In an effort to help taxpayers that have an outstanding tax debt determine whether they may be eligible for an offer in compromise, the IRS has added a new Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier tool to their website. Read more
By adding this tool, the IRS believes that taxpayers and tax practitioners will save time by doing the work in advance of filing their return to determine if an offer in compromise is worth pursuing. This is important because an offer is generally not accepted if the IRS believes the tax liability can be paid in full as a lump sum or through a payment agreement. Read more
Click here to read the entire CrossLink Tax Update about the new IRS tool for Offers in Compromise.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
List of Tax Forms to Be Accepted By IRS In Early March
The IRS has announced that they will being accepting the following tax forms during the first week of March after updating forms and completing programming and testing of its processing systems. A specific date will be announced in the near future.
In the meantime, CrossLink customers are encouraged to submit returns containing one of the following forms to CrossLink Central Site so they can be submitted to the IRS as soon as they begin accepting these forms.
In the meantime, CrossLink customers are encouraged to submit returns containing one of the following forms to CrossLink Central Site so they can be submitted to the IRS as soon as they begin accepting these forms.
- Form 3800 General Business Credit
- Form 4136 Credit for Federal Tax Paid on Fuels
- Form 5074 Allocation of Individual Income Tax to Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
- Form 5471 Information Return of U.S. Persons With Respect to Certain Foreign Corporations
- Form 5695 Residential Energy Credits
- Form 5735 American Samoa Economic Development Credit
- Form 5884 Work Opportunity Credit
- Form 6478 Credit for Alcohol Used as Fuel
- Form 6765 Credit for Increasing Research Activities
- Form 8396 Mortgage Interest Credit
- Form 8582 Passive Activity Loss Limitations
- Form 8820 Orphan Drug Credit
- Form 8834 Qualified Plug-in Electric and Electric Vehicle Credit
- Form 8839 Qualified Adoption Expenses
- Form 8844 Empowerment Zone and Renewal Community Employment Credit
- Form 8845 Indian Employment Credit
- Form 8859 District of Columbia First-Time Homebuyer Credit
- Form 8864 Biodiesel and Renewable Diesel Fuels Credit
- Form 8874 New Markets Credits
- Form 8900 Qualified Railroad Track Maintenance Credit
- Form 8903 Domestic Production Activities Deduction
- Form 8908 Energy Efficient Home Credit
- Form 8909 Energy Efficient Appliance Credit
- Form 8910 Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit
- Form 8911 Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit
- Form 8912 Credit to Holders of Tax Credit Bonds
- Form 8923 Mine Rescue Team Training Credit
- Form 8932 Credit for Employer Differential Wage Payments
- Form 8936 Qualified Plug-in Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit
Thursday, February 14, 2013
IRS Experiencing Heavy Use of their “Where’s My Refund?” Tool
Due to the heavy volume of refund inquiries that the IRS is presently experiencing and expects to continue experiencing for the next couple of weeks, access to the “Where’s My Refund?” application may be limited during certain times of the day.
In order to avoid any disruptions in the use of “Where’s My Refund?”, the IRS strongly suggests that taxpayers only check on the status of their refunds once a day. The IRS systems are only updated once a day (usually at night). Therefore the earliest the status of a refund would change after a taxpayer has checked it, is the next day.
Also, to reduce system delays in checking on the status of a refund, the best time to access “Where’s My Refund?” is in the evening or on weekends.
As a reminder the expectation of when the IRS will send a refund to the taxpayer is within 21 days from the time the return has been accepted. The same information that appears on “Where’s My Refund?” will be given to the taxpayer if they call the IRS Help Desk.
Remember, here is how the “Where’s My Refund?” tool works this filing season:
In order to avoid any disruptions in the use of “Where’s My Refund?”, the IRS strongly suggests that taxpayers only check on the status of their refunds once a day. The IRS systems are only updated once a day (usually at night). Therefore the earliest the status of a refund would change after a taxpayer has checked it, is the next day.
Also, to reduce system delays in checking on the status of a refund, the best time to access “Where’s My Refund?” is in the evening or on weekends.
As a reminder the expectation of when the IRS will send a refund to the taxpayer is within 21 days from the time the return has been accepted. The same information that appears on “Where’s My Refund?” will be given to the taxpayer if they call the IRS Help Desk.
