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Issue Number:  2017-2

Inside This Issue

1. New on IRS.gov
2. E-Services Update
3. Form W-2 Scam Targets Payroll, Human Resource Departments
4. Dangerous W-2 Phishing Scam Evolving: Targets Schools, Restaurants, Hospitals, Tribal Groups
5. Don’t Fall Prey to the Dirty Dozen
6. New Year: Time for a New Tax Calendar
7. IRS Launches Qualified Intermediary, Foreign Withholding Application and Account Management System
8. Technical Guidance

• 2016 Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement (Info Copy Only)
• 2016 Inst. W-2 and W-3, Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3, Wage and Tax Statement and Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements
• 2017 Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement (Info Copy Only) 
• 2017 Inst. W-2 and W-3, Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3, Wage and Tax Statement and Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements  
• Pub. 1220, Specifications for Electronic Filing of Forms 1097, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, and W-2G

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As of Sunday February 5, certain e-Services users who have not verified their identities with the IRS have had their accounts suspended. In December, IRS mailed Letters 5903 to users who had been active on their accounts in the past year and had access to the Transcript Delivery System. Users were given 30 days to verify their identities as part of our effort to better secure the e-Services program and protect taxpayer data.

We have updated the e-Services landing page and the Important Update about Your e-Services Account to provide users with guidance about how to reinstate their accounts if they did not do so within the 30-day timeframe.

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The IRS, state tax agencies and the tax industry this week renewed their warning about an email scam in which the scammer poses as a corporate officer to request employee Forms W-2 from company payroll or human resource departments.

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The IRS, state tax agencies and the tax industry issued an urgent alert to all employers that the Form W-2 email phishing scam has evolved beyond the corporate world and is spreading to other sectors, including school districts, tribal organizations and nonprofits.

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Compiled annually, the “Dirty Dozen” lists a variety of common scams that taxpayers and tax professionals may encounter anytime of the year. But many of these schemes peak during filing season as people prepare their returns or hire someone to help with their taxes.

Learn more about the Dirty Dozen in this YouTube video.

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Watch the online webinar and learn how to use the 2017 IRS Tax Calendar for Businesses and Self-Employed to: 

• Track federal tax due dates on a computer or mobile device
• Customize the online tax calendar
• Access the Desktop Calendar tool or IRS CalendarConnector

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The Internal Revenue Service has launched a new application and account management system for certain withholding entities that enter into agreements with the U.S.

The Qualified Intermediary (QI), Withholding Foreign Partnership (WP) and Withholding Foreign Trust (WT) Application and Account Management System automates the Financial Intermediary Program. The system is a secure web-based platform for users to apply to become a QI, WP, or WT, renew or terminate an existing agreement, and manage their information online.

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Notice 2017-16 provides that under the authority granted to the Secretary by § 35(g)(11)(B), an HCTC election for a month in 2016 may be made at any time before the expiration of the 3-year statute of limitation under § 6511 for such year, including on an amended income tax return. This extension of time is provided because, prior to its expiration, the HCTC did not require an election and the Treasury Department and the IRS are concerned that eligible coverage months in taxable years beginning on or after June 29, 2015, and before January 1, 2017.

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