IRS

The Internal Revenue Service has announced that its Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT) will hold a public meeting on June 11, when the panel will submit its annual reports and recommendations to senior IRS executives. Ten newly appointed members of the panel (listed below) will also be introduced at the public meeting. They will begin two-year terms and join 10 returning members.

The nation's largest professional association for accounting professionals, the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), has come out opposed to the new voluntary tax return preparer regulation program that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is planning.

As trusted financial advisors to millions of Americans and businesses, accounting firms are uniquely positioned to provide their clients with information and services regarding the Affordable Care Act. Thomson Reuters is offering a new solution to help firms market their expertise to clients and has released a tax act overview and monthly client marketing newsletter focused on the Affordable Care Act.

For many years, states and local governments have been trying to rein in unlicensed income tax preparers, and the Internal Revenue Service joined a few years ago with the idea of a national testing and regulatory system that the agency would oversee. So, it created one.

For many farmers, harvest time comes at the end of the summer. The same thing is true for your clients who are active traders in the stock market. But you must caution them that the tax landscape has changed in recent years.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is one of the most widely-used credits by U.S. taxpayers, it's also often mis-used and even thought the Internal Revenue Service has been scolded for its poor management of the EITC, the agency is still lacking.

Are your clients making plans to send their kids off to camp this summer? Depending on the arrangements, they may be entitled to claim a healthy tax credit – the dependent care credit (also known as the “child care credit” ) – for the daily expenses. However, there are no tax benefits available for overnight camps or other personal expenses.

After several years of head-scratching, the IRS has finally offered guidance on the tax treatment for virtual currencies like Bitcoin (IRS Notice 2014-21). In brief, taxpayers have been advised to treat Bitcoin as property for U.S. tax purposes. But accountants, particularly those with small business clients, are still struggling to get a better handle on how this will work in real-life situations.