IRS practice & procedure

TOPICS / TAX

April 1, 2016

Damages awarded to taxpayers for IRS violation of bankruptcy stay

Sovereign immunity is not a protection, a bankruptcy court holds.

March 24, 2016

New Form 3115 is required, IRS announces

The IRS alerted the public that a new Form 3115, Application for Change in Accounting Method, has been issued with a revision date of December 2015, the first revision since 2009.

March 22, 2016

IRS launching competition to redesign taxpayer experience

Aimed at “reimagining the taxpayer experience of the future,” the IRS asked for participants to design a new way of presenting information to taxpayers that is understandable and useful to them.

March 8, 2016

Guidance extends certification deadlines for reinstated work opportunity tax credit

Because of the recent retroactive reinstatement of the work opportunity tax credit to the beginning of 2015 and the addition of the long-term unemployed to the list of qualified employees beginning Jan. 1, 2016, the IRS has extended the due date for required certifications.

March 1, 2016

Phishing scheme requests Form W-2 and other confidential employee information

The IRS reiterated that everyone has a responsibility to confirm people’s identities before responding to such a request.

March 1, 2016

Practitioner-client and work product doctrines preclude IRS summons

The Second Circuit overrules a district court’s restrictive interpretations of a “common legal interest” with a third party and documents prepared “in anticipation of litigation.”

February 29, 2016

Rules determine attorneys’ fees and costs for prevailing parties in IRS proceedings

Final regulations issued by the IRS govern the awarding of costs and attorneys’ fees to taxpayers who meet certain net worth requirements and who prevail in administrative or court proceedings against the IRS.

February 29, 2016

15 things you need to know when clients owe taxes to the IRS

Clients who owe need advice and potentially an alternative to paying the entire balance at once.

February 25, 2016

IRS LB&I unveils new audit procedures

The new examination process, which will be effective May 1, 2016, includes new procedures for refund claims while an examination is underway.

February 17, 2016

2016’s dirty dozen tax scams

The IRS released its annual list of the “dirty dozen” worst tax scams, starting with identity theft and winding up with frivolous tax arguments.

February 10, 2016

AICPA “fly-in” to D.C. seeks path toward a 21st century IRS

The “fly-in” was intended to highlight dissatisfaction by practitioners and taxpayers with the IRS’s admittedly unacceptable levels of service and CPAs’ potential role in improving the IRS in that and other ways.

February 10, 2016

IRS suffers another data breach

The IRS revealed that it discovered and stopped an automated cyberattack on its e-filing personal identification number (PIN) system last month.

February 8, 2016

Additional 2016 inflation adjustments released

The IRS issued inflation adjustments for the Sec. 179 expensing limits, the above-the-line deduction for eligible expenses of educators, and the deductible amount for van pool and transit expenses.

February 5, 2016

Maximum vehicle values for personal-use vehicles are issued

The IRS issued the 2016 inflation-adjusted amounts for the maximum vehicle values for purposes of determining the amount that is included in employees’ income for personal use of an employer-provided vehicle.

February 4, 2016

IRS restores e-filing services

The IRS’s tax return e-filing system was back in operation Thursday afternoon, a day after a computer hardware failure knocked out it and other IRS system services.

February 1, 2016

Let it snow (but to be sure, use an IRS-approved PDS)

The Tax Court sides with a taxpayer in holding that a snow day extended the time to file a petition.

February 1, 2016

Tax ID theft victims may obtain copies of fraudulent returns

In a policy reversal, the IRS will provide redacted copies of returns filed by identity thieves.

January 19, 2016

What CPAs need to know about new PPACA forms

This filing season, certain employers, as well as providers of minimum essential coverage, will have to meet significant information-reporting requirements.

January 6, 2016

IRS IP PIN notice contains wrong tax year for filing

The IRS warned that identity protection personal identification number (IP PIN) notices it has recently sent to victims of identity theft refer to the wrong tax year.

January 1, 2016

Missing signature means return is invalid

A joint federal income tax return unsigned by one spouse was not a valid tax return.

FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Tell a story with your documentation

Everyone loves a good story, including counsel, judges, and jurors. In the event of a professional liability claim, your documentation tells your story. The JofA’s Professional Liability Spotlight column recommends ways to make sure it is the story you want to tell.