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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

IRS offers some users of syndicated conservation easements a settlement

Some taxpayers that participated in syndicated conservation easements (SCEs) and are currently under IRS audit may have a chance to settle. The IRS has sent letters with offers that include settlement details and timelines. The offers require income tax and penalty concessions. If letter recipients refuse the offers, they’ll continue to be audited by the […]

FinCEN cuts US Banking ties to Iraq’s Al-Huda Bank

U.S. financial institutions generally are prohibited from doing business with foreign institutions that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has named as conduits for terrorist financing. FinCEN recently severed ties with Iraq’s Al-Huda Bank because investigators found it had used access to U.S. dollars to support terrorists. Also, the bank’s chairman was determined to have […]

National Taxpayer Advocate Issues reports on filing season

National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins recently issued to Congress her mid-year report assessing the current state of the IRS. In a nutshell, the report says that the tax filing season “generally ran smoothly” this year. However, it also flagged some challenges. They include delays in issuing refunds to identity theft victims, providing misleading information […]