Remember, here is how the “Where’s My Refund?” tool works this filing season:
- The refund status will be presented by way of a status bar as follows:
- Return Received - From the time the return is received until the refund has been approved the message will be that the return is being processed and that the refund will be sent in less than 21 days.
- Refund Approved – A date the refund is scheduled to be sent to the bank will be given.
- Refund Sent – The date the refund was sent.
- Taxpayer will be able to see what the status of the processing of their return is within 24 hours after their return has been accepted.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Update on IRS Identity Theft Crackdown
The IRS, in conjunction with the Justice Department and other Federal, state, and local agencies, has intensified their efforts at preventing, detecting, and resolving identity theft and refund fraud. Read more
The identity theft and refund fraud effort has involved 734 enforcement actions in January involving 389 individuals. The effort included 109 arrests, 189 indictments and complaints, and 47 search warrants. Read more
In addition, the IRS began a special compliance effort that began on January 28, 2013. IRS auditors and criminal investigators will visit 197 money service businesses to help make sure that these businesses are not assisting identity thieves or refund fraud when cashing checks. These compliance visits took place in 17 high-risk areas identified by the IRS which included: New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Tampa, Miami, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, El Paso, Tucson, Birmingham, Detroit, San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose. Read more
Click here to read the entire CrossLink Tax Update about the IRS identity theft crackdown.
The identity theft and refund fraud effort has involved 734 enforcement actions in January involving 389 individuals. The effort included 109 arrests, 189 indictments and complaints, and 47 search warrants. Read more
In addition, the IRS began a special compliance effort that began on January 28, 2013. IRS auditors and criminal investigators will visit 197 money service businesses to help make sure that these businesses are not assisting identity thieves or refund fraud when cashing checks. These compliance visits took place in 17 high-risk areas identified by the IRS which included: New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Tampa, Miami, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, El Paso, Tucson, Birmingham, Detroit, San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose. Read more
Click here to read the entire CrossLink Tax Update about the IRS identity theft crackdown.
IRS Will Start Processing 8863 Returns Tomorrow, 8:00AM Eastern
BREAKING NEWS: The IRS will start processing Tax Year 2012 returns that contain Form 8863 Education Credits at 8AM EST tomorrow.
We highly encourage transmitting these returns as soon as possible today in anticipation.
We highly encourage transmitting these returns as soon as possible today in anticipation.
Friday, February 8, 2013
NEWS UPDATE: IRS Will Accept 8863, Education Credits, Starting Feb 14, 2013
NEWS UPDATE: The IRS just released the following information:
"On Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013, the IRS plans to start processing Tax Year 2012 returns that contain Form 8863, Education Credits."
They also stated:
"Effective Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013, the IRS will start processing Tax Year 2012 returns that contain Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization. After completing the 9:00 am, Eastern maintenance build window, the various business rules used to reject returns with Form 4562 attached will be disabled. That includes the Form 1040-family tax returns, Form 1065/1065-B, Form 1120-family tax returns and Form 990-family tax returns."
"On Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013, the IRS plans to start processing Tax Year 2012 returns that contain Form 8863, Education Credits."
They also stated:
"Effective Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013, the IRS will start processing Tax Year 2012 returns that contain Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization. After completing the 9:00 am, Eastern maintenance build window, the various business rules used to reject returns with Form 4562 attached will be disabled. That includes the Form 1040-family tax returns, Form 1065/1065-B, Form 1120-family tax returns and Form 990-family tax returns."
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Tax Update: IRS and Schedule C Due Diligence Letters and Visits
As part of the IRS’s continued efforts to increase paid preparer accuracy and due diligence in preparing tax returns, the IRS has begun to focus on returns that include a Schedule C. This past November and last month (January 2013) the IRS sent out 4,000 letters to preparers whom had been identified as preparing Schedule C’s that may have contained errors. Read more
In November, 1,200 return preparers received a letter informing them that the IRS would be conducting an educational visit to go over their responsibilities in preparing returns containing a Schedule C.
Click here to read more about the IRS and Schedule C Due Diligence Letters and Visits, as well as to view IRS Letters 4810, 5102, and 5105 for further details.
