An authorized representative contacted TAS for assistance with an Employee Retention Credit claim filed by a small business they represented. After significant delays, the business was still waiting for the IRS to process their claim.  

The assigned case advocate’s hard work, organization, and follow through prompted the IRS to process the claim and release the refund. The refund allowed the business to stay open and continue providing important services to members of its community.  

The authorized representative commended the assigned employee, stating the Case Advocate “is a credit to your organization and…closure of the issue couldn’t have come at a better time!” 

With the filing season underway, many taxpayers are gathering their tax documents, including Forms W-2 and 1099, and figuring out exactly how they will prepare their income tax returns. Some taxpayers choose to prepare their own tax returns using tax return preparation software. However, last year, over 54 percent of all individual income tax returns were prepared by paid return preparers. Choosing the right return preparer is an important decision with significant financial consequences, but selecting the right return preparer can be confusing. It may be difficult to understand the differences between the various preparer credentials and which type of credential best fits your needs.

The IRS Nationwide Tax Forum was back in-person and in full swing this summer after three years of going virtual during the pandemic. At each of the five tax forums held across the country, I had the honor of  hosting a series of town hall events where I heard directly from tax professionals about the issues that give them, and the taxpayers they represent, heartburn.

Received IRS Notice CP53E? Learn how to safely update your direct deposit, avoid refund delays, and spot scams trying to steal your banking information.

If you file jointly and your spouse has a debt (this can be a federal, state income tax, child support, or spousal support debt) the IRS can apply your refund to one of these debts, which is known as an “offset.”

Many individuals may not know they can request, receive, and review their tax records via a tax transcript from the IRS at no charge.  Transcripts are often used to validate income and tax filing status for mortgage applications, student loans, social services, and small business loan applications and for responding to an IRS notice, filing an amended return, or obtaining a lien release.  Transcripts can also be useful to taxpayers when preparing and filing tax returns by verifying estimated tax payments, Advance Child Tax Credits, Economic Income Payments/stimulus payments, and/or an overpayment from a prior year return.

Student loan forgiveness can offer a financial reset – but starting in 2026, there may be associated tax liabilities. Depending on when and how your loans are forgiven, you may face an unexpected tax bill.

In a March 2022 blog, I wrote about the IRS suspension of more than a dozen automated collection letters and notices associated with the filing of a tax return or payment of tax. The suspension was in response to the enormous processing backlog of paper tax returns and correspondence. At the time, I was one of the individuals advocating to stop the notices until the IRS addressed the high volume of calls and millions of pieces of unprocessed correspondence. However, a year and a half later, the suspension of those letters and notices is still in place, but is expected to come to an end sometime this calendar year.

If you’re a student-athlete earning NIL income, you may be entering the tax system for the first time—or facing a level of complexity you’ve never dealt with before. You may have only filed a simple return in the past—or never filed at all. Now, you could be receiving payments (and perks) from multiple sources, often with little or no tax withheld. That means you could owe taxes you weren’t expecting, need to make payments during the year—not just at filing time, and owe tax on benefits that don’t feel like income, like free gear or use of a car.

Information you need to know if you received a notification that IRS is auditing (examining) your tax return.