NEWS from NSA

  • Friday, December 16, 2016 2:30 PM | NCSA Website Admin (Administrator)

    In This Issue of NSAlert:


    IRS CPE System Still Offline – May Affect CPE Credits


    The IRS CPE system went offline in September with the anticipation that a new and improved system would be available "soon."  Well, the system is STILL offline, so CPE providers, including NSA, have been unable to upload CPE credit information to the IRS for any programs taken since September 14.   


    What does that mean for CPE providers and tax professionals?  It basically means that you need to have patience.
    The IRS is obviously working through some issues with the new system.  CPE providers were originally told in September that new system would be available in early October.  At the end of October, providers received another "coming soon" email and yet another one on December 6.  Meanwhile, CPE providers were told to contact IRS to receive emergency CPE program numbers to ensure that tax professionals could be assured that the program would qualify for IRS credit.


    In that last December 6 email providers were also told that the IRS would stop taking requests for emergency programs numbers as of the midnight on December 8.


    Please be assured that any CPE credits you have earned, whether with NSA or another authorized CPE provider with be uploaded to the IRS as soon as possible.

     


    Tax Filing Season Officially Starts On January 23, 2017
     
    The IRS has announced that it will begin accepting electronic and paper returns on January 23, making the beginning of the 2017 income tax filing season.
     
    The agency said it would process returns and send out refunds as early as possible that that some early filers – those who claim certain tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit -  should expect to wait until the week of Feb. 27—for their refunds. The refund delay for these returns is due to a new law that requires the IRS to hold refunds claiming the credits until Feb. 15; after that, it will take several workdays for the refunds to be released and processed through financial institutions, the IRS said.
     
    The IRS also said the return filing deadline will be April 18 instead of April 15, because the 15th falls on a Saturday and the Emancipation Day holiday in the District of Columbia is on April 17.

     


    Spending Bill Extends IRS Funding Through Tax Filing Season
     
    President Obama signed into law on December 10 a spending bill that will extend IRS funding at current levels through April 28, but at existing levels.  The bill is a so-called continuing resolution that will fund government through April while Congress figures out what to do about overall spending, tax reform and other issues in light of a new Administration led by Donald Trump.
     
    Readers will recall that the IRS received an extra $290 million for customer service – i.e., answering the phone and combatting identity theft – last year, but the bill approved by Congress does not provide for this extra amount.
     
    IRS Commissioner John Koskinen has repeatedly said that lawmakers must understand the level of funding for the agency is directly related to the quality of service taxpayers receive.   So, get ready for more "courtesy disconnects," and hours spent waiting for someone at the IRS to answer a telephone call.


     
    FASB Issues Technical Corrections
     
    The Financial Accounting Standards Board issued technical corrections to multiple accounting rules.  The corrections include six topics that are expected to result in changes to current practice because of either misapplication or misunderstanding of current rules.
     
    The six Accounting Standards Codification topics where amendments might cause practice changes are:

    • Subtopic 350-40, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Internal-Use Software;
    • Subtopic 360-20, Property, Plant, and Equipment—Real Estate Sales;
    • Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement;
    • Subtopic 405-40, Liabilities—Obligations Resulting From Joint and Several Liability Arrangements;
    • Subtopic 860-20, Transfers and Servicing—Sales of Financial Assets; and
    • Subtopic 860-50, Transfers and Servicing—Servicing Assets and Liabilities.

    Overall, the amendments clarify, correct or make minor improvements to the codification literature of accounting standards. They were issued Dec. 14 under ASU No. 2016-19, Technical Corrections and Improvements.
     
    A copy of ASA 2016-19 is available here.
     


    Wrongful Incarceration Retroactive Refund Claims Due December 19
     
    The IRS is reminding taxpayers and tax professionals that the window for taxpayers who were wrongfully incarcerated to use a special retroactive tax exclusion and claim a refund will end on December 19.
     
    The exclusion, enacted in the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act, provides a one-year window for claiming a refund on awards received and reported in an earlier tax year, even if the statute of limitations has expired for that year. Absent this provision, refund claims for tax years 2012 and earlier would be barred, the IRS said.
     
    A bill (H.R. 6438) extending the deadline to file a claim with the IRS t passed the House by unanimous consent December 6.  Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has introduced a similar bill in the Senate but there is no opportunity to further consider the measure in this Congress.

     


    Small Public Companies Seek Relief From FASB Reporting Burdens
     
    The should consider a tiered standard-setting approach so that small public companies falling under a certain market capitalization range would have alternative reporting requirements, a Financial Accounting Standards Board small public company advisory committee has recommended.
     
    Small public companies, strapped for staff and internal resources, are buckling under the weight of accounting rules and compliance regulation, according to committee discussion on December 1.  Small public companies must still comply with the same reporting and regulatory requirements although they don't have the same internal resources as larger public companies, according to the discussions. In order to escape some of these requirements, some public companies might be forced to go private, committee members said. 
     
    "It does become such a burden that you're just going to lose more and more small companies; they're going to end up going private—they get orphaned and there's no sponsorship, a whole segment of the economy gets left out," said Tim Caffrey, president and portfolio manager of Wellesley, Mass.-based Ty View Capital.  "I wonder whether you could put in minimum market cap or revenue sizes for incremental rules so these guys can focus more on running their business than on compliance and regulation," Caffrey said.
     
    The comments were part of discussions about financial reporting disclosures and other reporting topics on which FASB sought feedback.

     


    Foreign Real Estate Buyers Now Must Report Tax Data to IRS
     
    U.S. limited liability companies with a single foreign owner, a common structure used in investment property deals, will have to report tax information to the IRS starting next year as the government continues to push toward tax transparency, according to final regulations issued by the Treasury Department on December 12.
     
    The regulations treat single-owner LLCs as domestic corporations separate from their owners.
    In addition to getting employer identification numbers from the agency, these foreign owners will have to file an information return aimed at disclosing all transactions with foreign related parties. The owners will have to report to the Internal Revenue Service in the same way already required for 25 percent foreign-owned corporations.
     
    The final regulations will largely affect foreigners investing in U.S. real estate who frequently use single-member LLCs to purchase U.S condominiums as investment properties rather than residences.
     
    The final regulations are available here.

     


    2017 Standard Mileage Rates Reduced


    The 2017 standard mileage rate used to calculate the deductible costs of operating a car for business purposes will to decrease to 53.5 cents a mile from 54 cents in 2016, the Internal Revenue Service said on December 13 in news release IR-2016-169.
     
