IRS Security Awareness Week

The IRS, state tax agencies and the tax community are declaring this week (Nov 27 – Dec 1) as “National Tax Security Awareness Week”. 

The IRS will be releasing a series of reminders to taxpayers and tax professionals on steps they can take to better protect themselves from cybercriminals.

Each day will focus on the following topics:

• Online Security
• Recognize Phishing Scams
• Data Breaches
• W-2 Email Scam
• Small Businesses

See the Security Summit webpage on the IRS website for detailed information on the above topics and how you can better protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity thieves.

Last Day to E-File Returns in 2017

This is a reminder that the last day to file a 2016 return electronically will be Saturday, November 18.
  

The IRS is shutting down their Modernized e-file system after November 18 so the agency can perform annual maintenance and to enable the IRS to reprogram the system for the upcoming 2018 tax-filing season.

Any individual that files a 2016 return after November 18 must file it on paper. This includes any individual that qualified for an extension of time to file their 2016 federal return until January 31, 2018 because they lived in federally declared disaster area and file their 2016 federal return after November 18.

For more information see IRS News Release IR-2017-183 (dated Oct. 31, 2017) on the IRS website.

PTIN Renewal

The IRS has begun to accept renewals for existing PTIN holders or applications for new PTINs for 2018.

The US District Court did uphold the IRS’s authority to require preparers to obtain a PTIN therefore anyone who prepares or helps prepare any federal tax return for compensation must have a valid PTIN and existing PTIN holders must renew their PTIN each year.

The big difference for renewals this year is that the IRS is no longer charging a fee to renew or obtain a PTIN. The same US District Court of Columbia enjoined the IRS from charging a user fee for the issuance and renewal of PTINs on June 1, 2017.

For more information see the 2018 PTIN Renewal Period Underway for Tax Professionals news release on the IRS website.