e-News for Tax Professionals Issue 2014-15

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Issue Number:  2014-15

Inside This Issue

1. Thank You from IRS Commissioner Koskinen to Tax Community
2. Commissioner Testifies on the Regulation of Return Preparers
3. IRS Intensifies Work on Identity Theft and Refund Fraud
4. With Less Than a Week Until the Tax Filing Deadline, You Can Help Your Clients Get Extra Time to File
5. Whistleblower Office Releases FY 2013 Annual Report to Congress
6. IRS Statement on "Heartbleed"
7. Tax Information Available Through IRS Social Media Tools
8. YouTube: Last-Minute Tax Tips
9. Technical Guidance

With the end of the filing season just a few days away, I want to take a moment to thank all the tax professionals and other partners who have helped to make this filing season run smoothly. It’s a long list, ranging from attorneys, Certified Public Accountants and Enrolled Agents to the software industry and payroll community.

Tax professionals and other partners are a vital link between the IRS and taxpayers, particularly given that most people seek assistance in doing their taxes. Your work is critical to running the tax system and helping the nation. As the final days and hours approach before April 15, I just wanted to let you know that we appreciate your hard work and continued dedication. Of course, the work does not stop on April 15. The tax professional community works throughout the year helping individual and business clients with extensions, amended returns and many other issues. We look forward to continuing to work with tax professionals and all of our partners in the tax community as we start to wrap up the work of this filing season and turn our attention to preparing for next year.

John Koskinen

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IRS Commissioner John Koskinen testified before the Senate Finance Committee on April 8 about the regulation of paid tax return preparers and the IRS's related compliance activities.

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IRS Criminal Investigation has started 295 new identity theft investigations since January, pushing the number of active cases to more than 1,800.

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The IRS has received almost 100 million tax returns so far this year and expects to receive about 35 million more by the April 15 filing deadline. However, about 12 million taxpayers will have requested extensions by the filing deadline, giving them an extra 6 months to file.

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The complete Whistleblower Report to Congress is available on IRS.gov: it provides statistics and outlines the successes and challenges of the past year. The whistleblower office also revised Form 211, which includes a change to the mailing address for claim submissions.

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The IRS continues to accept tax returns as normal. Our systems continue operating and are not affected by this bug, and we are not aware of any security vulnerabilities related to this situation. We continue to monitor the situation and remain in contact with our software partners. The IRS advises taxpayers to continue filing their tax returns as they normally would in advance of the April 15 deadline.

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As the filing season deadline approaches, the Internal Revenue Service reminded taxpayers of its social media tools available to help them get the latest tax information and check on their refund status. These tools include the IRS2Go smartphone application, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr.

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Millions of people wait until the last minute to file their tax returns. Find out what their options are by watching this informative YouTube video. 

Watch this and other videos on the IRS YouTube Channel. 

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Notice 2014-27 provides guidance as to the corporate bond weighted average interest rate and the permissible range of interest rates specified under Section 412(b)(5)(B)(ii)(II) of the Internal Revenue Code as in effect for plan years beginning before 2008. It also provides guidance on the corporate bond monthly yield curve (and the corresponding spot segment rates), and the 24-month average segment rates under Section 430(h)(2). In addition, this notice provides guidance as to the interest rate on 30-year Treasury securities under Section 417(e)(3)(A)(ii)(II) as in effect for plan years beginning before 2008, the 30-year Treasury weighted average rate under Section 431(c)(6)(E)(ii)(I), and the minimum present value segment rates under Section 417(e)(3)(D) as in effect for plan years beginning after 2007. The rates in this notice reflect certain changes implemented by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, Public Law 112-141 (MAP-21).

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