    The IRS announcement also said that:

    The rate for medical care or the use of an automobile as part of a move for which the expenses are deductible will decrease to 17 cents a mile from 19 cents a mile in 2016;
    The rate for operating an automobile in the service of charitable organizations is not adjusted by the IRS and remains unchanged at 14 cents a mile;
    The maximum standard automobile cost that may be used in computing the allowance under a fixed- or -2016-169 is available at https://www.irs.gov/uac/2017-standard-mileage-rates-for-business-and-medical-and-moving-announcedvariable-rate plan falls to $27,900 in 2017 from $28,000 for automobiles, excluding trucks and vans, and increases to $31,300 in 2017 from $31,000 for trucks and vans.

     
    A copy of the IRS News Release is available here.

     


  • Friday, September 23, 2016 2:35 PM | NCSA Website Admin (Administrator)

    In This Issue of NSAlert:

     

    IRS Announces Changes To E-Services Login Procedure


    The IRS has announced that, effective October 24, e-services users will be required to re-register using the Secure Access authentication process. This is part of the effort to combat identity theft and reduce fraudulent tax refunds.


    Anyone who currently has an e-services account is affected by this change.  This includes individuals who are registered as:  Electronic Return Originators, Transmitters, Large Business Taxpayers with e-file mandates, Software Developers, ACA insurance provider fee/Branded prescription drug filers, ACA Information Return Transmitter/Issuer, Reporting agents, Not for Profit (VITA/TCE/LITC) users, States that use Transcript Delivery Service, and IVES Participants. E-services account holders who only use TIN Matching will also need to validate their identity. However, because there is no exchange of sensitive data, these users will have a more streamlined process.

    Important Note: After you successfully register and each time you return to e-services, you will be required to enter your credentials (username and password) AND a security code that will be sent as a text to your mobile phone. This is a two-factor authentication protection. Currently, as you know, the IRS often warn e-services users of phishing emails from criminals seeking to steal your username and password. With two-factor authentication, your credentials alone are not enough to enter the system.

     

    As mentioned above, the key component of the change is the move to the two-step Secure Access identity verification process.  Users must validate their identities through this process before they can access their accounts.  The verification process will involve questions related to financial records such as the name of the entity from which you lease your car, or the bank that holds your home mortgage.  In addition, the IRS will send an account activation code to a mobile phone or, at your request, by mail.


    The IRS has provided the following information to help ease the transition to the Secure Access system:


    Here's what new users need to get started:

    • A readily available email address;
    • Your Social Security number;
    • Your filing status and address from your last-filed tax return;
    • Your personal account number from a: 
      • credit card, or
      • home mortgage loan, or
      • home equity (second mortgage) loan, or
      • home equity line of credit (HELOC), or
      • car loan
        (The IRS does not retain this data)
    • A readily available mobile phone. Only U.S-based mobile phones may be used. Your name must be associated with the mobile phone account. Landlines, Skype, Google Voice or similar virtual phones as well as phones associated with pay-as-you-go plans cannot be used;
    • If you have a "credit freeze" on your credit records through Equifax, it must be temporarily lifted before you can successfully complete this process.

    Because this process involves verification using financial records, there may be a "soft inquiry" placed on your credit report. This notice does not affect your credit score. The IRS does not retain your financial account information.


    Note: If you have a pay-as-you-go mobile phone or a business/family plan mobile phone not associated with your name, you may request that we mail an activation code to the address we have on file for you. You still must have a text-enabled, U.S.-based phone to receive a security code text that completes the validation process and allows returning users to access their accounts.


    First-time users of any Secure Access-supported tool must:

    • Submit name and email address to receive a confirmation code;
    • Enter the emailed confirmation code;
    • Provide SSN, date of birth, filing status and address on the last filed tax return;
    • Provide some financial account information for verification such as the last eight digits of their credit card number or car loan number or home mortgage account number or home equity (second mortgage) loan number;
    • Enter a mobile phone number to receive a six-digit activation code via text message OR request an activation code by mail (see below);
    • Enter the activation code sent to mobile phone;
    • Create username and password, create a site phrase and select a site image.

    First-time users who opt for an Activation Code by Mail must:

    • Select Activation Code by Mail when prompted;
    • Create username and password, create a site phrase and select a site image;
    • Allow 5 to 10 days for mail delivery of the activation code;
    • Return to the self-help tool and enter your username and password;
    • Enter the activation code at the prompt;
    • Enter number for any type of text-enabled phone at the prompt; this may include a pay-as-you-go mobile phone or a business/family plan mobile phone not associated with your name
    • Check phone for a security code text;
    • Enter the security code text at the prompt to complete the Secure Access validation process.

    Returning users with existing credentials but new to Secure Access must:

    • Log in with an existing username and password;
    • Submit financial account information for verification, for example, the last eight digits of a credit card number or car loan number or home mortgage account number or home equity (second mortgage) loan account number;
    • Submit a mobile phone number to receive an activation code via text OR request an activation code by mail (see above);
    • Enter the activation code.

    Returning users who previously completed the Secure Access process must:

    • Log in with an existing username and password;
    • Receive a security code text via mobile phone provided during account set up;
    • Enter the security code into secure access.

    Starting October 24, the IRS will temporarily add additional assistors to the e-Help Desk to provide assistance as needed. The assistors may be able to validate an existing user's identity over the phone. If the assistor can complete this process, they will generate an activation code and send it by mail. Once you receive the activation code by mail which will take five to 10 calendar days, you will be able to complete the registration process. 

     

    FASB Proposes Four Minor Revenue Fixes

     

    The Financial Accounting Standards Board has proposed four minor amendments to clarify ambiguities in applying the 2014 revenue recognition standard, which takes effect for most entities after Dec. 15, 2017.

     

    The proposed clarifications would:

    • state that loan guarantee fees are governed by the accounting standard on guarantees and not revenue recognition;
    • clarify when some receivables can be recorded before their due date;
    • explain that a refund liability isn't a contract liability; and
    • reinstate guidance on the accrual of advertising costs.

    The proposals "are not expected to have a significant effect on current accounting practice or create a significant administrative cost for most entities," FASB said.

     

    FASB said it wants comments on its proposal, Technical Corrections and Improvements to ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), submitted by Oct. 4, 2016.  A copy of ASU 2014-09 is available here.

     

    IRS Office Of Professional Responsibility Announces Sanctions


    The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility on September 19 released the names of practitioners subject to recent disciplinary actions and the specific misconduct involved in each case.

    Announcement 2016-26 lists attorneys, certified public accountants, enrolled agents, enrolled actuaries, enrolled retirement plan agents and appraisers sanctioned by OPR, along with the effective dates of the disciplinary actions described.

     

    The IRS said disbarment or suspension from practice, censure and monetary penalties are among the sanctions to be imposed for violation of the rules.  OPR's periodic disciplinary sanction announcements include an entry for each individual sanctioned that provides a brief description of the misconduct and the relevant section number of Circular 230.

     

    A copy of Announcement 2016-26 is available here.

