IRS practice & procedure

TOPICS / TAX

August 28, 2020

Guidance issued on payroll tax deferral

The IRS issued guidance on the payroll tax deferral ordered by President Donald Trump on Aug. 8. The notice requires employers to withhold deferred taxes during the period from Jan. 1 to April 30, 2021.

August 27, 2020

Tools to help nonfilers receive economic impact payments

The IRS provided information and tools that tax practitioners can use to inform individuals who are eligible to receive economic impact payments but did not receive one automatically.

August 24, 2020

IRS stops sending balance-due notices, corrects payroll tax penalties

The IRS has stopped sending balance-due notices to taxpayers as it works to process its backlog of unopened mail. It is also working to correct certain erroneous penalties for some employers who reduced their payroll tax deposits to claim COVID-19 relief-related credits.

August 18, 2020

IRS begins accepting e-filing of amended individual tax returns

The IRS said it had launched its eagerly awaited program to accept Forms 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, electronically.

August 17, 2020

IRS posts information about check processing backlog and incorrect notices

As the IRS works through its backlog of correspondence, it has posted information about checks it hasn’t cashed yet and notices that went out with incorrect dates.

August 4, 2020

TIGTA critiques IRS’s protection of taxpayer data

The IRS continues to have challenges protecting taxpayer data, and especially ensuring that its various applications provide complete and accurate audit trails, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

August 1, 2020

Offside penalty — IRS

To win a client’s tax case, it helps to know the IRS’s rulebook.

August 1, 2020

Supervisory approval of penalties

Federal courts continue to clarify the contours of the Sec. 6751(b) managerial approval requirements for certain penalty assessments.

July 30, 2020

IRS to allow faxing of automatic method change requests

The IRS announced that, beginning Friday, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, it is temporarily accepting duplicate copies of Form 3115, Application for Change in Accounting Method, sent by fax instead of mail.

July 17, 2020

IRS updates annual Dirty Dozen tax schemes for 2020

The IRS issued its top 12 “Dirty Dozen” tax scams, warning people to be vigilant to avoid these schemes all year round. New to the list is the “offer in compromise mills.”

July 16, 2020

IRS reinstates PTIN user fees

The IRS said it would once again begin charging fees to issue preparer tax identification numbers (PTINs) to tax return preparers for 2021. The fee was reduced in response to court cases that challenged the IRS’s authority to charge a fee.

June 30, 2020

IRS will not postpone July 15 deadline

The IRS announced that it will not further postpone federal tax filing and payment deadlines beyond July 15.

June 8, 2020

AICPA recommends changes to e-signature requirements

In a letter to the IRS, the AICPA asked the IRS to permanently amend its electronic signature procedures to make it easier for taxpayers and practitioners to e-file all types of returns.

June 1, 2020

Taxpayers’ petition to the Tax Court was untimely

A USPS postmark trumps a non-USPS postmark when a mailing has both.

May 28, 2020

E-filing of Form 1040-X coming this summer

The IRS announced that taxpayers will be able to electronically file Forms 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, later this summer.

May 18, 2020

IRS mobilizing 3,500 phone operators to answer stimulus questions

With many taxpayers still having problems using the Internal Revenue Service’s “Get My Payment” website, the IRS announced that it is mobilizing 3,500 telephone representatives to answer some of the most common questions about economic impact payments.

May 15, 2020