CPA tax preparers take stock of an indispensable tool of the trade.
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Tax
2020 tax software survey: Shares of respondents and product and company information
Bonus: The percentages for all 13 products, including a breakdown of their usage among firms ranked by ranges of numbers of preparers, in the 2020 tax software survey.
IRS temporarily allows e-signatures on some forms
The IRS identified a dozen forms for which is will accept e-signatures for the rest of the year. The forms covered include Form 8879, IRS e-file Signature Authorization, used for e-filing individual income tax returns.
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.
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.
Final regs. address new dividends received deduction and reporting rules
The IRS finalized regulations and withdrew temporary regulations on the Sec. 245A dividend rules, as well as Sec. 954 and the reporting requirements for those new rules under Sec. 6038, which were all amended by the law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
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.
Teleworking and state and local taxes
This episode explores the huge implications for state and local taxes raised by workers more often untethered from the employer’s physical location, sometimes in another state. And now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, remote teleworking has become the rule for many professions.
Implementing the payroll tax deferral
We explore the range of issues that Treasury and the IRS face as they implement this order and what it all could mean for employers and employees.
Proposed regs. govern qualified plan loan rollovers
The IRS issued proposed regulations explaining the extended rollover period that applies to qualified plan loan offsets after the rules were amended by the law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
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.
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.
AICPA requests guidance on payroll tax deferral
The AICPA has asked Treasury and the IRS for guidance on the recently announced executive order that defers some employee payroll taxes that would be due between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31.
Final regs. issued on payments to charitable organizations
The IRS issued additional final regulations on payments made to charitable organizations in lieu of state and local tax credits.
Executive action delays workers’ payroll tax payments
President Donald Trump issued presidential memorandum to defer the withholding, deposit, and payment of certain payroll taxes paid from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31, 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).
AICPA continues to ask Congress to include PPP deductibility in upcoming legislation
In a letter dated Aug. 4, 2020, the AICPA joined over 170 organizations to urge Congress to “include a technical correction addressing the tax treatment of loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)” in its next round of legislation addressing the coronavirus pandemic.
Proposed rules govern carried interests
The Irs issued proposed regulations under Sec. 1061, enacted by the law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which requires owners of certain partnership interests to hold them for three years to be eligible for capital gain treatment.
Tax Court denies deduction for conservation easement
The deed fails to protect conservation purposes in perpetuity, the court finds; a divided opinion holds the extinguishment regulation is valid.
Line items
State law applied in lieu of Bob Richards rule … Amended returns to join the electronic age … Midyear cafeteria plan changes allowed
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