     

    S Corp Division, Tax-Free Transplant Flights Among PLR Items

     

    The IRS has released a private letter ruling in which it considered the impact of a proposed reorganization on a corporation's S election 

     

    In the ruling, PLR 201638004 available here, the Service considered a plan where members of a limited liability company, which has made an S election, will contribute their interests to a newly formed LLC in exchange for its equity units; the original LLC will then elect to be a disregarded entity or qualified Subchapter S subsidiary for federal tax purposes, as the new LLC expects to continue the original S election. 

     

    The existing LLC will distribute assets comprising the business line to be retained to the new LLC in a transaction expected to be disregarded for tax purposes. The new LLC will then contribute all equity in the original LLC to a second newly formed LLC; equity units in that LLC will be distributed pro rata to members in a transaction intended to qualify under Section 355. The distributed LLC will ultimately elect S corporation treatment in its own right, so that the members of the original LLC ultimately own all of the equity of two new S corporations, each holding one business line.

     

    The Service considered only the initial steps in the proposed transaction, in which the first new LLC is formed and funded, followed by the original LLC's disregarded entity election. It held that the remaining steps in the restructure will be disregarded for purposes of determining whether the initial steps result in realization of gain or loss under Section 1001 or a reorganization under Section 368(a)(1)(F).

     

    The remaining steps will be treated as a direct transfer of the distributed business line by the first new LLC to the distributed LLC in exchange for all the latter's equity units and the assumption of associated liabilities, followed by the pro rata distribution of those equity units to the new LLC's members, the IRS said. The original LLC's S election won't terminate as a result of the initial steps but continues for the new LLC, the Service said.

     

    Koskinen Calls Impeachment 'Improper' During Hearing, Won't Resign

     

    IRS Commissioner John Koskinen expressed regret that the agency failed to preserve all the information congressional investigators sought in a 2014 probe of the agency, but told members of the House Judiciary Committee that it would be "improper" to impeach him.

     

    Koskinen told the panel he regrets "failings" by himself and IRS staff members related to allegations that the agency destroyed e-mails sought by congressional investigators and that he misled Congress about those records. Koskinen said he didn't try to be misleading. "I responded honestly and in good faith as events unfolded," he said.

     

    The House has not impeached an appointed executive branch official in 140 years, and it has never impeached any official below the rank of cabinet secretary.

     

    NSAlert provided a brief background on the impeachment effort by some members of the House in the issue dated September 9, 2016.

     

    During the hearing, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told Koskinen that he had been frustrated by what he called the commissioner's failure to acknowledge to Congress that his June 2014 testimony was not true. "This is the first time," said Chaffetz said, adding that he believes Koskinen should be held accountable.

     

    Whether the hearing will prevent the House from moving toward impeachment is unclear. Members of the ultra conservative House Freedom Caucus, which had pressed for a faster floor vote, said last week that the hearing would "give every American the opportunity to hear John Koskinen answer under oath why he misled Congress, allowed evidence to be destroyed, and defied congressional subpoenas and preservation orders."  

     

    Still, Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), who spearheaded the drive for a floor vote, has said the Freedom Caucus could still try to bring an impeachment resolution to the floor in November "if regular order is not followed through with," referring to the usual manner in which bills make their way to the House floor for votes —that is, by way of consideration by committees of jurisdiction.

    It is unclear what the next steps will be, if any, prior to the election.

     

    Reminder:  Extension Filers May NEED AGI

     

    The IRS has cautioned that taxpayers who requested extensions to a file tax return may need the adjusted gross income amounts from their 2014 returns to submit the return electronically.

     

    Extension filers should locate their 2014 return or order a tax transcript; the AGI amount is clearly labeled on both documents, the Service said in a new release, IR-2016-124. The extension deadline for filing returns is Oct. 17.

     

    A copy of IR 2016-124 is available here.


  • Friday, August 12, 2016 3:42 PM | NCSA Website Admin (Administrator)

    In This Issue of NSAlert

     

    NSA Officers Meet With IRS Commisioner: Discuss Practitioner Concerns

    The leadership of NSA met with IRS Commissioner John Koskinen on August 10 to discuss a range topics relating to the services the IRS provides to tax preparers.  The participants in the meeting included NSA President Kathy Hettick; NSA First Vice President Al Giovetti; NSA Second Vice President Brian L. Thompson; NSA Secretary-Treasurer Curt Lee; and NSA Executive Vice President John Ams. 
     

    NSA_IRS(1).JPG?r=1471013225368

    Topics raised during the meeting included:

    FIELD AUDITS:  2nd VP Thompson noted that many tax practitioners work 14 to 18 hours a day seven days a week, especially from March 15th through April 15, when client meetings take up most of the working day and follow up work requires a tax professional to work into the night.  For that reason, NSA recommends that no in-person tax audits be scheduled between March 15 and April 20 if the tax professional informs the IRS auditor that all available appointments times have already been reserved by tax clients.  This would allow the practitioner to review all available information and prepare for the audit in a manner that would be beneficial to all.

    CORRESPONDENCE AUDITS:  Secretary-Treasurer Lee informed Commissioner Koskinen that it often happens that, even if a tax practitioner has timely filed the information requested by the IRS auditor, the practitioner will continue to receive letters from the IRS requesting the information already submitted, demanding tax payments because there is no record of a timely submission, or requesting payment even though none is due based on the submitted information.  He and President Hettick suggested that the IRS develop a system whereby submitted information from the tax practitioner is logged in as having been timely received so that the automatic follow up letters from the IRS are stopped.  Further, they recommend that the system should also notify the taxpayer/practitioner that the information has been received by the IRS and that all related correspondence from the IRS will be stopped until the information has been processed.

    FILING FORM 2848:  Participants noted that the process for having a Power of Attorney Form 2848 registered in the CAF system is cumbersome and inefficient.  1st VP Giovetti recommended that the process be streamlined as it once was with e-services.  He said that tax practitioners and their clients would be able to respond to IRS correspondence if they are able to quickly and efficiently register the POA and receive the taxpayer’s tax transcripts.

    E-SERVICES IMPROVEMENTS:  President Hettick told the Commissioner that tax practitioners are increasingly frustrated that electronic services widely available from other financial entities are still unavailable from the IRS.  She said that NSA recognizes that the IRS has important security concerns, but that many commercial banks, credit card companies, retailers, etc., have security concerns as well.  She said that they have resolved their concerns, with some recent exceptions, so that electronic communications with their clients is now commonplace.  NSA believes tax administration would be much more efficient if the IRS developed and made available similar electronic products.  She recommended that IRS develop E services to allow taxpayers and tax professions to:

    • Submit an inquiry on any IRS correspondence similar to what was capable on the EAR submit form 1040X electronically;
    • Have a chat capability to answer procedural questions; and 
    • Communicate through e-mail or through a dedicated portal with taxpayers and tax professionals.

