A “needs improvement” grade given to the IRS

Following a recent audit, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) basically issued a “needs improvement” grade to the IRS. TIGTA examined the agency’s compliance with legal restrictions on using records of tax enforcement results when evaluating employees. It found “instances of noncompliance,” including improper designation of workers, failure to maintain documentation and uneven […]

Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework

It’s no secret that some international criminals use cryptocurrency for illegal transactions and to evade tax authorities. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development recently proposed the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) to help the Group of 20 (G20) countries expose and stop these law breakers. The CARF is intended to bolster the existing common reporting […]

Increase in SS wage base

The Social Security (SS) “wage base” will increase to $160,200 for 2023, up from $147,000 for 2022. Wages and self-employment income above this threshold aren’t subject to SS tax. The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) imposes SS tax and a Medicare tax on employees, employers and the self-employed. There’s no threshold for Medicare tax. All […]

DOL proposes guidance on employee determination

The U.S. Dept. of Labor (DOL) has issued a proposed rule that revises earlier guidance on how to determine who’s an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The proposed rule would reduce the risk that employees are misclassified as independent contractors, while providing added certainty for businesses that engage with […]

SS Benefits increases 8.7% in 2023

Due to current high inflation rates, Social Security benefits will increase by 8.7% for 2023. The increase marks the largest annual increase in roughly four decades. This year’s increase tops last year’s 5.9% increase, which at the time was the largest increase in nearly 40 years. According to AARP, the so called “cost-of-living adjustment” will […]

Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The IRS recently warned the public of scams called “smishing” that use texts to steal personal information or download malicious code to a phone. The IRS states it will never contact you by text. Therefore, any text claiming to be from the IRS is a scam. You can help IRS […]

low income housing rules

The IRS issued guidance on Oct. 7 that makes several changes to the low-income housing tax credit rules. The changes include extended housing credit program deadlines and finalization of a rule that will make more-affordable housing developments financially viable. The new guidance “will have an immediate impact, allowing stalled housing developments to move forward at […]

RMD relief

The IRS is providing relief for taxpayers who didn’t take certain required minimum distributions (RMDs) from inherited IRAs and other plans. The relief under Notice 2022-53 is for taxpayers subject to the “10-year rule” who didn’t take RMDs in 2021 or 2022 but were required to do so. The SECURE Act requires that inherited plans […]

Conservation Easement Deduction in the News

When a partnership claimed a $9.5 million tax deduction after donating 106 acres to a Tennessee land conservancy, the IRS challenged it. Both the U.S. Tax Court and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals found in favor of the IRS, but the latter decision was split. This prompted the partnership to appeal to the U.S. […]

Backlog of Unprocessed tax returns update

The IRS has set a year-end deadline to clear its backlog of unprocessed tax returns. How’s it going? As of Sept. 30, there were 5.8 million individual returns outstanding (down from 8.7 million in August). Despite making progress, the IRS still faces challenges. The agency has hired 5,000 new workers at processing centers and the […]