Government shutdown avoided for another week

To avoid a government shutdown this Friday, Dec. 16, both houses of Congress voted on a one-week continuing resolution (CR) on Dec. 15. The CR will fund the government through Dec. 23. Passing it will allow House and Senate negotiators to continue to hash out the details of an omnibus spending bill. A “framework” for […]

Business Identity theft

The IRS is warning businesses that they’re prime targets for identity theft. How do you know if your company’s identity has been stolen? According to the IRS, you should investigate if you receive a: 1) rejection notice for an electronically filed tax return because a return is already on file, 2) notice about a return […]

CBO reports on recommended tax policy changes

New reports from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) assert that legislators must make significant policy changes to put the federal budget on a sustainable long-term path. The CBO estimates that the federal deficit will average 5.1% of GDP per year between 2023 and 2032, compared with an annual average over the past 50 years of […]

Advisory Council releases Public Report for 2022

The Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC) has released its Public Report for 2022, which includes recommendations to the IRS related to new and continuing issues in tax administration. According to the IRSAC, the report “emphasizes the need for consistent and multiyear funding for the IRS to achieve its goals of providing efficient, effective and […]

Prepare for the coming filing season

It’s been said that a little preparation can go a long way. This certainly applies toward taxes, specifically, the upcoming 2023 tax filing season. As year-end nears, it’s a good time to round up your 2022 tax records. The IRS says that taxpayers who have all their tax documentation gathered and organized are in the […]

Tax Court rules on mileage deduction claimed by taxpayer

Business owners can generally deduct their business-related vehicle expenses, but they bear the burden of proving they’re entitled to the deduction. Taxpayers must keep detailed contemporaneous records of each trip (the date, time, miles driven and business purpose), even if the standard mileage rate is claimed. In one U.S. Tax Court case, a married couple […]

Tax treaty signed with Croatia

The United States and Croatia have signed a first of its kind tax treaty, according to the U.S. Treasury Dept. Key provisions include elimination of withholding tax on cross-border dividend payments to pension funds and payments of interest; and reduction of withholding taxes on cross-border payments of dividends (other than those paid to pension funds), […]

Proposed regulations on syndicated conservation easements

In response to recent unfavorable court rulings, the IRS has issued new proposed regulations that define some syndicated conservation easements as “listed transactions,” or abusive tax shelters. The proposed regs are designed to clarify the need for partnerships to report such transactions to the IRS. The regs also aim to keep judicial rulings from interfering […]

Will the extenders pass?

The U.S. Congress is likely to try and “extend” several provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) due to expire Dec. 31, 2022. Extending certain tax items isn’t usually controversial, but party-line divisions and expiring TCJA provisions may make it tough to strike a deal this year. Democrats favor extending the expanded Child […]

TIGTA comments on selection of IRS NRP audits

Did the IRS target specific taxpayers for 2017 and 2019 in its National Research Program (NRP) audits, which are supposed to be random? Media reports in July 2022 suggested that the selection of tax returns of two former high-ranking FBI officials wasn’t random. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has determined there was […]