    Commissioner Koskinen responded that he was fully supportive of a number of the recommendations and, with appropriate budget support from Congress, hoped to announce technology advancements at the IRS as soon as possible.

     

    Audit-Year POA's Limits Right to Taxpayer Documents From Prior Years

    Where a person is granted power of attorney to represent a taxpayer for a specific year that is under audit, the IRS cannot release to the POA documents from other years based only on a representation that they are somehow relevant to the audit.  Rather, the POA must show the documents from other years were used in the examination.
     
    That is the conclusion reach by the IRS Office of Chief Counsel in informal legal advice, CCA 201631011, released July 29.
     
    The Chief Counsel document said that, similarly, a POA acting under authority of Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, doe not have authority to request third-party documents—such as partnership or corporate returns available to the taxpayer under tax code Section 6103(e)—outside the context of the exam.
     
    The POA “cannot request corporate or partnership returns on behalf of the taxpayer pursuant to section 6103(e) based simply on the theory that those documents are relevant to the exam,” the June 8 e-mail said.
     
    A specifically authorized “attorney-in-fact” granted general authority to act for another person, versus the limited authority granted under Form 2848, may make requests on the person's behalf under Section 6103(e), the Office of Chief Counsel said.
     
    CCAs are provided to IRS field attorneys, revenue agents or appeals officers and contain written interpretations of revenue provisions.

     

    Tax Scammers Now Target Tax Professionals – BE AWARE

    The IRS yesterday issued a news release alerting tax professionals to a new tax scam involving fake emails purporting to be from tax software providers.
     
    The IRS said that in the new scheme, which was identified as part of the IRS Security Summit process, tax professionals are receiving emails pretending to be from a tax software companies. The email scheme requests the recipient to download and install an important “software update” via a link included in the e-mail. 

    Once a recipient clicks on the embedded link, they are directed to a website prompting them to download a file appearing to be an update of their software package.  The file has a naming convention that uses the actual name of their software followed by an “.exe extension.”

    Upon completion of this so-called update, tax professionals are led to believe they have downloaded a software update when in fact they have loaded a program designed to track the tax professional’s key strokes, which is a common tactic used by cyber thieves to steal login information, passwords, and other sensitive data.  A copy of IR-2016-103 is available here.

    And that is not all.
     
    The IRS is also seeing a surge in automated calls warning individuals to settle their “tax bills” and demanding payments using iTunes or other gift cards.

    In most cases, the robocalls claim to be a last step before legal action ensues, the Internal Revenue Service said in an Aug. 2 news release (IR-2016-99).  Requesting payment on a gift card—a relatively new trend—is a “clear indication of a scam,” the IRS said.
     
    “It used to be that most of these bogus calls would come from a live person. Scammers are evolving and using more and more automated calls in an effort to reach the largest number of victims possible,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said. “Taxpayers should remain alert for this summer surge of phone scams, and watch for clear warning signs as these scammers change tactics.”

    The IRS – and NSA - urges all readers to take the following steps:

    • Be alert for phishing scams: do not click on links or open attachments contained in e-mails and always utilize a software providers main webpage for connecting to them. 
    • Run a security “deep scan” to search for viruses and malware; 
    • Strengthen passwords for both computer access and software access; make sure your password is a minimum of 8 digits (more is better) with a mix of numbers, letters and special characters; 
    • Educate all staff members about the dangers of phishing scams in the form of emails, texts and calls; 
    • Review any software that your employees use to remotely access your network and/or your IT support vendor uses to remotely troubleshoot technical problems and support your systems. Remote access software is a potential target for bad actors to gain entry and take control of a machine. 

    Tax Professionals should also review Publication 4557, Safeguarding Taxpayer Data, A Guide for Your Business, which provides a checklist to help safeguard taxpayer information and enhance office security.

    IRS Issues Chief Counsel Telephone Directory for August

    Have a question about a regulation?

    The Internal Revenue Service issued its August telephone directory of Office of Chief Counsel attorneys.

    The directory, released on August 2, lists the staff person responsible by Internal Revenue Code section, subject area, office symbol, name and telephone number.

    A copy of the directory is available here.

    Taxpayers Can Renew Expiring ID Numbers Starting in October

    Some taxpayers will need to renew their individual taxpayer identification numbers starting in October, or risk a tax refund delay and possible disqualification for certain tax credits, the IRS announced on August 4.

    All ITINs—nine-digit tax processing numbers—that the Internal Revenue Service issued before 2013 that have been used on a tax return in the last three years will begin expiring at the end of this year, and the IRS is implementing an annual rolling renewal schedule, according to an IRS news release, IR-2016-100.  ITINs that have not been used on a tax return in the last three years will also expire at the end of the year, the IRS said.

    Those ITIN groups represent about 11 million taxpayers, though taxpayers who don't plan on filing a tax return next year don't need to take action, Debra Holland, IRS wage and investment division commissioner, said on an Aug. 4 press call.

    ITINs with middle digits of 78 and 79 will be the first batch up for renewal—starting on Oct. 1—under the IRS's rolling schedule. The IRS will mail about 400,000 letters in the next few weeks alerting taxpayers to renew their ITINs. 

    Taxpayers must complete a Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, to renew an ITIN. Taxpayers do not need to attach a tax return when submitting their Form W-7, and can choose to renew the ITINs of all family members at the same time, rather than renewing them piecemeal over several years, the IRS said.

    The changes are required by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act (Pub. L. No. 114-113). Taxpayers who don't renew an expired ITIN before filing their next tax return may be ineligible for tax credits such as the Child Tax Credit and American Opportunity Tax Credit, the IRS said.  “The IRS will be taking steps to help taxpayers with these changes, and we're designing this effort to minimize the burden as much as possible,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in the release.  The IRS laid out the expiration schedule for ITINs issued before 2012 in Notice 2016-48, which is scheduled to publish in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2016-33 dated Aug. 15.  The IRS will alert taxpayers in 2017 once it determines what middle digits will expire next

    According to the IRS website, ITINs are issued to taxpayers:

    • who are not eligible for a Social Security number;
    • who are a nonresident or resident alien required to file a tax return;
    • who are the dependent or spouse of a U.S. citizen or resident alien; or
    • who are the dependent or spouse of a nonresident alien visa holder.

    Also beginning on Oct. 1, the IRS will not accept passports that lack a date of entry into the U.S. as a standalone identification document for dependents from countries other than Canada or Mexico, or dependents of military members living overseas.  Affected taxpayers must submit U.S. medical records for dependents under the age of six or U.S. school records for dependents under the age of 18, along with the passport, the IRS said.  Dependents who are at least 18 years old may submit a rental statement, bank statement or utility bill along with their passport, the IRS said.

