Tax news April 2011

Tax

IRS turns up the audit heat again

The IRS is reporting that tax audits of individual taxpayers overall went up for the 2010 fiscal year. But that's not all. It appears that certain groups are being targeted.
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Tax

IRS gets serious about return preparer rules

The PTIN registration is the first step in a multi-year effort by the IRS to provide standards for and oversight of the tax preparation industry. Starting this fall, certain paid preparers will be required to pass a new competency test.
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Tax

Justice Department shuts down San Antonio tax preparation business

A federal court has barred Eddie Madrigal of San Antonio and his business, Madrigal Tax Express Inc., from preparing federal tax returns for others.
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Tax

Philly tax firm barred from claiming the First-Time-Homebuyer credit for customers

A federal court has barred a Philadelphia tax preparation firm and its owner from preparing federal tax returns claiming first-time-homebuyer tax credits and tax deductions for certain expenses.
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Tax

Senior executives ambivalent about prospects for corporate tax reform

Senior executives were split nearly 50/50 regarding the potential for reform in the corporate tax rate in the next two years, according to a survey by KPMG's Tax Governance Institute (TGI).
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Tax

One sixth of Americans will contribute to tax gap for 2010 tax year

On Monday, April 18, at 11:50 pm EDT, the U.S. tax filing deadline passed and estimates show that over 16 percent of Americans will have failed to file their 2010 federal tax returns, report their full income, or pay their full 2010 tax liability.
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Tax

1040 e-file disaster averted: How to meet the filing deadline when your tax return has been rejected

Procrastinators beware! Just because you e-filed your tax return before Midnight on April 18, that doesn't mean your tax return is timely filed.
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Tax

2009 hiatus on mandatory IRA withdrawals contributes to 2010 penalties

Some taxpayers who had arranged for the RMD to be automatically deposited into their checking accounts every December deactivated that service in 2009, when the withdrawal was not required. They're paying the price now in unexpected penalties.
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Tax

IRS commissioner proposes changes to the tax preparation process

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman says "looking back" has been the business model of the IRS since its inception in 1862, but dealing with taxpayer issues up-front is where the tax agency should be headed.
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Tax

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne at odds with the IRS

Not long ago they were one of the richest couples in the United Kingdom. Now Ozzy (real name John) and Sharon Osbourne are up to their eyeballs in tax trouble with Uncle Sam.
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A&A

Obama signs repeal of expanded 1099 requirements

On April 14, President Obama signed legislation that repeals both the expanded Form 1099 information reporting requirements and the 1099 reporting requirements imposed on taxpayers who receive rental income.
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Tax

Tax professor crowns national champion in 'April Madness' bracket

A cottage industry has sprung up around the bracket created for the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Syracuse University professor Robert Nassau decided to create his own "April Madness" bracket centered around the tax code.
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Tax

Short on cash? Last minute income tax payment options

Time is running out to pay income taxes by the Monday, April 18 deadline. The IRS has laid out the options for making payments with checks, credit cards, and e-funds.
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Tax

There's an app for that: Track refund status for your clients

The Internal Revenue Service wants to remind taxpayers to use new mobile phone applications launched this filing season to check the status of refunds and to get other tax information on the go.
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A&A

Mint.com adds home loans feature to help homeowners make financial decisions

To help people make better decisions about dealing with mortgage debt, online personal finance aide Mint.com has added a home loans feature that can help individuals reduce interest rates or lower monthly payments.
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Tax

Famous names go round two with the Taxman

Rapper Lil Wayne probably breathed a sigh of relief a few months ago when he settled his $1.13 million debt with the Internal Revenue Service. But compared to the new lien just filed for income earned in 2008 and 2009, that previous bill must seem small.
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Tax

Trump tax plan would have wiped out national debt

Several years ago, real estate tycoon and potential candidate for president in 2012, Donald Trump, proposed a tax plan that would have wiped out the multi-trillion dollar national debt, provided a tax cut to the middle class, and installed a safeguard to the Social Security system.
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Tax

'Bonus depreciation' and 'Eligible small business' are top tax researcher requests

Intuit ProLine Tax Research has provided AccountingWEB with the monthly results of its internal search engine, showing the most-searched words and phrases made by tax preparers in the month of March.
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Tax

IRS recognizes Japan disasters but warns taxpayers about non-deductibility of contributions

The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance that designates the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March, 2011 as a qualified disaster for federal tax purposes.
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Tax

Senate repeals 1099 provision; bill goes to President Obama for signature

The Senate voted on Tuesday, April 5, by a vote of 87 to 12, to repeal the provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that would have required businesses to file 1099 tax forms beginning in 2012 for all purchases over $600.
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Pages

Voice of the Editor

Even though any accounting auditor would tell you it seems like there are an awful lot of tax accountants out there, surely one-third of the country isn't made up of tax preparers, so it's rather startling news to learn that one-third of Americans like to do their taxes. Who knew?
Read more
Gail Perry, CPA
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, AccountingWEB
editor@accountingweb.com
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This Week on AccountingWEB

Bill Walter of Gross, Mendelsohn & Associates and Harold Gaar of TravisWolff LLP weigh in on mobile technology use while employees are at work.
WestArk RSVP and Fayette County Community Action Agency – organizations that received grant funding through the IRS Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program – spoke with AccountingWEB about how they assist senior citizens in their communities.
CPA Robert Raiola, who heads the Sports & Entertainment Group of Fazio, Mannuzza, Roche, Tankel, LaPilusa, LLC, talks NFL player income taxes with AccountingWEB.
Retiring KPMG Centennial Professor of Accounting at the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business Robert May, PhD talks with AccountingWEB about his rewarding forty-three-year career.
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