After a brief debate on Sunday, leaders of the House of Representatives indicated that they would not take up the Senate bill approved last week by a vote of 93 to 2 extending expiring tax breaks for individuals and businesses and a temporary "patch" for the alternative minimum tax (AMT), before the end of the year. The two houses of Congress are deadlocked over tax policy, with fiscal conservatives in the House requiring revenue offsets for the approximately $60 billion in extensions and the AMT "patch" under their "paygo" rules.

Colleges and universities may need to use a new tax form as part of a broad examination of how universities manage their money.Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) has asked the IRS and Treasury officials to create a form specifically for colleges and universities rather than using Form 990 which is designed for all tax-exempt organizations.The new form would require information about student populations, finances, executive compensation, and endowments.

The U.S. Senate Tuesday voted to approve a one-year AMT Patch, and extend expired and expiring tax credits for individuals and businesses. The Senate bill will also extend energy tax breaks. The measure will return to the House this week where legislators will reconsider the requirements for revenue offsets in the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and extenders bills already passed in the House. The Senate bill does not contain any revenue measures to offset the expected cost of the AMT patch and calls for only partial offsets to the costs of other tax credit extensions.

The tax woes of New York Congressman, Charles B. Rangel (Democrat, 15th district) differ, depending on who does the telling. The IRS says he failed to report rental income of more than $75,000 over a period of 20 years. Rangel – the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee* and chief tax-writer in Congress – says he didn't know that the money he received for the use of his luxury condo in the Dominican Republic was taxable income. And his attorney says Rangel is just learning of all these errors. The facts of the case continue to roll out almost daily.

Taxpayers will benefit next year from the indexing of many features of the tax code, according to CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business and provider of tax, accounting, and audit information, software, and services, which has released estimated income ranges for each 2009 tax bracket.Indexing for inflation has become a settled part of our tax system, according to George Jones, JD, CCH senior federal tax analyst."While some tax cuts in recent years are only temporary, and are scheduled to be followed by increases down the line, indexing works year after year, and it's likely to be a part of the

Troubled that the U.S. Congress has still not renewed the research and development (R&D) tax credit that expired last December, more than 3,400 American R&D workers from industries such as manufacturing, information technology, biotech, and healthcare representing 123 companies and 43 states have sent a letter to lawmakers urging them to reinstate the credit that drives billions of dollars in domestic economic activity.The workers, citing concerns that the lapsed R&D credit places their jobs at risk, called on Congress to work in a bipartisan manner to support this tax incentive.

When a taxpayer exchanges (under Section 1031) their relinquished property after October 18th, they will have less than 180 days in which to close on the purchase of their replacement property - UNLESS the taxpayer obtains an extension for filing their income tax return. This is very important, because the deadline for completing the taxpayer's exchange is the earlier of 180 days from the closing of the relinquished property, or the due date of filing the tax return, including any extensions therein.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has publicly released its review of the impact that Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs) have on taxpayers.The report, titled Many Taxpayers Who Obtain Refund Anticipation Loans Could Benefit From Free Tax Preparation Services, was based on a survey of 250 taxpayers whose Internal Revenue Service (IRS) records indicated they had received a RAL.

The Internal Revenue Service is providing tax relief to victims of Hurricane Gustav in affected areas of Louisiana.The IRS is postponing until Jan. 5, 2009 deadlines for taxpayers who reside or have a business in the disaster area. The postponement applies to return filing, tax payment and other time-sensitive acts otherwise due between Sept. 1, 2008 and Jan. 5, 2009. This includes:Individual estimated tax payments due Sept. 15, 2008.Corporate extended 1120 tax returns due Sept. 15, 2008.Individual extended 1040 tax returns due Oct.