Inside This Issue

1. PTIN renewal season now underway
2. IRS launches 2024 IRS Nationwide Tax Forum Online with 18 new seminars
3. Tax Professional Awareness Week begins Oct. 21
4. IRS warns taxpayers of hurricane charity scams; shares tools to help verify legitimate groups
5. Third-party payers’ consolidated claims for ERC must include statement
6. IRS offers free webinar on Nov. 18 to assist large businesses with Compliance Assurance Process
7. Upcoming webinars for tax practitioners
8. Technical Guidance

1.  PTIN renewal season now underway

PTIN (Preparer Tax Identification Number) renewal season is now underway for all tax professionals. The fee to obtain or renew a PTIN for 2025 is $19.75. All current PTIN holders will receive formal notification from the IRS Return Preparer Office in the coming weeks.

All PTINs expire on Dec. 31, and must be renewed annually. Tax professionals and enrolled agents must have a valid PTIN to prepare any federal tax returns for compensation.

More information about PTINs can be found at www.irs.gov/ptin.

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2.  IRS launches 2024 IRS Nationwide Tax Forum Online with 18 new seminars

The IRS this week launched the 2024 Nationwide Tax Forum Online, giving tax professionals access to 18 seminars recorded at the 2024 IRS Nationwide Tax Forum. The Nationwide Tax Forum Online features information on tax legislation, IRS procedures, and key topics for the upcoming tax season.

Each seminar includes a 50-minute interactive video presentation with synchronized slides, downloadable materials and transcripts. Courses can be taken for continuing education (CE) credit for a fee of $29, or they can be reviewed for free (no CE credit).

The IRS Nationwide Tax Forum Online is a continuing education provider certified by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) and the IRS Return Preparer Office. Visit the Nationwide Tax Forum Online website to learn more.

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3.  Tax Professional Awareness Week begins Oct. 21

Tax Professional Awareness Week begins Oct. 21, featuring educational initiatives to equip tax professionals with tools and information they need before filing season to help them prepare accurate returns.

Paid tax professionals play an important role in assisting taxpayers with their filing obligations. More than half of taxpayers who claim refundable credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit rely on paid tax professionals to accurately file their return.

For more information, please visit the Tax Professional Awareness Week page on IRS.gov.

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4.  IRS warns taxpayers of hurricane charity scams; shares tools to help verify legitimate groups

The IRS this week warned taxpayers of scammers who use fictious charities to obtain sensitive personal and financial data from unwary donors in the wake of Hurricanes Milton and Helene. Fake charities are frequently established by fraudsters to exploit peoples’ generosity during natural disasters.

Those who wish to donate should first check the Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) tool on IRS.gov to locate or confirm eligible, reputable charities. With this tool, people can:

• Verify the legitimacy of a charity
• Check its eligibility to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions, and
• Search for information about an organization's tax-exempt status and filings

The IRS also urges individuals encountering a fake or suspicious charity to see the FBI’s resources on Charity and Disaster Fraud.

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5.  Third-party payers’ consolidated claims for ERC must include statement

The IRS recently announced a consolidated process for third-party payers to resolve clients’ incorrect claims for the Employee Retention Credit. Any consolidated claim the IRS receives after Oct. 17, 2024, must have the full statement provided at Preparing your consolidated claim. The statement verifies that the consolidated claim:

• Includes only business clients that were part of a previous ERC claim; and
• Doesn’t increase the amount of ERC claimed by clients.

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6.  IRS offers free webinar on Nov. 18 to assist large businesses with Compliance Assurance Process

The IRS announced a free webinar to help large businesses taxpayers better understand the Compliance Assurance Process (CAP). The webinar will take place Nov. 18, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET. Tax professionals can register on the CAP program webinar registration page. Space is limited to the first 1,000 registrants.

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7.  Upcoming webinars for tax practitioners

The IRS offers the upcoming live webinars to the tax practitioner community:

• Energy Efficient Home Improvements Credit & Residential Clean Energy Property Credit: How the Inflation Reduction Act revised these credits on Nov. 14, at 2 p.m. ET. Earn up to one continuing education credit (Federal Tax). Certificates of completion are being offered. Click here to register.
• Beneficial Ownership Information Presented by Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on Nov. 19, at 2 p.m. ET. No continuing education credit is being offered. Click here to register. 

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8.  Technical Guidance

Notice 2024-71 provides a safe harbor under section 213 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Notice 2024-75 expands the list of preventive care benefits permitted to be provided by a high deductible health plan (HDHP) under section 223(c)(2)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code without a deductible, or with a deductible below the applicable minimum deductible for the HDHP.

Notice 2024-77 provides guidance in the form of questions and answers on sections 414(aa) and 402(c)(12) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) as added by section 301(b) of Division T of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022.

Revenue Ruling 2024-24 provides various prescribed rates for federal income tax purposes including the applicable federal interest rates, the adjusted applicable federal interest rates, the adjusted federal long-term rate, and the adjusted federal long-term tax-exempt rate. These rates are determined as prescribed by Section 1274.