IRS Whistleblower Office

Taxpayers who give the IRS Whistleblower Office (WBO) information may get cash awards. To be eligible, tips must be credible, specific, relate to tax underpayments or tax law violations, and lead to collection of proceeds exceeding $2 million. One tipster submitted claims relating to seven taxpayers, alleging that each may have failed to report income […]

The IRS National Research Program

The IRS National Research Program (NRP) randomly selects tax returns for audits in order to collect information about noncompliance. To pick returns for audit, the NRP employs artificial intelligence (AI). But a recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said the process lacks transparency. One example cited is the random selection of returns […]

Surprise audits are proven to fight fraud

Four antifraud controls are associated with at least a 50% reduction in both fraud loss and duration, according to “Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations” published by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). They are financial statement audits, reporting hotlines, surprise audits and proactive data analysis. However, the ACFE study also found […]

Tax Debt in Bankruptcy

Under certain conditions, taxpayers who file for bankruptcy may be able to discharge some federal tax debt, but not necessarily all of it. Influencing factors include the age and type of the tax debt and when the taxpayer filed tax returns. At one bankruptcy proceeding that later led to litigation, the taxpayer and IRS entered […]

Can your business survive a disaster?

Happy Father’s Day

“Good dads forgive your mistakes. Great dads help you hide them from mom.” —Bill Gray Wishing you a safe and happy Father’s Day!

IRA offers contractors a tax credit for energy-efficient homes

Under the Inflation Reduction Act, construction contractors who build or rehab energy-efficient homes may be eligible for a federal tax credit of up to $5,000 per project. A home must be a U.S. single-family dwelling that’s purchased or rented for use as a residence. It also must be certified to meet energy-saving requirements before it’s […]

Uploads to the IRS hits the one million mark

The IRS’s Document Upload Tool (DUT) has now surpassed one million submissions since it launched in 2021. During the first six months of fiscal year 2024, more than 265,000 taxpayers used the tool. The DUT offers taxpayers and tax professionals the option to respond digitally to eligible IRS notices by securely uploading required documents online […]

The Child Care for American Families Act introduced

The U.S. House of Representatives has introduced a bipartisan bill that would increase the amount of the Section 45F tax credit a business can claim for investing in eligible childcare services for its employees. Dubbed the “Child Care for American Families Act,” the bill places special emphasis on small businesses and those located in low-income […]

Federal regulators expand overtime pay requirements, ban most noncompete agreements

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new final rule regarding the salary threshold for determining whether employees are exempt from federal overtime pay requirements. The threshold is slated to jump 65% from its current level by 2025 and is expected to make four million additional workers eligible for overtime pay. On the same […]