tax

cybersecurity for tax professionals

by

welch

checklist: the 24 steps to prevent and, if necessary, respond to breaches.

by amy welch

last year, there were nearly 90,000 reports of tax identity theft, according to the federal trade commission.

in fact, in june, an irs agent admitted to stealing someone’s identity. law360.com reported special agent bryan cho, 49, pled guilty to aggravated identity theft and wire fraud in a brooklyn district court. it appears anyone can be a criminal!

join donny shimamoto, cpa, citp, cgma, for “hybrid work: holistic approach to customer, employee & cybersecurity risks,” aug. 26, 3:30 pm et. register here | learn more

it’s also important to note that protecting taxpayer data is the law. according to the ftc safeguards rule, “tax return preparers must create and enact security plans to protect client data. failure to do so may result in an ftc investigation.” additionally, any “failures that lead to an unauthorized disclosure may subject you to penalties under sections 7216 and/or 6713 of the internal revenue code. read more →

closing the tax gap: more data, more compliance?

by

tax professionals should brace for a new wave of information reporting.

misreporting by income category: the staggering difference in the tax gaps left by workers with income subject to information reporting and withholding compared to those with income subject to little or no information reporting – less than $10 billion compared with more than $150 billion. (via u.s. department of treasury)

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

here’s something the irs has discovered and many tax preparers can probably confirm: while roughly 99 percent of taxes due on wages are paid to the irs, compliance on less visible sources of income is estimated to be just 45 percent.

more: how charlatans, creeps, and ghosts plague the tax profession | grappling with the tax gap | wealthiest taxpayers cheat irs out of $400 billion a year | 173% increase in irs correspondence backlog | hunker down: the irs backlog isn’t going away anytime soon | the irs studebaker bomb | imagine irs ‘concierge’ service. just imagine. | irs has recruiting problems, too
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

yes, it seems that americans are more willing to pay what they owe when the irs knows they owe it.
read more →

how charlatans, creeps, and ghosts plague the tax profession

by

aicpa backs bill to regulate tax practitioners.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

here’s a shocking stat from the treasury department:

“… unregulated preparers who lack the training to provide accurate tax assistance … submit more returns than all other preparers combined.”

more: grappling with the tax gap | wealthiest taxpayers cheat irs out of $400 billion a year | 173% increase in irs correspondence backlog | hunker down: the irs backlog isn’t going away anytime soon | the irs studebaker bomb | imagine irs ‘concierge’ service. just imagine. | irs has recruiting problems, too
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

that sounds like trouble in a number of ways:

  • unwitting taxpayers may be paying more taxes than they owe.
  • taxpayers may be left liable for shoddy or shady tax preparation.
  • the irs may be collecting less than it could.
  • taxpayers may be left in a lurch when the irs has questions but the preparer has disappeared.

read more →

salt: the small business disaster waiting to happen

by

more highlights: “tax season from hell.” the pandemic pivot. small business outlook. digitally-powered recovery.

small business salt: 98% of accountants say small businesses are vulnerable to interstate sales tax issues, including 7% who say “none or almost none” are in compliance and 39% who say “most” are not and another 39% saying only “some” are.  (卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research)

 

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

three years after the notorious “wayfair” decision, accountants say a vast number of small businesses face new and burdensome interstate sales tax measures. but only a few accountants appear ready to help, according to new research by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.

more: survey: rough seas ahead for small business

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

most accountants believe that 98 percent of small businesses – virtually all – are failing to fully comply with all the interstate sales tax issues they may be liable for. and yet, about 71 percent of accountants are falling short of handling all their clients’ sales tax issues, with about 12 percent saying they address “most” issues, 36 percent handling “some,” and 24 percent handling none, according to the new study conducted in conjunction with avalara, the tax management software company.

read more →

seven trillion reasons to pay attention

by

how closing the $7-trillion tax gap could impact the tax prep business.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

president biden is proposing some big – and some would say long overdue – spending on infrastructure and programs to help lift americans out of the pandemic recession. he can’t raise taxes – that’s congress’s purview – but collecting taxes falls within the obligations of the executive branch.

more: wealthiest taxpayers cheat irs out of $400 billion a year | 173% increase in irs correspondence backlog | hunker down: the irs backlog isn’t going away anytime soon | the irs studebaker bomb | imagine irs ‘concierge’ service. just imagine. | irs has recruiting problems, too
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

and the executive branch smells potential.
read more →

she wanted her shoebox back

by

one of the oddest ways i ever lost a client.

hoisted from comments
looking at comments, ed mendlowitz seems to have hit a nerve with this piece. 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 readers are reacting with knowing nods and war stories of their own. 

by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting

who would ever think that the most important part of a shoebox with a client’s tax information was the shoebox?

more: when parents, children hit an impasse | how bickering can ruin a family business | one hour a year since 1972 | 50 ways to make more money in busy season | 20 good ways to boost tax season production
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

not me, and i lost a client because of it. read more →

tax season ends with pros covering 54% of returns

by

data chartdirect deposit refunds were the only down note.

by beth bellor

the final report from the tax season we thought would never end is in, and on higher notes than might have been expected.

more: 54% of tax returns go through pros | tax pros race to the finish line | tax pros widen lead over amateurs | pros surge ahead in tax prep | tax pros handle 53% of e-filings | tax pros hold their ground
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the agency received 148 million individual income tax returns, up 11.8 percent from the same period in 2020, when the endless season was 18 days longer. it processed 135.8 million returns, up 13.4 percent and setting the processing rate at 91.7 percent.
read more →

irs: short on time and running out of room

by

the situation isn’t funny, but laughing beats crying.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

half the country may be vaxxed to the max, but that hasn’t helped the irs recover from last year’s covid-clogged backlog. in fact, it’s gotten so bad that the backlog is causing a logjam that’s backing up more logs.

more: 173% increase in irs correspondence backlog | hunker down: the irs backlog isn’t going away anytime soon | the irs studebaker bomb | irs has recruiting problems, too
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

when tax clients start to gripe about the refunds they haven’t received, maybe not even last year’s, describe this scenario to them, as described by the interim results of the 2021 filing season report from the treasury inspector general for tax administration.
read more →

tax season is over; now what?

by

woman driving a sports carhow are you marking this year like no other?

by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting

i always ended tax season with my office closed the next day. we once gave employees a choice of taking off either the day after or friday after tax season. those who chose the friday said they should have taken off the day after. that day off provided a way to unwind and just be lazy.

more: when parents, children hit an impasse | how bickering can ruin a family business | one hour a year since 1972 | why annual staff evaluations fall short | why create an accounting firm business model? | the clients that keep you awake at night
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

one year, one of my partners, a close friend and i all bought new cars that day. it is a day to clear your mind and come down from a high-performance mentality.
read more →