IRS

However, there’s a silver tax lining if the pool is needed by a family member to alleviate arthritis or some other specific illness. For a medically-necessary improvement made by a homeowner, the deductible amount is equal to the cost above the corresponding increase in the home's value. In addition, the annual maintenance costs associated with the pool — chlorine, repairs, utilities, cleaning services, etc. -- also qualify for the deduction. Note that the entire cost of a qualified improvements, plus the maintenance costs, is deductible by tenants.

The Internal Revenue Service has released the spring 2014 issue of the Statistics of Income Bulletin, which provides information on high-income individual income tax returns filed for tax year 2011.

The IRS isn’t backing off on its tough stance involving the “once-a-year-IRA rollover” rule. In the aftermath of a new case tightening the restriction for IRA owners (Bobrow, TC Memo 2014-21), it recently announced it intends the follow the Tax Court’s lead on this issue. However, showing some leniency, the IRS now says it won’t implement the new rule until 2015, providing clients with leeway for the rest of this year (Announcement 2014-15)

An income tax preparer in the Miami, Florida suburb of Plantation has pleaded guilty to filing $22 million in false refund claims with the federal government.

Internal Revenue Service investigators have charged a Northeast Portland woman of filing as many as 173 fraudulent tax returns claiming more than a $1 million in refunds.

Congress keeps threatening to close some of the long-standing loopholes in the tax law. But one key tax break for business people has remained on the books despite numerous efforts to repeal it. It’s the special tax provision for certain heavy-duty vehicles.

Employers can’t get around the Obamacare “shared responsibility” provision simply by giving employees tax-free cash to pay for health insurance from a state-run exchange. In effect, this would pump up a worker’s pay and dump them in the marketplace. According to a new question and answer (Q&A) posted on the IRS website, as initially reported by the New York Times on May 25, the agency authoritatively states that the scheme won’t be allowed.

The Internal Revenue Service says that more than 150,000 taxpayers used its new web-based system IRS Direct Pay to pay their tax bills or make estimated tax payments directly from checking or savings accounts without any fees or pre-registration.