Recent news accounts have claimed that federal taxpayers are receiving smaller tax refunds for the 2018 filing season, implying that their taxes are higher as a result of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. According to research by the Wall Street Journal, however,...
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National Taxpayer Advocate Report Details Challenges Facing IRS Due to Government Shutdown and New Federal Tax Laws
National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson recently released a report to Congress concerning the problems facing taxpayers with respect to their interactions with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). For the 2018 filing season, she cites the government shutdown as the...
IRS Awards Over $312 Million in Whistleblower Claims
The IRS recently released its annual report to Congress on the Whistleblower Program, which awarded over $312 million to whistleblowers and collected $1.4 billion in FY 2018. Awards in this period represent 21.7% of total proceeds collected based on whistleblower...
IRS Issues Guidance on New Qualified Business Income Deduction
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued final regulations and related guidance on the new qualified business income (QBI) deduction created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Eligible business owners and taxpayers can now deduct up to 20 percent of their...
IRS Reopens Just In Time To Kick Off 2019 Tax Filing Season
Employees of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) returned to work just in time for the 2019 tax-filing season to begin. By mid-day Monday, several million tax returns had already been received for processing, and the IRS expects about 150 million individual tax returns...
TIGTA Releases Independent Assessment of IRS Private Collection Activities
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) recently released its biannual independent assessment of the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS') private debt collection program, which became a requirement under the 2015 FAST Act. According to TIGTA, the...
IRS Lowers Threshold to Waive Underpayment Penalties for 2018 Tax Withholding Shortfall
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced that it will waive the estimated tax underpayment penalty for many taxpayers who did not have sufficient withholding in 2018. The penalty waiver usually applies to taxpayers who paid at least 90 percent of their...
TIGTA Releases Final Report on 2018 Filing Season
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released its final report on the 2018 filing season just before the federal government shutdown. As of May 4, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) received over 140 million tax returns, 89% of which...
IRS Plans for Government Shutdown
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently posted its contingency plan for managing operations during the federal government shutdown, which includes reducing its available workforce for IRS functions by over 87 percent. Employees may be kept on for half a day to...
TIGTA Releases Semi-Annual Report to Congress
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) recently released its semi-annual report to Congress on federal tax administration for the period from April 1 through September 30, 2018. A major highlight during this period was TIGTA's success protecting...

