A second Special Voluntary Disclosure Initiative has been announced by the IRS to bring offshore accounts back into the US tax system. The new program will be available through August 31, 2011.
According to IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman, “This new effort gives those hiding money in foreign accounts a tough, fair way to resolve their tax [...]

Happy New Year!! And of course, with the New Year, comes that all too familiar need to change something, a resolution to keep all throughout the year. Well, here’s one suggestion, with all the late changes in the tax laws that came near the end of 2010, your resolution could be to avoid the hustle [...]

This year’s tax season kicks off with the announcement of the April 18 deadline for filing 2010 tax returns and pay any tax due because Emancipation Day, a holiday observed in the District of Columbia, falls this year on Friday, April 15. By law, District of Columbia holidays impact tax deadlines in the same way [...]

New optional standard mileage rates were recently announced by the Internal Revenue Service taking effect on January 1, 2011. The optional standard mileage rates are used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.
Starting on January 1, 2011, the standard mileage rates for the use of a [...]

With tax year 2010 fast coming to an end, the Internal Revenue Service has released final guidance for small employers eligible to claim the new small business health care tax credit for the 2010 tax year. The release includes a one-page form and instructions small employers will use to claim the credit for the tax [...]

Aiming to attract more investors, the UK Government has published details of its Corporate Tax Reform program consisting of a series of essential reforms designed to improve the UK’s tax competitiveness. Measures include the introduction of new Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) rules and a commitment to introduce a Patent Box (re taxing profits from patents).
The [...]

The New Year seems to be going to start right as the Internal Revenue Service released instructions to help employers implement the 2011 cut in payroll taxes, along with new income-tax withholding tables that employers will use during 2011. The instructions will help millions of Americans take home higher pay as the Tax Relief, Unemployment [...]

The Internal Revenue Service has announced cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2011. In general, these limits will either remain unchanged, or the inflation adjustments for 2011 will be small. Highlights include:

The elective deferral (contribution) limit for employees who [...]

Amidst the spate of seemingly bad news hounding the nation, some good news has finally arrived. The rainbow indeed appears after the rain.
The Internal Revenue Service has announced a 1% interest rate cut for the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 2011.
The new rates will be:

three (3) percent for overpayments [two (2) percent in the [...]

In September of this year, the IRS lost a case (United States v. J. Bryan Williams) in which it tried to impose the 50% penalty for willfully failing to file a Foreign Bank Account Report, TDF 90-22.1 (FBAR). This appears to be the first case that has gone to court on FBAR penalties which did [...]