Newsroom March 21, 2011
IRS Releases 2010 Data Book
IR-2011-27, March 14, 2011 — The Internal Revenue Service today announced the release of the 2010 IRS Data Book, an annual snapshot of agency activities for the fiscal year.
More Tax Refunds Paid, IRS Reminds Filers About Savings Bond Option
IR-2011-26, March 14, 2011 — Taxpayers have more options on how they can receive their refunds this year, including more savings bond options. Filing season statistics for the week ending March 4 are included.
IRS Issues Information on 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative in Eight Foreign Languages
IR-2011-25, March 8, 2011 — The IRS today announced that it has made available information in eight foreign languages about the 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI) for those taxpayers with undisclosed offshore accounts. The agency took this step to reach taxpayers whose primary language may not be English.
IRS Debunks Frivolous Tax Arguments
IR-2011-23, March 4, 2011 — Employing any of these arguments could result in a $5,000 penalty.
Return Preparer Update
The number of PTINs issued since September 2010 is over 692,000. David Williams, will be appearing in an IRS Live Webinar on March 30 to discuss the latest return preparer news. More information is available here or in news release IR-2011-22 issued on March 4, 2011. Also, the New Requirement for Tax Return Preparer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) has recently added six new FAQs.
Programming Issue with Small Proportion of First Time Homebuyer Credit Claims
The IRS is aware of a programming issue delaying the processing of a small percentage of returns for taxpayers who must repay the First Time Homebuyer Credit. The issue affects taxpayers reporting a sale or disposition of the home that qualified for the credit, which in most cases means taxpayers must repay the credit. The delay also affects some taxpayers who bought a home in 2008 making a repayment higher than the required annual amount (typically $500). For more on how to deal with this issue see the above attached QuickAlert 1040 e-file (Legacy) Form 5405. (This March 18th QuickAlert will eventually be posted in the QuickAlerts Library on IRS.gov.
Speak Up! Join the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel
The IRS is seeking volunteers to serve on the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP), a Federal Advisory Committee that listens to taxpayers, identifies taxpayers’ issues and makes suggestions for improving IRS services and customer satisfaction. Apply before the April 29, 2011 deadline!
IRS Holds Saturday Open House on March 26 to Help Taxpayers
IR-2011-19, Feb. 23, 2011
2011 Form 941 and instructions now online
The 2011 Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return and instructions are now available on IRS.gov.
SSA/IRS Reporter goes green
The SSA/IRS Reporter is now only available online.
New editions will be posted on IRS.gov by the middle of March, June, September and December.
The free IRS Calendar Connector makes it easy to remember important tax and deposit deadlines on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
IMRS Hot Issues - March 3, 2011
Individual Income Tax Transcripts Can Now Be Ordered Online, First-Time Homebuyer Credit Repayment and more
IRS Technical Guidance
REG-153338-09 was published in the Federal Register on March 18. It pertains to the period for submission to the IRS of taxpayer authorizations permitting disclosure of returns and return information to third-party designee.
Earthquake Relief for
Many individuals, businesses and charitable organizations wish to provide assistance to the victims of
Contributions to domestic tax-exempt, charitable organizations that provide assistance to individuals in foreign lands qualify as tax-deductible contributions for federal income tax purposes, provided that the
Events
National/Local Phone Forums and Webinars for Practitioners
- Business Taxes for the Self-Employed: The Basics - March 29, 2011
- Requirements for Federal Tax Return Preparers – March 30, 2011
EP/EO Presents
- Form 5330 - Completion and Processing Tidbits - March 24, 2011
TE/GE
- Easy, Low Cost Ways to Start Your Small Business Retirement Plan – April 7, 2011
San Jose, California will be one of six locations hosting the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum this year. The forum will be held in San Jose on August 9th through August 11th, with a pre-registration deadline of July 26, 2011.
I hope you find this information useful. If you would like additional information, you can subscribe to an IRS e-Subscription by going to the Subscription page on IRS.gov
If you would like to discontinue receiving my local Stakeholder Liaison e-mails, please e-mail me at Jennifer.Henrie-Brown@irs.gov and request removal of your name.
