Committee (FinREC) commented on FASB’s Proposed Accounting Standards Update, Leases. The exposure draft was developed jointly with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). FinREC said it supports the boards’ overall objective to develop a single approach to lease accounting and to require assets and liabilities
Automatic Procedures for Changing Accounting Methods Updated, Expanded
The IRS on Monday released updated procedures under which taxpayers can receive automatic consent to change their accounting methods (Revenue Procedure 2011-14). The revenue procedure updates prior guidance contained in Revenue Procedures 2008-52 and 2009-39 and gives additional accounting method changes for which taxpayers can obtain automatic consent. The revenue
PCAOB Gets New Chair, Members
The SEC has appointed James R. Doty PCAOB chairman and named Jay Hanson and Lewis Ferguson members of the board. Doty is a Washington-based securities lawyer and a former SEC general counsel. Ferguson, also a Washington securities lawyer, served for more than three years as the PCAOB’s first general counsel.
PTINs a Pain for Some CPAs
As the start of tax filing season looms, some CPA preparers are reporting difficulties meeting the new IRS requirement to register and obtain or renew a preparer tax identification number (PTIN). All paid tax return preparers, including CPAs, now must use a PTIN when signing all tax returns, forms or
Foreclosures Climb, But Overall Mortgage Performance Stable
Mortgage servicers reported a 31.2% jump in new foreclosures in the third quarter of 2010, but the nation’s mortgage portfolio showed some signs of stabilizing as the rate of serious delinquency dropped to its lowest point in five quarters, and the percentage of mortgages in good standing remained unchanged. The
Establish a College-Based Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) is an IRS program that provides free, reliable income tax return preparation to low- to moderate-income taxpayers. Many nonprofit organizations sponsor sites, including colleges and universities, which often integrate the program into teaching taxation to give students some practical experience. I was privileged to help
Featured Online Content for January 2011
FEATURED VIDEO Changes Ahead for the CPA Exam January marks the start of some of the biggest changes to the CPA exam since it moved from paper and pencil to computers. In this video, Colleen Conrad, past chair of the AICPA Board of Examiners, highlights some of the differences test
Board of education: Other client advisory board models
Editor’s note: Also read “Board of education: CPA firms, businesses can profit from clients’ advice,” in the Jan. 2012 issue of the JofA. The client advisory board model recommended by the PCPS is far from the only format used by CPA firms and other businesses. Buffalo, N.Y.-based Dopkins & Co.
Congressional Hot Tax Topics
This page tracks developments in five hot tax topics affecting taxpayers in 2010 and 2011 that Congress has had under consideration. On Dec. 17, President Barack Obama signed into law the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (HR 4853), which deals with four of the
IRS Exempts CPA-Supervised Nonsigners From New Preparer Rules
On Thursday, the IRS released guidance on the implementation of new regulations governing tax return preparers (Notice 2011-6), and provided an exception to its return preparer regulation plan for nonsigning preparers supervised by a CPA, attorney, enrolled agent or other Circular 230 practitioner. The notice also provides an exception for
IRS Updates Guidance on Adequate Disclosure of Positions
The IRS has released updated guidance identifying when a taxpayer’s disclosure of an item or position in an income tax return is adequate for purposes of reducing the understatement of tax penalty and the tax return preparer penalty for understatement due to unreasonable positions (Revenue Procedure 2011-13). The IRS regularly
Tax Law Changes Will Delay Start of Filing Season for Some Taxpayers
The IRS is warning taxpayers that it will not accept certain 2010 individual tax returns until mid- or late February due to tax law changes recently enacted by Congress (IR-2010-126). Taxpayers affected include all those who itemize deductions on Schedule A, as well as those who take certain recently extended
Seidman Named FASB Chairman
Leslie F. Seidman on Thursday was appointed chairman of FASB, effective immediately. Seidman, who had been acting chairman since the retirement of Robert H. Herz on Sept. 30, has been a FASB member since 2003. Her appointment comes as FASB deals with an unprecedented workload to complete priority convergence projects
IRS Releases 2011 Tax Tables and Other Inflation Adjustments
On Thursday, the IRS released the 2011 tax rate tables and other inflation adjustments, which it had been holding while waiting for Congress to resolve various tax issues (Revenue Procedure 2011-12). With the enactment of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (Tax Relief Act
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Tax Court upholds passport notice certification
The IRS issued a passport notice certification of a “seriously delinquent tax debt” of more than $1.6 million in trust fund recovery penalties.
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