     A copy of the IRS News Release, IR-2016-100, is available here.

    Draft Payroll Form 8974 for Research Tax Credit Released

    The IRS released a draft of Form 8974, Qualified Small Business Payroll Tax Credit for Increasing Research Activities, for employers to claim a new payroll research tax credit.  The Form, when final, can be used to claim a credit of up to $250,000 of the employer portion of the payroll tax. 

    Employers will be able to use the Form starting with Social Security tax due for 2016.  Release of the draft Form 8974 follows the issuance of two updated forms—Forms 6765 and 941—that are to be used with Form 8974 for claiming the research credit and that contain new lines regarding the credit.

    The amount entered into the new Line 44 of the updated Form 6765, Credit for Increasing Research Activities, generally is to be entered into Line 5 of Form 8974.

    Social Security tax amounts in Column 2 of Lines 5a and 5b of the updated Form 941, Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return, are to be entered into Lines 8 and 9 of Form 8974, and the credit amount in Line 12 of Form 8974 is to be entered into the new Line 11 of the updated Form 941.

    Employers claiming the payroll research tax credit must file Form 8974 with Form 941.

    Employers will be able to use Form 8974 starting with jointly filing the form with the 2016 fourth-quarter Form 941.

    Tax Preparers Get Class Status to Recover PTIN Fees

    Tax preparers may proceed as a class in their suit to recover allegedly excessive fees the IRS charged them for a preparer tax identification number (Steele v. United States, 2016 BL 255410, D.D.C., No. 14-1523, 8/8/16).

    In February, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia certified a class seeking a declaratory judgment that the Internal Revenue Service lacked the authority to charge a fee for the issuance or renewal of an ID number.

    But the court refused to certify a class for restitution of the fees, which the return preparers alleged were unlawfully assessed. The court said the return preparers failed to show that the government had properly waived its sovereign immunity for the action seeking monetary damages.

    Upon reconsideration, however,, the court ruled August 8 that the Administrative Procedure Act Section 702 waives sovereign immunity for “actions seeking relief other than money damages.” The plaintiffs here seek restitution of fees they have already paid, which is a form of equitable relief, not money damages, the court said in an opinion by Judge Royce C. Lamberth.  Once it established that it had jurisdiction, the court found certification of a monetary class appropriate because classwide issues predominate.

    The tax preparers challenged the IRS's requirement that they obtain and pay to renew a preparer tax identification number after September 2010. Initial registration was $64.25 with a $63 annual renewal fee. The IRS lowered the fee to $33 in 2015.

    © 2016 National Society of Accountants

    1330 Braddock Place, Suite 540  Alexandria, VA  22314

    800-966-6679 | www.nsacct.org


  • Friday, July 29, 2016 1:58 PM | NCSA Website Admin (Administrator)

    Placeholder

    July 29, 2016

    In This Issue of NSAlert:


    Property Received For Services Rendered?  No More Section 83(b) Filing Requirement
     Individuals who receive property related to the performance of services and choose to include the value in their income no longer have to file a copy of the written election statement with their tax returns, the IRS said in final regulations issued on July 25.  The regulations, contained in T.D. 9779, make no changes to proposed rules (REG-135524-14) issued in July of last year.
     
    Under Section 83(b), a taxpayer who provides services and received payment in the form of property may make an election to include in income, as ordinary income the fair market value of the property on the date of the election.  Under the final regulation, no written election statement needs to be filed.  Previously, the statement had to be filed with the IRS no later than 30 days after the date of the transfer.
     
    The final regulations apply to property transferred on or after Jan. 1, 2016. For property transfers in 2015, taxpayers can also rely on the guidance on the final regulations, the IRS said.
     
    A copy of T.D. 9779 is available here.
     
    FASB Proposal Would Require Disclosure Of Reinvested Foreign Earnings
     U.S. multinationals and other companies would need to disclose cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities held by foreign subsidiaries under a Financial Accounting Standards Board proposal issued on July 26.
     
    According to discussion at the July 26 meeting, the FASB intends for its proposal to bring greater transparency in the area of indefinitely reinvested foreign earnings.  Under current rules, a company is required to provide the deferred tax liability for indefinitely reinvested foreign earnings. Indefinitely reinvested foreign earnings considered to be permanently reinvested must be disclosed under current U.S. tax accounting rules.
     
    If a company says it is "indefinitely reinvesting" its earnings, it does not have to recognize a liability. When the company changes that assertion, however, the proposed disclosures would require the company to explain the circumstances that caused a change in assertion about the indefinite reinvestment of undistributed foreign earnings and the amount of earnings that correspond to the change.
     
    The new rules are contained in a package of changes to disclosure requirements for income taxes under ASC 740 issued by FASB.  Other proposed changes in the package include:

    • description of an enacted change in tax law that would have an effect on the company in a future period;
    • income tax expense or benefit from continuing operations broken out between domestic and foreign; and
    • income taxes paid broken out between domestic and foreign and the amount of income taxes paid to a particular country that is significant relative to total income taxes paid.

     
    FASB said the proposed disclosures will provide financial statement users with better information about income taxes, thereby enabling them to make better assessments of a company's economic health.
    The work is part of the board's broader disclosure framework project, which aims to improve the effectiveness of disclosures in the notes to financial statements.
     
    FASB is seeking comments by Sept. 30 on the package. A copy of the proposed Accounting Standards Update is available here.
     
    States Focus On Sharing Economy Tax Liabilities 
    One of the main areas of focus at the recent annual meeting of the MultiState Tax Commission is the sharing economy and how to address the growing tax gap problems for the IRS and states.  The issue?  Tax liabilities for Uber Technologies Inc., Airbnb Inc. and other peer-to-peer companies and the many independent contractors who work for them.
     
    The tax gap is growing because on-demand service providers such as Lyft Inc. and TaskRabbit are a growing part of the economy according to a number of speakers at the meeting.  One study delivered to Congress in May estimated that more than 2.5 million Americans earned income via on-demand platforms like Airbnb, Etsy Inc. and Lyft in 2014, and the companies generated an estimated $15 billion in revenue. But tax dollars on much of that revenue could be lost because the companies don't withhold taxes on the income they pay to people who provide services or sell items via their platforms, the study said.
     
    Annette Nellen, director of San Jose State University's graduate tax program, noted that code Section 6050W, which addresses returns relating to payments made in settlement of payment card and third-party network transactions, requires processors of credit cards and debit cards to issue a Form 1099-K to vendors and the Internal Revenue Service, she said. The section also requires Form 1099-K reporting for third-party network transactions in which a third party—such as PayPal Inc.—processes payments.  The statute includes a threshold for these transactions so that a Form 1099-K needs to be issued only when service providers have at least 200 transactions in a year and earn at least $20,000, Nellen said. "There are a lot of people working in the sharing economy where the number of transactions fall below that."
     