Sent: Friday, March 04, 2011 4:46 PM
To: Kinsey James R
Cc: Lee Evelyn Dyson; Peneau Joyce H
Subject: RE: IRS News Events from Stakeholder Liaison
Hello Everyone,
As James Kinsey mentioned in his below email, I am a Stakeholder Liaison Specialist and I currently work in the Oakland Federal building. I am very interested in assisting you and will provide you with periodic IRS news and updates, etc. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions and/or concerns. As Stakeholder Liaison Specialists, we are very interested in hearing about federal tax related issues and concerns regarding systemic problems with policies, practices and procedures. I have attached a flyer with information about our Issue Management Resolution System (IMRS) which also contains my contact information.
I look forward to keeping the lines of communication open between us. Please feel free to email and/or call me.
Have a fabulous weekend!
From: Kinsey James R
Sent: Friday, March 04, 2011 1:38 PM
To: Kinsey James R
Cc: Lee Evelyn Dyson; Peneau Joyce H
Subject: IRS News Events from Stakeholder Liaison
Please share with your members and colleagues. Select the blue links to see the full article.
Newsroom March 4, 2011
IRS Has $1.1 Billion for People Who Have Not Filed a 2007 Income Tax Return
IR-2011-21, Feb. 28, 2011 — Refunds totaling more than $1.1 billion may be waiting for nearly 1.1 million people who did not file a federal income tax return for 2007, the Internal Revenue Service announced today. However, to collect the money, a return for 2007 must be filed with the IRS no later than Monday, April 18, 2011.
IRS Announces New Effort to Help Struggling Taxpayers Get a Fresh Start; Major Changes Made to Lien Process
IR-2011-20, Feb. 24, 2011 — The IRS announced a series of new steps to help people and businesses pay back taxes and avoid tax liens.
More Business Package Mailings End Following Growth of e-File
Business taxpayers will no longer receive certain tax packages in the mail from the IRS. Most importantly, the Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return will no longer be mailed.
IRS provides new look to certain collection notices
The newest release of redesigned taxpayer notices includes 12 tax collection notices featuring the Service’s new design and plain language standards. The redesigned tax delinquent account (TDA) notices present a clear, clean line and use best practices to aid in comprehension and readability. Redesigned TDA notices include CPs 501, 503, 504, 504B, 521, 523, 601, 603, 604, 604B, 621 and 623.
IRS Headliners & Technical Guidance
Headliner Volume 309, Feb 23, 2011
The Internal Revenue Service released the 2011 update to the Allowable Living Expense Standards on March 1.
Revenue Procedure 2011-21 provides the depreciation deduction limitations for owners of passenger automobiles (including trucks and vans) first placed in service during calendar year 2011 and the amount to be included in income by lessees of passenger automobiles first leased during calendar year 2011.
Notice 2011-19 provides guidance regarding when securities of the employer are readily tradable on an established securities market or readily tradable on an established market for purposes of certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to employer securities held by certain qualified retirement plans.
Notice 2011-18 provides transitional relief from information reporting requirements in section 6045B of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) that apply to issuers of stock with respect to organizational actions that affect the basis of the stock.
Notice 2011-14 providing guidance on the federal tax consequences of payments made to or on behalf of financially distressed homeowners under programs established pursuant to the Treasury Department’s Housing Finance Agency Innovative Fund for the Hardest-Hit Housing Markets and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program.
Events
National/Local Phone Forums and Webinars for Practitioners
- Business Taxes for the Self-Employed: The Basics - March 29, 2011
- Requirements for Federal Tax Return Preparers – March 30, 2011
EP/EO Presents
- EP Technical Guidance - March 4, 2011
- Form 5330 - Completion and Processing Tidbits - March 24, 2011
TE/GE
- Easy, Low Cost Ways to Start Your Small Business Retirement Plan – April 7, 2011
The first forum will be held in
IRS QUICK ALERTS! http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/providers/article/0,,id=97623,00.html
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e-file Resources Other Useful Links |
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I hope you find this information useful. If you would like additional information, you can subscribe to an IRS e-Subscription by going to the Subscription page on IRS.gov.
If you would like to discontinue receiving my local Stakeholder Liaison e-mails, please e-mail me at James.R.Kinsey@irs.gov and request removal of your name.