In November, 1,200 return preparers received a letter informing them that the IRS would be conducting an educational visit to go over their responsibilities in preparing returns containing a Schedule C.
Click here to read more about the IRS and Schedule C Due Diligence Letters and Visits, as well as to view IRS Letters 4810, 5102, and 5105 for further details.
Monday, February 4, 2013
IRS PTIN System Has Reopened
IRS PTIN System Has Reopened
On February 1, the United States District Court modified its order that enjoined the IRS from enforcing the regulatory requirements for registered tax return preparers. The court ruled that it does not apply to the requirement that all paid tax return preparers register and obtain a PTIN.
Therefore as of today, February 4, the IRS has reopened their online PTIN registration system on their website.
Any preparers that still need to renew their existing PTINs or obtain a new one may now do so. The fee for renewing a PTIN is $63.00 and the fee for obtaining a new PTIN is $64.25.
To renew or obtain a PTIN go to the IRS Tax Professional PTIN System page on irs.gov.
On February 1, the United States District Court modified its order that enjoined the IRS from enforcing the regulatory requirements for registered tax return preparers. The court ruled that it does not apply to the requirement that all paid tax return preparers register and obtain a PTIN.
Therefore as of today, February 4, the IRS has reopened their online PTIN registration system on their website.
Any preparers that still need to renew their existing PTINs or obtain a new one may now do so. The fee for renewing a PTIN is $63.00 and the fee for obtaining a new PTIN is $64.25.
To renew or obtain a PTIN go to the IRS Tax Professional PTIN System page on irs.gov.
Friday, February 1, 2013
IRS News: Business e-filing for Corporations & Partnerships to open Monday, February 4th
The IRS just released a Quick Alert which states the following:
The IRS will open business e-filing for 2012 returns for Corporations and Partnership returns this Monday, February 4, 2013.
The restriction on the forms that were delayed until late February or early March for individual returns applies to business returns as well.
These forms include any business returns that include Form 3800 (General Business Credits), Form 4562 (Depreciation and Amortization) as well as many business tax credit forms shown in the list below.
List of forms delayed by IRS until late February or March 2013:
The IRS will open business e-filing for 2012 returns for Corporations and Partnership returns this Monday, February 4, 2013.
The restriction on the forms that were delayed until late February or early March for individual returns applies to business returns as well.
These forms include any business returns that include Form 3800 (General Business Credits), Form 4562 (Depreciation and Amortization) as well as many business tax credit forms shown in the list below.
List of forms delayed by IRS until late February or March 2013:
- Form 3800 General Business Credit
- Form 4136 Credit for Federal Tax Paid on Fuels
- Form 4562 Depreciation and Amortization (Including Information on Listed Property)
- Form 5074 Allocation of Individual Income Tax to Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
- Form 5471 Information Return of U.S. Persons With Respect to Certain Foreign Corporations
- Form 5695 Residential Energy Credits
- Form 5735 American Samoa Economic Development Credit
- Form 5884 Work Opportunity Credit
- Form 6478 Credit for Alcohol Used as Fuel
- Form 6765 Credit for Increasing Research Activities
- Form 8396 Mortgage Interest Credit
- Form 8582 Passive Activity Loss Limitations
- Form 8820 Orphan Drug Credit
- Form 8834 Qualified Plug-in Electric and Electric Vehicle Credit
- Form 8839 Qualified Adoption Expenses
- Form 8844 Empowerment Zone and Renewal Community Employment Credit
- Form 8845 Indian Employment Credit
- Form 8859 District of Columbia First-Time Homebuyer Credit
- Form 8864 Biodiesel and Renewable Diesel Fuels Credit
- Form 8874 New Markets Credits
- Form 8900 Qualified Railroad Track Maintenance Credit
- Form 8903 Domestic Production Activities Deduction
- Form 8908 Energy Efficient Home Credit
- Form 8909 Energy Efficient Appliance Credit
- Form 8910 Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit
- Form 8911 Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit
- Form 8912 Credit to Holders of Tax Credit Bonds
- Form 8923 Mine Rescue Team Training Credit
- Form 8932 Credit for Employer Differential Wage Payments
- Form 8936 Qualified Plug-in Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit
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