Looking for the Latest Info? Visit Tax Season 2010
Visit the IRS Tax Season 2010 web page for news releases, fact sheets, tax tips, YouTube video and podcasts with the latest information for tax filing season 2010.
New IRS Small Business Workshop Available Online The new Virtual Small Business Tax Workshop is now available online -- it is composed of nine interactive lessons designed to help new small business owners learn their tax rights and responsibilities. Lessons include what you need to know about federal taxes and your new business, how to set up and run your business so paying taxes isn’t a hassle, how to file and pay your taxes using a computer, and what you need to know when you run your business out of your home. The workshop will also be available on CD in January 2010 – you can preorder a copy
of Publication 1066C here.
2010 Tax Calendar for Small Businesses Available Online in English or Spanish The 2010 IRS Tax Calendar for Small Businesses and the Self-Employed is now available on IRS.gov. You may view it online, or print a copy out. Unfortunately, the pre-printed calendars (Publication 1518) are already out of stock and can no longer be ordered.
IRS Proposes New Registration, Testing and Continuing Education Requirements for Tax Return Preparers Not Already Subject to Oversight The Internal Revenue Service kicked off the 2010 tax filing season today by issuing the results of a landmark six-month study that
proposes new registration, testing and continuing education of tax return preparers. With more than 80 percent of American households using a tax preparer or tax software to help them prepare and file their taxes, higher standards for the tax preparer community will significantly enhance protections and service for taxpayers, increase confidence in the tax system and result in greater compliance with tax laws over the long term.
IRS Announces Streamlined and Simplified Notices to TaxpayersIRS has unveiled its first redesigned notices that are part of an on-going effort to improve the way it corresponds with taxpayers. Nine notices will feature the new design format beginning in January. These notices account for approximately 2 million pieces of correspondence with individuals, businesses and exempt organizations. A revised web page is available at
www.irs.gov/notices. These notices are among the first to be reviewed and revised for clarity, effectiveness and efficiency. The agency also will create an office that ensures the effort to improve communications is on-going and permanent.
The new format includes a plain language explanation of the nature of the correspondence, clearly states what action the taxpayer must take and presents a consistent, clean design. The new format also guides taxpayers to appropriate pages on IRS.gov where they can find accurate and relevant information quickly and easily. By reducing the potential for confusion, these notices will improve the taxpayers’ ability to get problems resolved quickly, and improve overall compliance.
New Homebuyer Credit Form Released; Taxpayers Reminded to Attach Settlement Statement and Other Key Documents
Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit, and the related
instructions are now available – this is the new form that eligible homebuyers need to claim the first-time homebuyer credit this tax season. The IRS also announced new documentation requirements to deter fraud related to the first-time homebuyer credit. The new form and instructions follow major changes in November to the homebuyer credit by the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009. The new law extended the credit to a broader range of home purchasers and added new documentation requirements to deter fraud and ensure taxpayers properly claim the credit. Taxpayers claiming the homebuyer credit must file a paper tax return because of the added documentation requirements – see the full article for a list of documentation.
National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2009 Annual ReportThe National Taxpayer Advocate delivered her
2009 Annual Report to Congress today. The report addresses issues affecting small businesses in the current economic situation.
Related link:
IR-2010-2, National Taxpayer Advocate focuses on taxpayer service, collection and preparer regulation.
Free File Now Available to Almost All Taxpayers; Software Can Help Find New Economic Recovery Tax Breaks that Could Be Overlooked The Internal Revenue Service and its private-sector partners are making Free File available. Most taxpayers can have free use of helpful tax preparation software and free electronic filing of the federal tax returns. There are many new tax breaks this filing season and Free File software can make it easier for people to find all the credits and deductions they are due. Taxpayers must go through
www.IRS.gov homepage or
www.IRS.gov/freefile to access the free options. The Free File program provides free federal income tax preparation and electronic filing for eligible taxpayers through a partnership between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Free File Alliance LLC, a group of approximately 20 private sector tax software companies. Free File comes in two formats: Traditional Free File, which is available to taxpayers who meet specific criteria and Free File Fillable Forms, which is available to almost all taxpayers. Approximately 70 percent of the nation’s taxpayers, some 98 million people who meet the $57,000 income limit, are eligible for the user-friendly Traditional Free File. Traditional Free File provides step-by-step software help that asks simple questions and puts the answers on the correct tax forms.
IRS and Telemundo Will Host Tax Information Program for Spanish-Speaking Taxpayers The Internal Revenue Service is joining national TV network Telemundo in a special one-hour tax program for Spanish-speaking taxpayers on Sunday, Jan. 24.
The program, “Los Impuestos y Usted” (“Taxes and You”), will air at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time,
2:00 p.m. Central and Mountain time, and 3:00 p.m. Pacific time. Consult your local listings for exact times. Information about the IRS is available in Spanish at http://www.irs.gov/espanol or toll-free at 1-800-829-1040, extension 8.
IRS e-file: It’s Safe; It’s Easy; It’s Time
IRS e-file, the popular electronic tax return delivery service used by two-thirds of the nation’s taxpayers, opens for business January 15 and marks 20 years of safely and securely transmitting nearly 800 million individual federal tax returns. The Internal Revenue Service debuted e-file nationally in 1990, delivering 4.2 million tax returns. Last year, IRS e-file delivered 95 million tax returns, 66 percent of all returns filed.