The Tax Court held that a married couple’s old house, which they continued to use while trying to sell it, qualified as a principal residence, and therefore they did not meet the timing requirement to qualify for an $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit when they purchased a new house (Foster, 138
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Tax
Streamlined installment agreement program modified
The IRS Small Business/Self-Employed Division modified the maximum unpaid balance of assessment taxpayers must meet to qualify for its streamlined installment agreement program and extended the time for payment (SBSE 05-0112-013). The aggregate unpaid balance of assessment threshold has doubled, from $25,000 to $50,000. The timeframe for full payment has
Tax filing season resources—Tax year 2011
This is the one-stop shop for all the updates you need to know for this year’s tax filing season. Find resources from the Journal of Accountancy, plus tax return checklists and tax savings tips from the AICPA, categorized by tax topic. INDIVIDUAL TAX Tax season startsJan. 16, 2012Tuesday, Jan. 17,
New Form 990 has a few significant changes for 2011
The IRS posted the final 2011 Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax, and instructions on its website. Form 990 has become more and more complex as the role of nonprofit organizations has evolved in the United States. The latest version of the form contains a few significant
IRS: Tax preparers who want to prepare 2011 returns must renew PTINs
The IRS is sending information letters to tax return preparers who have not yet renewed their preparer tax identification numbers (PTINs) for the 2012 filing season. (The IRS system was, at this writing, not able to issue new PTINs.) The IRS started sending the letters last week and will continue
Statutory definition of specified notional principal contract extended through 2012
The IRS issued temporary and identical proposed regulations on dividend equivalents for purposes of Sec. 871(m) (T.D. 9572; REG-120282-10). The regulations provide guidance to nonresident aliens and foreign corporations that hold notional principal contracts providing for payments determined by reference to payments of dividends from sources within the United States.
IRS issues final regs on exclusion of damages for personal physical injury
The IRS on Friday issued final regulations relating to the exclusion from gross income for damages received on account of physical injuries or sickness (T.D. 9573). The regulations remove the requirement that damages received from a legal suit, action or settlement must be based on “tort or tort type rights”
Annual update on adequate disclosure of return positions issued
The IRS 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 (Rev. Proc. 2012-15). The IRS regularly releases
IRS issues regs on interest expense allocation and apportionment for partners
The IRS has issued temporary and identical proposed regulations that make four changes to the rules for allocating and apportioning interest expense for partners in partnerships (T.D. 9571; REG-113903-10). The first change is to the method for apportioning interest expense for corporate partners whose interest in the partnership is 10%
Tax season starts
Tuesday, Jan. 17, marks the start of tax season, as the IRS opens up its system to accept e-filed individual tax returns. It will also start accepting returns through its Free File program on Tuesday. Unlike last year, when the start of tax season was delayed for some taxpayers by
IRS gives transitional relief to Form 8937 filers
The IRS announced on Friday that, due to its late release of the required form, it will not impose penalties on issuers of stock who report incorrect 2011 information required under Sec. 6045B, as long as they make a good-faith effort to timely comply with the requirements (Notice 2012-11). The
Form debuts for Jan. 17 stock basis change reporting deadline
The IRS released new Form 8937, Report of Organizational Actions Affecting Basis of Securities, and its instructions. The deadline for filing the form for 2011 is next Tuesday, Jan. 17. Issuers of specified securities must file the form by that deadline to report organizational actions during 2011 that affect those
FAF releases “post-implementation review” of FIN 48
The Financial Accounting Foundation’s first formal “post-implementation review” of a FASB standard is complete with this morning’s report that FASB Interpretation no. (FIN) 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes, generally achieves its purpose. According to a FAF announcement, the review concluded that FIN 48 increases relevance and comparability in
Taxpayer advocate cites underfunding as cause of IRS’ most serious problems
The national taxpayer advocate, Nina Olson, in her annual report to Congress for 2011, cited the IRS’ lack of adequate funding, expanding workload and overreliance on automation as the most serious problems facing taxpayers. She said that, as a result, the IRS cannot adequately meet the needs of taxpayers, cannot
IRS PTIN system continues to accept 2011 renewals
The IRS online system to apply for a new preparer tax identification number (PTIN) is back up and running after a two-week hiatus for maintenance. In addition, the system is continuing to accept 2011 PTIN renewals even though the Dec. 31, 2011, renewal deadline has passed. The IRS has also
IRS announces third offshore voluntary disclosure program
In a press release trumpeting the successful collection of more than $4.4 billion in its 2009 and 2011 voluntary disclosure programs, the IRS announced it is starting its third program designed to help people hiding offshore accounts get current with their taxes in the U.S. (IR-2012-5). The new program, unlike
More-generous rules proposed for equitable innocent spouse relief
In response to court decisions and the IRS’ claim that its experience applying equitable relief has given it new insight, the IRS issued a proposed revenue procedure changing the way it will treat requests for equitable innocent spouse relief under Secs. 66(c) and 6015(f) (Notice 2012-8). The three most significant
The 20 most popular stories of 2011
We tallied the traffic on journalofaccountancy.com to determine 2011’s most popular JofA articles and news. Use the lists below to catch up on important news and professional developments you may have missed in the past year. Here are the most popular feature articles of 2011 from the JofA’s monthly print
IRS issues new guidance on W-2 reporting of health plan costs
The IRS released new guidance on the requirement that employers provide information to employees on the cost of employer-provided group health plan coverage (Notice 2012-9). The guidance comes in the form of 39 questions and answers. It supersedes Notice 2011-28 and makes changes to requirements that were issued in Notice
New tax provisions for 2012
With the ringing in of the new year, several new tax provisions took effect. While the list of new items does not compare with the number of tax provisions that expired at the end of 2011 (see “Many Tax Provisions Set to Expire at Year-End”), practitioners should be aware of
Features
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.
From The Tax Adviser
April 30, 2026
Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 2
April 30, 2026
