IRS
Child Care Credit for Summer
The IRS wants parents to know that school may be out in June, but the child care credit is a year-round benefit, according to a Special Edition Tax Tip. Below is a summary of the key provisions; more information is available in the tip itself and in its additional resources list.
- You must pay for care so you and your spouse can work or actively look for work. Being a fulltime student is considered "working" under this definition.
Do-It-Yourself E-Filing
E-filing continues to grow in popularity, according to a release from the IRS. So far in 2013, more than 43 million people have self-prepared and e-filed their tax returns from home—an increase of more than 4 percent over last year. Tax professional e-filing increased by a smaller amount: 0.1 percent. Total e-filing was up 1.7 percent.
Cure for the Summertime (Tax) Blues
In the old Eddie Cochran rockabilly song, Summertime Blues, a teenager sings about how much he hates having to work during summer vacation. The IRS is showing a little sympathy, with some advice in a recent Tax Tip that makes summertime employment taxes easier to understand and manage for newbie employees. CPAs whose clients have teenagers should feel free to share the guidance.
Someone Had to Leave the IRS
Scandals in Washington are nothing new, and the need to have someone to blame isn't new either. But just who is going to take the heat for the accusations that the IRS gave inappropriately intense scrutiny to conservative groups? You can't fire the commissioner, because the IRS hasn't had an appointed commissioner since Doug Shulman resigned last November. No problem: you can always ask the acting commissioner to leave.
Colleges Flunk IRS Compliance
After an exhaustive investigation into college and universities' compliance with regulations governing nonprofit entities, the IRS has released its final report, showing that many institutions of higher learning had done things such as reporting certain losses as connected to unrelated business activities when they were not, making errors in net operating loss calculations, and in apprpriately misclassifying certain activities as exempt or otherwise non reportable on the Form 990.
Tell the IRS What to Do
The IRS is looking for new members for its Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC), according to a recent announcement. The council's purpose, according to the IRS, is to provide a forum for IRS officials and representatives of the public to discuss tax administration issues and submit an annual report to the commissioner.
For the IRS, It's Tax Season Again
If April 15 is the end of one tax season, April 16 is the beginning of the next. The IRS is already getting a start, with its recently posted "Tips to Start Planning Next Year's Tax Return. " Although the items are probably obvious to tax professionals, it may be a good idea to share them with clients, to make sure 2014 goes as smoothly as possible.
For Some, It's Time for Refund Offsets
For most taxpayers, tax filing is done and many are waiting for refunds to come back or are already spending or investing the money. But for some, there may be an unpleasant surprise. Yes, the IRS agrees you're owed the refund, but some other government agency has other plans for it.
IRS to Furlough All Its Employees
Government Employers Get ACA Forum
The IRS is hosting a phone forum: “ACA Provisions: What you need to know!” aimed especially at federal, state and local government employers and payroll and benefits administrators. The hour-long event will cover what's included in the cost of coverage and the application, calculation and reporting of the additional Medicare tax.