    Generally, Nellen questioned whether there is enough guidance for taxpayers working in the sharing economy, including on "long-standing" issues like worker classification.  The debate has been couched as a labor law issue, Nellen said, and "a lot of people are saying, once the labor law gets solved, everything is done. I think they will be very surprised if the IRS comes in and says maybe they aren't contractors for tax purposes."
     
    Panelists at the meeting agreed that the barriers to entry in the sharing economy are so minimal that many participants have no idea of the tax consequences involved.  Why don't Uber and Lyft and Airbnb provide the necessary tax guidance to their service providers?  Uber and Lyft don't want to give the information to them "because it will look like they're training them and they are employees rather than independent contractors," Nellen said.

     

    © 2016 National Society of Accountants

    1330 Braddock Place, Suite 540  Alexandria, VA  22314

    800-966-6679 | www.nsacct.org

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  • Friday, July 22, 2016 10:00 AM | NCSA Website Admin (Administrator)

    When Brian L. Thompson, CPA, a partner with Bailey & Thompson Tax & Accounting, P.A., in Arkansas, was forced by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to conduct a tax return audit for a client with an IRS representative on April 15, 2015, he was surprised and disappointed that this awkward timing could not be adjusted to a date other than the IRS tax filing deadline.

    So imagine his shock when a similar situation happened again this year. Tax returns for two individual clients and their three related business were audited, this time in January. The IRS auditor finished the field work in February, and audit reports were due by mid-March. But March turned into April, and on April 3 Thompson received audit reports with comments due by April 8. Some adjustments needed to be made to the reports, and the auditor finally provided an updated report on April 7 with an April 18 due date for comments.

    “This is exactly the type of problem we often face with the IRS, and it could be avoided so easily if the IRS simply recognized that early April is the busiest time of the year for tax preparers,” says Thompson, who is also Second Vice President of the National Society of Accountants (NSA). “And ironically, it’s because of the tax deadline that they set! So it seems that common sense would dictate that any other time of the year would be better to close out an audit.”

    To deal with this and other challenges tax preparers face with the IRS, NSA last year issued a “Tax Practitioners Bill of Rights.” NSA hopes the Bill of Rights will establish timely enactment of tax laws and regulations and reasonable levels of IRS service for tax practitioners, who file 60 percent of the tax returns received by the IRS each year.

    Read the full Bill of Rights here.

    NSA issued the Tax Practitioners Bill of Rights at a time when the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee voted to cut the IRS budget by $838 million (7.7 percent), continuing a multi-year decline in IRS funding. The funding situation has not improved since then.

    NSA Executive Vice President John Ams says, “It’s ironic that the IRS has time to conduct tax audits during the height of tax season, yet tax practitioners cannot get timely responses from the IRS for questions we pose on behalf of our clients because the IRS cannot afford the staff it needs to answer the phones.”

    NSA will highlight and distribute the Tax Practitioners Bill of Rights at several upcoming IRS Tax Forums this year in an effort to move forward on these proposed rights. NSA has also established an online petition for tax practitioners to sign to express support for the Tax Practitioners Bill of Rights, available here. The IRS already has a Taxpayer Bill of Rights, but Ams notes that this does not address the many challenges that tax practitioners face when preparing returns for the 60 percent of U.S. taxpayers who hire them to prepare their tax returns.


  • Friday, July 15, 2016 3:12 PM | NCSA Website Admin (Administrator)

    Placeholder

    July 15, 2016

    In This Issue of NSAlert:


    Proposed Section 385 Regulations:  Sub S Could Be Impacted
     In two Notices issues in 2014 and 2015, the Treasury Department served notice that it would issue guidance that would "address strategies that avoid U.S. Tax on U.S. operations by shifting or stripping U.S.-source earnings to lower-tax jurisdictions, including through intercompany debt." Fair enough – address the avoidance of U.S. taxes through earnings stripping and corporate inversions.
     
    Enter the proposed section 385 regulations, which were issued on April 4.  However, instead of focusing on shifting earning overseas, the regulations would give the IRS the authority to re-characterize debt as equity in a number of situations involving related entities, whether or not there is any tax avoidance motive and whether or not there is any foreign aspect to the intercompany debt.  Furthermore, the proposed regs would require any company to company debt to be documented within thirty days.
     
    The proposed regulations apply only to expanded corporate groups with total assets greater than $100 million or revenues greater than $50 million.
     
    Because the proposed regulations apply to any corporation, they would also apply to Sub S corporations that exceed the asset/revenue threshold above.  One common example: a family-owned company owning a number of shopping centers and other real estate in the U.S.  Each property is operated through an S corporation.   Every time a new shopping center or office building is constructed, a new S corporation is formed and money is borrowed from the existing companies for the start-up.  If the combined assets of all the companies is greater than $100 million or the revenues exceed $50 million, the borrowed funds could be deemed "preferred equity" rather than debt.  In that event, the S corporation election could be invalidated - even though the company has no overseas components and the S corporation election has no tax avoidance purpose – because a S corporation can have only one class of stock. 
     
    Comments on the proposed regulations have asked that the proposed regulations be amended to, among other things:

    • Ensure that S corporations, a critical component of America's small business community, do not lose their S corporation tax status by virtue of having their debt re-characterized as equity and are not penalized for their domestic-to-domestic transactions;
    • Ensure that non-tax motivated cash management techniques, such as cash pooling or revolving credit arrangements, are exempted;
    • Address the "cascading effect" of the currently drafted regulations, where a single tainted transaction funded with intercompany debt can create a multitude of additional tainted transactions;
    • Extend the 30-day deadline for meeting the documentation requirements;
    • Expand the $50 million intercompany debt threshold so that more small businesses will be exempt from these rules;

    NSA has received informal word that Treasury is willing to amend the proposed regulations to ensure that S corporations would not be forced to be recast as C corpoations.
     
    House Bill Reduces IRS Budget Again
    The House passed legislation cutting the IRS budget by $236 million for fiscal year 2017.
     
    The budget funds were included in the appropriations bill for the next fiscal year (H.R. 5485).  The bill, which allocated $10.9 billion to the IRS, includes several restrictions, including one barring the agency from implementing the individual insurance mandate under the Affordable Care Act.  It also stipulates that $290 million must be spent on improving customer service, fraud prevention and cybersecurity.   An amendment, offered by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) to prohibit the use of funds to pay bonuses to senior IRS employees, passed by voice vote.
     
    The Senate Appropriations Committee on June 16 unanimously advanced its appropriations bill, which would hold IRS funding steady at $11.2 billion. A floor vote on that bill hasn't yet been announced.
     
