Thursday, Sept. 3 IRS webinar focuses on Opportunity Zones IR-2020-198, August 31, 2020 — The Internal Revenue Service is holding a free webinar designed to give an overview of Opportunity Zones and to discuss related tax benefits for investors. IRS provides tax relief for victims of Hurricane Laura; Oct. 15 deadline, other dates extended to Dec. 31 IR-2020-197, August 31, 2020 — Victims of Hurricane Laura that began August 22 now have until December 31, 2020, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments, the IRS announced today. Settlements begin in syndicated conservation easement transaction initiative IR-2020-196, August 31, 2020 — As part of a continuing effort to combat abusive transactions, the Internal Revenue Service announced today the completion of the first settlement under its initiative to resolve certain docketed cases involving syndicated conservation easement transactions. Guidance issued to implement Presidential Memorandum deferring certain employee Social Security tax withholding IR-2020-195, August 28, 2020 — The Department of Treasury and IRS today issued guidance implementing the Presidential Memorandum issued on August 8, 2020, allowing employers to defer withholding and payment of the employee’s portion of the Social Security tax if the employee’s wages are below a certain amount. IRS approves temporary use of e-signatures for certain forms IR-2020-194, August 28, 2020 — To protect the health of taxpayers and tax professionals, the Internal Revenue Service today announced it will temporarily allow the use of digital signatures on certain forms that cannot be filed electronically. IRS accepting applicants for the Compliance Assurance Process for 2021 IR-2020-193, August 27, 2020 — The Internal Revenue Service announced today the opening of the application period for the 2021 Compliance Assurance Process program. IRS: 50,000 spouses to get catch-up Economic Impact Payments IR-2020-192, August 25, 2020 — The Internal Revenue Service will soon send catch-up Economic Impact Payment checks to about 50,000 individuals whose portion of the EIP was diverted to pay their spouse’s past-due child support. IRS provides tax relief for victims of California wildfires; Oct. 15 deadline, other dates extended to Dec. 15 IR-2020-191, August 24, 2020 — Victims of the California wildfires that began August 14 now have until December 15, 2020 to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments, the IRS announced today. IRS provides tax relief for victims of Iowa derecho; extends Oct. 15, other upcoming deadlines to Dec. 15 IR-2020-190, August 24, 2020 — Victims of the August 10 derecho storm that affected parts of Iowa now have until December 15, 2020, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments, the IRS announced today. As peak hurricane season nears, IRS reminds people to prepare for natural disasters IR-2020-189, August 24, 2020 — The Internal Revenue Service reminds people to create or maintain an emergency preparedness plan. A well-thought-out plan is a critical component for surviving natural disasters. IRS: Deadline to return distributions to retirement accounts is Aug. 31 IR-2020-187, August 24, 2020 — The Internal Revenue Service today reminds IRA owners, beneficiaries or workplace retirement plan participants who received a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) this year that they have until Aug. 31 to rollover or repay the distribution to avoid paying taxes. IRS urges employers to choose carefully when selecting a payroll service provider IR-2020-186, August 19, 2020 — The IRS reminded employers today to carefully choose their payroll service providers following continuing concerns that some disreputable organizations can fail to deposit employment taxes, leaving businesses vulnerable to unpaid bills. IRS: Unemployment compensation is taxable; have tax withheld now and avoid a tax-time surprise IR-2020-185, August 18, 2020 — With millions of Americans now receiving taxable unemployment compensation, many of them for the first time, the Internal Revenue Service today reminded people receiving unemployment compensation (beneficiaries) that they can have tax withheld from their benefits now to help avoid owing taxes on this income when they file their federal income tax return next year. Working Virtually: make a plan for protecting data and reporting theft; Part 5 of Security Summit tips for tax professionals IR-2020-184, August 18, 2020 — The Internal Revenue Service and Security Summit partners today reminded tax professionals that federal law requires them to have a written information security plan. 13.9 million Americans to receive IRS tax refund interest; taxable payments to average $18 IR-2020-183, August 18, 2020 — This week the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service will send interest payments to about 13.9 million individual taxpayers who timely filed their 2019 federal income tax returns and are receiving refunds. Now available: IRS Form 1040-X electronic filing IR-2020-182, August 17, 2020 — Marking a major milestone in tax administration, the Internal Revenue Service announced today that taxpayers can now submit Form 1040-X electronically with commercial tax-filing software. Last round of ITINs will expire in 2020; IRS encourages early renewal to prevent refund delays IR-2020-181, August 17, 2020 — More than 1 million Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers are set to expire at the end of 2020 as the Internal Revenue Service completes the expiration of ITINs assigned prior to 2013. IRS takes new steps to ensure people with children receive $500 Economic Impact Payments IR-2020-180, August 14, 2020 — The Internal Revenue Service continues to look for ways to help people who were unable to provide their information in time to receive Economic Impact Payments for their children. Global disruption of three terror finance cyber-enabled campaigns (PDF) PDF Issued by the Department of Justice on August 13, 2020 — The Justice Department today announced the dismantling of three terrorist financing cyber-enabled campaigns, involving the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, al-Qaeda, and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). IRS reminds truckers of Aug. 31 highway use tax return deadline; e-file encouraged IR-2020-179, August 13, 2020 — The Internal Revenue Service today reminded owners of most heavy highway vehicles of their responsibility to timely file Form 2290, Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax Return. Working Virtually: Avoid phishing scams; Part 4 of Security Summit tips for tax professionals IR-2020-178, August 11, 2020 — The Internal Revenue Service and the Security Summit partners today warned tax professionals to be alert to new phishing scams that try to take advantage of COVID-19, Economic Impact Payments and increased teleworking by practitioners. Joint Board announces temporary waiver of “physical presence” education requirement for enrolled actuaries IR-2020-177, August 10, 2020 — The Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries today provided enrolled actuaries with notice that it is waiving the physical presence requirement for continuing professional education (CPE) credit for any formal programs conducted from January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2022. Working Virtually: Use a virtual private network to secure remote locations; Part 3 of Security Summit tips for tax professionals IR-2020-176, August 4, 2020 — As more tax professionals consider teleworking during COVID-19, the IRS and the Security Summit partners today urged practitioners to secure remote locations by using a virtual private network (VPN) to protect against cyber intruders. James Lee selected to lead IRS Criminal Investigation IR-2020-175, August 3, 2020 — The IRS announced today that James Lee will become the new chief of IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) on October 1. News release and fact sheet archive Find previous year news releases and fact sheets from 1997 through last month.
