Tax News Briefs

Penalty Relief for 2019 and 2020 Tax Returns The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is providing relief for taxpayers from certain failure-to-file penalties with respect to tax returns for the ... TheTaxBook

Feature Article

There are a number of ways delinquent taxpayers (your clients) can potentially reduce their overall debt to the IRS. There is the offer in compromise (OIC), that oft-dangled carrot and so-called “pennies on the dollar” settlement that many tax resolution firms pitch to lure negligent taxpayers to their companies. There is an innocent spouse resolution that can prevent one member of marriage from being liable for a tax debt caused by h... Jim Coleman, EA

Feature Article

Your client operates a business that owes employment taxes to the IRS, and an IRS Revenue Officer has just called you and requested that your client come down to his office for a meeting to discuss the debt. You presume the Revenue Officer wants to discuss collection of the debt from the business, maybe requesting that your client complete a Form 433B, Collection Information Statement for Businesses. After all, the business owes the debt,... By HOWARD LEVY, JD

Feature Article

This issue of the EA Journal is all about ethics. Preparer penalties are often about a lack of ethics or a lack of due diligence. Here is one of the most comprehensive definitions of due diligence I have ever heard, given by my friend, fellow NAEA member, and NTPI Fellow, Conrad Mangapit, EA: Definition of Due Diligence – Part I A duty that paid tax professionals must perform to the best of their abilities in order... Kathy Morgan, EA