News

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) president and CEO, Mark Koziel, CPA, CGMA, released the following statement highlighting the need for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to have the ability to meet the needs of taxpayers and tax preparers during this filing season: “For many years, one of the top priorities at the AICPA has been to promote efforts that ensure the IRS has the appropriate resources to meet the needs of taxpayers and preparers. Our goal is to support taxpayers and our members during times of uncertainty and to provide guidance to help navigate any changes that may affect critical, time-sensitive interactions with the IRS. “Many are concerned with potential challenges that could arise from recent changes throughout government. While there is a lot of speculation and many unknowns, the AICPA is actively monitoring the situation and engaging with IRS leadership and other key stakeholders to understand and mitigate the impact of these changes on IRS services. “IRS service levels and modernization efforts have seen progress since the COVID-19 pandemic and we are committed to seeing those efforts continue. Americans deserve a fully functioning agency that can be respected by taxpayers and their preparers, thereby allowing them to comply with their tax obligations.”

The United States Senate Committee on Finance has released a bipartisan discussion draft that will help to improve Internal Revenue Service administration - the AICPA has endorsed numerous provisions in this draft. Many of the provisions that the AICPA and state societies have long advocated for have been included in this discussion draft.

IRS quarterly update to the Strategic Operating Plan news release IR-2024-310: IRS recovers billions in tax, financial criminal cases focused on drug trafficking, terrorist financing; launches new business online account features

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has signed an executive order to extending tax relief granted due to severe storms in Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Fulton, Grant, Greene, Madison, Marion, Nevada, Randolph, Sevier, and Sharp counties.

AR Department of Finance and Administration announces new Withholding instructions, tables and formula following the passage of an income tax cut retroactive to Jan. 1, 2024.

IRS announces withdrawal process for Employee Retention Credit claims; special initiative aimed at helping businesses concerned about an ineligible claim amid aggressive marketing, scams

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced tax relief for individuals and businesses affected by the terrorist attacks in the State of Israel. These taxpayers now have until Oct. 7, 2024, to file various federal returns, make tax payments and perform other time-sensitive tax-related actions.

Calls will go unanswered and mail will get no response under the IRS contingency plan for the first five days of a federal government shutdown. The plan, released Thursday, calls for furloughs of two-thirds of IRS staff if the government shuts down, resulting in "significant harmful impacts" on millions of taxpayers, Treasury said. The fiscal 2024 Lapsed Appropriations Contingency Plan will go into effect when the IRS is notified that government appropriations have lapsed and that a shutdown is to be initiated. All furloughed IRS employees will be able to return to work, and the Service will resume normal operations, when funds are appropriated. To avoid a shutdown, Congress must approve a budget for fiscal 2024 or a continuing resolution that keeps the government operating temporarily by Saturday, Sept. 30. If a government shutdown lasts for more than five business days, the IRS human capital officer will coordinate a Service-wide reassessment of the excepted activities. With the Oct. 16 deadline looming for some 10.5 million individual tax returns on extension, here is a look at IRS operations that would stop and those that would continue under the plan.

To protect taxpayers from scams, IRS orders immediate stop to new Employee Retention Credit processing amid surge of questionable claims; concerns from tax pros, aggressive marketing to ineligible applicants highlights unacceptable risk to businesses and the tax system. Moratorium on processing of new claims through year’s end will allow IRS to add more safeguards to prevent future abuse, protect businesses from predatory tactics; IRS working with Justice Department to pursue fraud fueled by aggressive marketin

After Successful Filing Season, IRS Reports Progress in Service and Modernization Efforts