IRS

Fudge a few numbers on a tax return? It's illegal and could set a taxpayer up for some serious fines and penalties but ... 14 percent of Americans say it's not a big deal. Yet at the same time, a vast majority think tax preparer standards of competency are highly important.

The Internal Revenue Service has released its Criminal Investigation (CI) Annual Report for fiscal year 2013, reflecting significant increases in enforcement actions against tax criminals and a robust rise in convictions, including identity theft.

According to a new federal court of appeals case, the IRS doesn’t have the authority to regulate tax return preparers who routinely file returns on behalf of taxpayers.

The Internal Revenue Service today issued its annual “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams, reminding taxpayers to use caution during tax season to protect themselves against a wide range of schemes ranging from identity theft to return preparer fraud.

Between Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 and FY 2013, the IRS has averaged approximately 3,500 criminal referrals a year, a staggering 38.4% increase from the years in which George W. Bush inhabited the White House.

At the risk of being criticized as unromantic (a label often used for us male CPAs), I want to offer one tip for those about to say “I do” this Valentine’s Day

The Internal Revenue Service is reminding taxpayers that phone calls to the agency's support center usually start to dramatically increase following the President's Day holiday, which is this weekend. There are other options for taxpayers who have questions, of course, starting with using a tax professional such as a CPA or Enrolled Agent.

There’s so much nifty tax preparation software out there these days. Don’t you just love the software that allows us to import W-2 data, stock sales data, QuickBooks data, etc.? With all those tools, we barely even have to look at our clients’ documents. But we should!