On Friday, Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based Bitcoin exchange, notified approximately 13,000 of its customers that it would be turning over their account information to the Internal Revenue Service within 21 days. This...more
The Internal Revenue Service has assembled a specialized team of criminal investigators to build criminal tax evasion cases involving users of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to a Bloomberg article entitled “IRS...more
A vocal critic of the Internal Revenue Service’s passport revocation program, the National Taxpayer Advocate recently announced that she had issued hundreds of orders prohibiting the IRS from certifying taxpayers for passport...more
Lawmakers in Mississippi are tackling the pervasive use of automated sales suppression devices, commonly known as “zappers,” by businesses to hide a portion of their sales and thereby avoid paying sales tax. Zapper programs...more
The Internal Revenue Service said today that it successfully started accepting and processing 2017 federal individual income tax returns. More than 155 million returns are expected to be filed this year.
The filing...more
The Internal Revenue Service has reopened, following the three-day federal government shutdown that began at midnight on Friday, January 19, 2018. The following message has been posted on the IRS website instructing all...more
The Internal Revenue Service has announced that the nation’s tax season will begin on Monday, January 29, 2018. As is typically the case, the annual opening of tax season is accompanied by well-publicized enforcement actions...more
Individuals who owe more than $51,000 in back taxes are now at risk of losing their U.S. passports under a new law requiring the Internal Revenue Service to notify the State Department of taxpayers with “seriously delinquent...more
Coindesk is reporting that Coinbase — the largest U.S.-based Bitcoin exchange and the subject of a recently-concluded “John Doe” summons dispute with the Internal Revenue Service — is reminding its customers of their U.S. tax...more
The Internal Revenue Service announced today that the nation’s tax season will begin Monday, January 29, 2018 and reminded taxpayers claiming certain tax credits that refunds won’t be available before late February. The IRS...more
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has reminded taxpayers to remain on “High Alert” during the coming tax filing season to avoid being scammed by criminals who impersonate Internal Revenue Service...more
The Internal Revenue Service advised tax professionals and taxpayers today that pre-paying 2018 state and local real property taxes in 2017 may be tax deductible under certain circumstances.
The IRS has received a number...more
Barely two months after being convicted of running a billion dollar illegal payday lending enterprise, professional racecar driver Scott Tucker was indicted today by a grand jury on federal charges of failing to report...more
Yesterday the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released information from the corporate registries of four more tax havens that were included in the Paradise Papers investigation: Barbados, the Bahamas,...more
In the midst of the tax reform debate currently embroiling Congress, Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) has introduced an amendment seeking to repeal the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), an anti-tax evasion law enacted...more
The Internal Revenue Service has prevailed in its long-running dispute with Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based Bitcoin exchange, with a federal judge ordering Coinbase to comply with a “John Doe” summons seeking customer...more
Tomorrow morning (November 17) the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) is set to release publicly the first set of comprehensive data from the recent “Paradise Papers” leak. The initial data will...more
On Friday, November 3, 2017, the IRS Large Business and International division (LB&I) announced the identification and selection of 11 additional compliance campaigns. In January 2017, LB&I unveiled its first 13 campaigns to...more
In a report to the President recommending actions to eliminate or mitigate burdens imposed on taxpayers by eight specific tax regulations, the Treasury Department indicated that it is considering possible reforms of...more
The Internal Revenue Service has once again delayed the start date for implementation of a new law authorizing the State Department to revoke the passports of taxpayers with sizeable tax debts. According to an IRS web site...more
The Internal Revenue Service has issued a reminder to foreign financial institutions to renew their Foreign Financial Institution (FFI) agreement if required. These FFIs have until October 24, 2017 to complete their renewal....more
Two members of Congress have introduced a bill that would exempt from income tax transactions under $600 conducted using Bitcoin or other digital currencies. Currently, the Internal Revenue Service treats digital currencies...more
The Internal Revenue Service has issued a renewed warning for tax professionals and businesses to beware of a recent increase in email scams targeting employee Forms W-2. According to the IRS, the W-2 scam – called business...more
The Internal Revenue Service has extended the deadline for foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to renew their FFI Agreements to October 24, 2017. We previously wrote about the IRS’ publication in late 2016 of an updated...more
Dashing any thought that they were taking a hiatus from investigating and prosecuting taxpayers with secret offshore bank accounts and the bankers that helped them, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service have...more