    The House and Senate versions of the appropriations bill will have to be reconciled after the Senate passes its version of the bill after Labor Day.  The Administration has already announced it opposes the House version of the bill
     
    Reminder:  New 501(c)(4) Groups Must Notify IRS
    The IRS on July 8 issues new IRS rules requiring new social welfare organizations to notify the agency of their  intent to operate as a Section 501(c)(4) entity.   The final and temporary rules (T.D. 9775, RIN:1545-BN26) and proposed rules (REG-101689-16, RIN:1545-BN25) essentially codify the requirement added by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 that groups intending to operate as tax code Section 501(c)(4) social welfare groups notify the tax agency no later than 60 days after the date the organization is established.


    When submitting the notification, groups must file a new electronic form, Form 8976, Notice of Intent to Operate Under Section 501(c)(4), the IRS said.


    While the new guidance provides important information on deadlines and forms, "it still leaves open the big questions about (c)(4)—how much political work they can do, what's political work? It takes care of this one tiny little issue but it leaves open the huge questions that are still out there," said James Joseph, a partner at Arnold & Porter LLP.


    Douglas Varley, an attorney at Caplin & Drysdale, said the rules don't provide any new details on what it takes to actually be exempt under 501(c)(4). "That's the 800-pound gorilla of a question," he said.
    The IRS also issued Revenue Procedure 2016-41 July 8, which elaborated and provided examples for the requirements under the final, temporary and proposed regulations. The revenue procedure will be in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2016-30, dated July 25.
     
    IRS Warns Tax Preparers Of New Data, Identity Theft Risks
    Tax preparers increasingly are the targets of cybercriminals and are being encouraged to take appropriate steps to safeguard their clients' data.
     
    "We have more than 700,000 tax preparers in this country, with many of those taking good security precautions. But cybercriminals are continuing to evolve, using new technology, ruses and scams," IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in a news release, IR-2016-96, issued July 6 by the Security Summit.  "The tax community handles large volumes of sensitive personal and financial information. We need every tax professional to stay on top of their security to protect taxpayers as well as their businesses," he said.  IR-2016-96 is available here.
     
    The Security Summit, essentially a partnership between the IRS, state tax agencies and the tax preparation community formed to combat identity theft, also issued a fact sheet (FS-2016-23), the first in a series of tips on security, scams and identity theft prevention measures aimed at tax professionals as part of the "Protect Your Clients; Protect Yourself" campaign, which will run through the 2017 filing season.
     
    IRS Commissioner Outlines New Initiatives For 2017 Filing Season
    IRS Commissioner John Koskinen reviewed a number of new initiatives his agency is planning in preparation for the 2017 tax filing season.  Speaking to attendees at the IRS Tax Forum in Chicago, Koskinene reviewed the following:

    • An earlier filing schedule for Forms W-2.   Koskinen said July 12 that the IRS is anxious to implement legislation Congress passed in 2015 changing the deadline for filing Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, and other information returns to the end of January, beginning in 2017. The previous deadline was the end of February for paper filers and the end of March for electronic filers.  Koskinen said the change would enhance IRS efforts aimed at detecting errors and patterns of fraud.  "Having W-2s earlier will make it easier for the IRS to verify the legitimacy of tax returns at the point of filing and to spot fraudulent returns," Koskinen said. 
       
    • W-2 verification codes.  Koskinen said the IRS would substantially expand its previous pilot program assigning verification codes to the form as a safeguard against fraudulent W-2s. The codes are transferred to electronically filed returns to verify authenticity.  Koskinen said the codes would be expanded to 50 million W-2s in 2017, up from the 2 million W-2s involved in the 2016 pilot program. "This will be an extra layer of protection that will help taxpayers and the tax system," he said.
       
    • EITC, Child Credit Verification.  Koskinen said that, beginning with the 2017 filing season, 2015 legislation will required the IRS to hold tax returns claiming either credit until Feb. 15.  "This change is designed to give us time to verify the income claimed on these returns and prevent fraud related to fabricated wages and withholdings," he said.  Koskinen said the agency is aware this will be a major change for some taxpayers and the IRS will have an extensive communications campaign later in the year to highlight the changes and raise awareness.
       
    • Sharing economy tax guidance.  Koskinen said the IRS is aware of significant confusion for taxpayers participating in the sharing economy—Uber and Lyft drivers, for example, and homeowners selling housing services through venues such as Airbnb Inc. He said the IRS would launch an initiative to provide guidance to taxpayers about these economic trends and the resulting tax obligations.  "Many of them are unaware of what taxes they might owe or records they need to keep," Koskinen said. "They need our help to make sure they are tax compliant. So IRS will be working to raise public awareness about the sharing economy in the coming months.

     
    IRS Releases Drafts of ACA Reporting Forms 1095-C, 1094-C
     The IRS has released drafts of two forms for reporting 2016 health-coverage information under the Affordable Care Act.
     
    Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage, and Form 1094-C, Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Returns, are to be filed in early 2017. The draft forms are for employer planning purposes and may change before their final release later in 2016, the Internal Revenue Service said July 7.
     
    The instructions on the draft of Form 1095-C were revised to reduce confusion on how data entered on Line 14 affects Line 15, which now says "Employee Required Contribution."  On the 2015 form, Line 15 was listed as "Employee Share of Lowest Cost Monthly Premium, for Self-Only Minimum."
     
    The revised instructions for Line 15: "This line reports the employee required contribution, which is the monthly cost to you for the lowest-cost self-only minimum essential coverage providing minimum value that your employer offered you. The amount reported on line 15 may not be the amount you paid for coverage if, for example, you chose to enroll in more expensive coverage such as family coverage. Line 15 will show an amount only if code 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1J, or 1K is entered on line 14. If you were offered coverage but there is no cost to you for the coverage, this line will report a "0.00" for the amount."
     
    The draft of Form 1095-C is available here.
    The draft of Form 1094-C is available here.
     
    House Conservatives Launch Bid to Impeach Koskinen
    Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) and Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.) have introduced a privileged resolution to impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.  Both are members of the House Freedom Caucus, whose members consist of the most conservative members of the House of Reopresentatives.
     
    "If the leadership were to allow a vote today, the impeachment would pass," Fleming said. "So it's not a matter of getting people willing to vote for it. It is a matter of getting the opportunity to vote."
     
    Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is not supportive of the impeachment proposal, saying at his July 14 weekly news conference that a lot of members haven't focused on the issue. "They're not even, you know, familiar with all of the facts and the circumstances. So, we're going to have a good conversation when we get back," he said.  The House will be back in session Sept. 6.
     
    Democrats noted that any privileged resolution must be considered within two days of being introduced.   Because the House holds brief pro-forma sessions while it is away, the resolution's the two-day legislative clock would expire during the summer recess.   Furthermore, given the lack of time before the elections and the start of a new Congress, there is no apparent scenario for the effort to have any chance of success.
     
