IRS practice & procedure

TOPICS / TAX

March 23, 2021

Tax filing postponement doesn’t go far enough, AICPA says

The IRS has postponed individual returns’ due date to May 17, but June 15 remains a more appropriate date for many reasons, the AICPA says.

March 17, 2021

IRS postpones April 15 deadline

The IRS announced that it is postponing the April 15 deadline for individual tax returns and payments. The postponement applies only to individual taxpayers. Formal guidance is expected in the near future.

March 16, 2021

AICPA asks for guidance on S corp. and partnership PPP loan forgiveness

In a letter dated March 15, the AICPA asked for IRS guidance on how S corporations and partnerships should treat tax-exempt income from PPP loan forgiveness, especially when it occurs during a different tax period.

March 5, 2021

AICPA recommends Circular 230 changes

In response to a request for comments about planned revisions to Circular 230, Regulations Governing Practice Before the IRS, the AICPA sent a letter making recommendations to the director of the IRS’s Office of Professional Responsibility.

March 4, 2021

AICPA requests tax deadline postponements until June 15

In a letter, the AICPA asked the IRS to postpone until June 15, 2021, all 2020 federal income tax and information returns and payments (e.g., extension and estimated payments) originally due April 15, 2021.

February 24, 2021

AICPA seeks certainty on filing deadline and relief for 2020 tax year

The AICPA has written to Treasury and the IRS, calling for certainty about the April 15 tax filing and payment deadline and for underpayment and late-payment penalty relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.

February 1, 2021

Tax penalty relief amid the pandemic

Help clients establish COVID-19-related reasonable-cause defenses and abatement requests.

January 29, 2021

Beware of identity theft scam involving unemployment benefits

The IRS warned taxpayers that identity thieves are fraudulently claiming state unemployment benefits using stolen taxpayer identities. Here is what taxpayers should do if they receive a Form 1099-G reporting state unemployment benefits they did not receive.

January 20, 2021

IRS explains extended payroll tax due dates

The IRS issued updated procedures for the deferred employee portion of employment tax payments, which were further extended from April 30, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2021, by year-end legislation.

January 15, 2021

Tax filing season to start Feb. 12, IRS announces

The IRS announced that it will start accepting 2020 tax returns on Feb. 12, a later date than usual. The delay stems from programming changes needed to account for year-end tax legislation.

January 12, 2021

Final regs. govern deductibility of fines and penalties

The IRS issued final regulations on when fines and penalties paid to a government are not deductible by a taxpayer, including defining when a payment counts as restitution, which may be deductible.

January 1, 2021

Enlist an ally in TAS

The Taxpayer Advocate Service stands ready to assist taxpayers and their representatives.

January 1, 2021

Effect of delayed filings on statute of limitation

Assessment and refund time limits are clarified amid postponements caused by the pandemic.

December 27, 2020

PPP expense deductibility and forgiveness raises basis, other issues

The potential for the deductibility of PPP-funded expenses raises some practice questions, and traps for the unwary lurk in the details.

December 22, 2020

Circular 230 update planned for 2021

Updating the rules governing practice before the IRS is one of the goals of the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility for the new year, its director says.

December 21, 2020

IRS regs. govern misdirected refund claims

The IRS announced procedures for identifying and recovering direct deposit refunds that a taxpayer did not receive in the designated account.

December 15, 2020

Temporary e-signature authorization for IRS forms extended

The IRS announced that it was extending taxpayers’ ability to file a number of forms using electronic signatures due to the pandemic. The limited relief extends the authorization through June 30, 2021.

December 3, 2020

Expenses used for PPP loan forgiveness: Deductible or not?

Two experts look at the issue of the deductibility of expenses paid with PPP loan funds and conclude that they should be deductible.

December 2, 2020

IP PINs to be available to all individuals in 2021

The IRS announced that it would begin allowing all individual taxpayers to opt in to receive an identity protection personal identification number (IP PIN), beginning in mid-January 2021.

December 1, 2020

Missing IP PIN does not toll the limitation period

The IRS’s deficiency notice was untimely, the Tax Court holds.

FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

4 ways solo practitioners can stand out

Five years ago, a grieving Angel Zhen started his own CPA firm with no clients and no revenue. Today, he has 300 clients, $600,000 in revenue and 12 weeks of annual vacation. In this JofA article, he shares how he set up his firm and how you could do the same.