No award given in recent whistleblower case

Taxpayers who give the IRS Whistleblower Office (WBO) credible, specific tips about unpaid taxes may qualify for cash awards. Several conditions must be met, including: The IRS must take action based on a tip provided. Also, proceeds must be derived by the WBO based on the action taken. One tipster alleged that a tax-exempt entertainment […]

There’s still time to reduce your 2024 tax bill with these strategies

There’s still time to reduce your 2024 tax bill with these strategies – CNBC https://bit.ly/3AihVgw

Obtaining documents are a disaster

It’s common for individual and business taxpayers to lose financial records during a natural disaster. Unfortunately, you usually need such records to document losses for your insurance company and to qualify for federal assistance. But if you visit the IRS’s website (https://bit.ly/4dQ3XA7), you can view or obtain copies of your historical tax returns, wage and […]

More Disaster relief announced

Due to wildfire destruction, the IRS recently announced tax relief for certain parts of Arizona and Washington state. And, of course, the agency has issued several tax relief notices in recent days to assist victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton in seven southeastern states. In general, many 2024 filing and payment deadlines have been postponed […]

TIGTA issues report on IRS spending

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration recently issued a report on IRS spending under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). It found the IRS has spent nearly $6.9 billion of its approximately $57.8 billion in IRA funding through the third quarter of fiscal year 2024. Notably, the IRS has used supplemental IRA funding to fund […]

Will the R+D Credit be fixed?

For more than 70 years, the U.S. tax code allowed companies to currently deduct certain research and development (R&D) expenses. This benefitted manufacturers and businesses in other industries. However, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, since 2022, companies have had to amortize R&D costs over a period of years. Specifically, R&D expenses covered under […]

What is third-party representation?

If the IRS contacts you about a specific tax matter, you can authorize a third party to handle it on your behalf. It could be a relative, friend or a tax pro at our firm, as long as you grant formal permission. You can do this by assigning your power of attorney to a person […]

IRS warns on scam related to disasters

Americans are generous, especially when disasters strike. In the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricanes Milton and Helene, the IRS is cautioning taxpayers that this is a prime time for scammers to use fake charities to target the public. IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel warned that “Too often, criminals take advantage of would-be donors’ kindness […]

IRS updates on the processing of ERTC claims

What’s new with the IRS’s Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) investigations? The agency has announced that it’s currently processing approximately 400,000 ERTC claims. This batch includes eligible and ineligible claims, with the eligible claims having an estimated value of $10 billion. Those filers deemed eligible can expect to receive refund checks in the mail in […]

Tax Gap estimate update provided by the IRS

The “tax gap” is the difference between what the IRS estimates as the U.S. tax liability and the amount of tax that’s actually paid on time. Recently, the IRS announced its tax gap estimate for tax year (TY) 2022 is $606 billion, less than the TY 2021 estimated gap of $617 billion. A majority of […]