WBO reports on cash award to whistleblowers

Taxpayers who give the IRS Whistleblower Office (WBO) credible information about unpaid taxes may qualify for cash awards. The program has been around for a long time in some form. According to a recent WBO report, the number of awards shrank a bit in fiscal year 2023 from FY 2022, but the dollar value more […]

What you need to know about the NIIT

A reminder from the IRS concerning marijuana

The IRS is reminding the public that, for the time being, marijuana remains a Schedule 1 controlled substance. Although the U.S. Justice Dept. published a notice of proposed rulemaking with the Federal Register on May 21, 2024 to initiate formal rescheduling of marijuana, no final rule has been published. Until that happens, businesses that sell […]

IRS and US Treasury propose regulations for recapture of inaccurate COVID claims

Many businesses received financial help from the government during the pandemic, but there was also a lot of fraud. The IRS and U.S. Treasury Dept. have proposed regulations that will allow them to recapture funds that were inaccurately refunded to employers for COVID tax credits. Employers may be affected if they claimed the paid sick […]

Will some type of tax advantaged universal savings account come to the US?

Some type of universal savings account is currently available in the United Kingdom and Canada, and the concept is very popular. Could this savings vehicle be coming to the United States? The Cato Institute, in a mid-June report, urged Congress to create a universal savings account where “income saved in the account would be taxed […]

Hiring your child to work at your business this summer

With school out, you might be hiring your child to work at your company. In addition to giving your son or daughter some business knowledge, you and your child could reap some tax advantages. Benefits for your child There are special tax breaks for hiring your offspring if you operate your business as one of […]

IRS issued final regulations on stock repurchase excise tax

The IRS issued final regulations on how to report and pay the 1% excise tax owed on corporate stock repurchases. The excise tax is equal to 1% of the aggregate fair market value of stock repurchased by certain corporations during the taxable year. The final regs affect publicly traded domestic corporations that repurchase their stock […]

FTC warns on summer job scams

School’s out for the summer, and many college students are hoping to earn money. That makes them a prime target for job scams, warns the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Scammers post ads for virtual jobs that may appear to be posted by the student’s college or a local business. That generally means applying online and […]

The tax consequences of selling mutual funds

Do you invest in mutual funds or are you interested in putting some money into them? If so, you’re part of a large group. According to the Investment Company Institute, 116 million individual U.S. investors owned mutual funds in 2023. But despite their widespread use, the tax rules involved in selling mutual fund shares can […]

TIGTA reports on the IRS goal of focusing on high-income taxpayers

Has the IRS changed its focus on auditing high-income taxpayers? The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) recently looked. In 2020, the U.S. Treasury set a goal to audit at least 8% of individual returns filed each year with incomes exceeding $10 million. The IRS later modified that approach, stating that most of those […]