    The Treasury Department, which oversees the IRS, issued a statement calling the effort baseless and a distraction, adding that Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew continues to have full confidence in Koskinen.  It also noted it is highly unusual for Congress to impeach an appointed administration official. The last time it happened was 140 years ago.  Senate leaders have also indicated that they don't favor an effort to impeach Koskinen.
     
    Koskinen's lawyer, Reginald Brown of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP, said in an e-mail that Fleming's resolution "unfortunately repeated a conspiracy theory that was long ago discredited by the Republican-appointed inspector general who comprehensively investigated these issues."
     
    The resolution requires a simple majority of the House. It would then go to the Senate, which would try the case.

    © 2016 National Society of Accountants

    1330 Braddock Place, Suite 540  Alexandria, VA  22314

    800-966-6679 | www.nsacct.org

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  • Monday, August 03, 2015 10:16 AM | NCSA Website Admin (Administrator)

    Hi everyone -

    We are moving ahead to promote the Tax Practitioners' Bill of Rights before Congress and the IRS.    (See http://www.nsacct.org/tax/bill-of-rights )  We have consulted with NSA's publicist, who recommended that we make a much bigger effort to have more people sign the petition to show there is a need for change.  Currently, including those who have signed the petition at the IRS forums (but whose signatures are not shown online), we have over 1,000 signatures.   But we need many more signatures!  

    If you have not signed the petition yet, please do so as soon as possible and add comments in support of the Tax Practitioners' Bill of Rights.  Also, if you can have your ASOs endorse the Tax Practitioners Bill of Rights, please have them send an endorsement letter supporting the Tax Practitioners' Bill of Rights (on letterhead) to the NSA office, with a copy of the letter to me. 

    The petition is shown at  http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nsa-bill  Please circulate the petition around and have as many tax practitioners, firm staff, and any taxpayers who agree with the petition - sign the petition. Every signature counts!  

    Thank you for your help in supporting this effort!

    Marilyn M. Niwao, J.D., CPA, ATA, CGMA

    NSA President

  • Saturday, July 25, 2015 9:15 PM | NCSA Website Admin (Administrator)

     By NSA Admin posted 2 days ago   

    Stephen A. Whitlock has been named as the Director of the Office of Professional Responsibility effective August 3, 2015.  Steve previously served as the Director, Whistleblower Office where, as the first to hold this role, he oversaw development of the program, set policy and provided oversight for Service action on information provided by whistleblowers. 

    Prior to that, Steve held the position of Deputy Director, Office of Professional Responsibility where he oversaw the conduct of attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents, enrolled retirement plan agents, actuaries and appraisers who practice before the IRS under Treasury Circular 230.  Steve also served as the Director, Commissioner’s Complaint Processing and Analysis Group, which designed and implemented a plan for the new organization to receive, monitor and resolve complaints and other correspondence from or about IRS employees.   Prior to joining the IRS, Steve held numerous leadership positions within the Office of the Inspector General and the Department of Defense.  

    Steve holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Auburn University, a Juris Doctor degree from Catholic University, and a Masters in Business Administration degree from George Mason University.

     

  • Wednesday, July 15, 2015 11:37 PM | NCSA Website Admin (Administrator)

    Posted by Pat Friesen  NSA Admin 

    You can get more value from your smartphone and tablet when you arm them with the right apps. Some of these are free, some have free versions, and others provide big benefits with modest price tags .

    MANAGE PASSWORDS SECURELY & EFFICIENTLY

    Accounting professionals typically have a lot of passwords to remember — everything from client logins to internal systems, even personal accounts. According to Allyson Kazmucha in Best apps for accountants and CPAs, 1Password is an efficient way to manage passwords and keep files secure with strong ones. “1Password is a safe and secure place to store them all without worrying about whether or not they’re going to fall in the wrong hands. You only need to remember one master password. 1Password can also help you generate strong passwords so you can rest easy knowing your sensitive information is as secure as possible.” 

    CAPTURE RECEIPTS FOR EASIER EXPENSE REPORTING

    Xpenditure automates expense tracking from receipt to report on iPhones and Androids. Simply take a photo of your receipts with your smartphone and Xpenditure’s intelligent scanning extracts the relevant data. You can add more information such as project or category. Use your online account to manage expenses, advances, mileage, even time-tracking. Generate expense and reimbursement reports with just a few clicks and export expenses to PDF, CSV or your favorite accounting software. You’ll be a hero with your clients when you tell them about this one.

    MAKE ON-THE-SPOT FINANCIAL CALCULATIONS

    The Pro Edition of the powerOne Financial Calculator is described as “the best financial calculator app” by Worldwide Tech  and “the crème de la crème of calculators” by AppAdvice. Its pre-installed templates cover all facets of finance and business including 401k calculations, auto loans and leases, bonds, breakevens, currency conversion, cash flow — NPR, NFV, IRR, and much more. You also have access to hundreds of additional templates in the powerOne Library. If you’re calculating an amortization or a loan, it can even produce graphs to help your clients visualize the data you’re explaining. Versions are available for both iPhone/iPad and Android.

    MANAGE BUSINESS CARDS BETTER

    With so many business cards in your desk drawer and so many apps available to help you manage them, check out Melissa Pereson’s COMPUTERWORLD review — 7 business card apps for smartphones—Scan ’em and store ’em. It’s a helpful comparison of seven popular apps Pereson tested on iOS and Android mobile devices. Apps reviewed: ABBYY Business Card ReaderBusiness Card ReaderCamCardPresto BizCardScanBizCardsWorldCard Mobile, and Yolu Card Reader.

    SCAN & SEND DOCUMENTS ON-THE-GO

    Financial paperwork often requires client signatures and the filling in of information. Scanner Promakes it easy to take photos of signed documents, then upload files to the cloud, email, print, or share them in other ways. This app transforms your iPhone or iPad into a portable handheld scanner.

    ** This article was originally posted on the Play It Safe! blog. Play It Safe! is a service of the NSA Insurance Trust, which was formed to provide affordable insurance plans and specialized insurance coverage to members of the National Society of Accountants.


  • Tuesday, June 16, 2015 11:47 AM | NCSA Website Manager (Administrator)

    Good morning,

    As mentioned at our recent Board meeting, we have been working on a Tax Practitioners Bill of Rights. This morning we released the Bill of Rights in a press release to media outlets around the country. The material is also on our website and on social media.  I have personally sent a copy to the IRS Commissioner and others within the agency.

    I think this is both a timely and necessary document and thank all who participated in its development under the leadership of President Niwao.

    Best regards,

    John Ams, NSA Executive Vice President 

    NSA TPBOR

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