Category Archives: IRS

IRS Commissioner Mark Everson announced on Friday that the standard mileage rate would increase to 48.5 cents/mile from 40.5 cents/mile, effective September 1st. Other mileage rates: Moving expenses: $0.22/mile, up from $0.15/mile Charitable work: $0.14/mile (set by statute). Hat tip: … Continue reading →

Today, August 15th, is the deadline for individuals who filed extensions to actually file their 2004 Federal tax returns. A second extension is available (until October 17th), but you need to have a reason (and have the IRS accept the … Continue reading →

The Orange County Register reports today (one time subscriprtion required) that the IRS cannot tell whether its 400 help centers help taxpayers. The report, from independent auditor J. Russell George, the Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration, was disputed … Continue reading →

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board announced new standards for tax shelters yesterday. The Wall Street Journal reported on this in today’s editions. The rules, which must be approved by the SEC, state that firms will be prohibited from auditing … Continue reading →

I noticed a headline in today’s Orange County Register that grabbed my attention: “IRS Will Audit 5,000 Firms to Gauge Unpaid Taxes Nationwide” (one-time registration required). Then I read the article. If I hadn’t had heartburn before, now I did. … Continue reading →

As reported in Tax Analysts, the projected Federal deficit for 2005 has shrunk by nearly 25% from $424 billion to $333 billion. The reason? Tax collections (revenues) are up, across the board, by about 14%.

You’ll be happy to know that the IRS is closing 68 Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs) as “…part of the agency’s continuing efforts to create efficiencies, modernize operations, and reduce costs while maintaining [our] commitment to public service.” Of course, as … Continue reading →

According to a report in the Tax Analyst, the IRS will close some taxpayer assistance offices. The Wall Street Journal reported that 70 offices will be closed in order to handle a 1% drop in funding for taxpayer assistance. Unfortunately, … Continue reading →

The Treasury Department revised the new Circular 230 rules yesterday. The changes, detailed here, make some minor clarifications to the new rules. They also correct a problem that would have occurred with text-based emails (the requirement that the font size … Continue reading →