The IRS announced May 21 it is refunding the fees that tax return preparers paid to take the RTRP competency test. 
  
Letters will be mailed to refund recipients on May 28 and checks will be mailed June 2, the IRS said. Preparers should allow until Aug. 2, 2015, to receive the refunds, the agency said in answers to Frequently Asked Questions, released with the statement. 
  
Return preparers took the test between November 2011 and January 2013, and paid a fee of $116. About 89,000 tests were paid for and taken, the IRS said, with some preparers taking the test more than once. 
  
The exam fee refunds are being made because the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia decided in February 2014 in Loving v. IRS that the IRS lacked the statutory authority to require testing and continuing education.

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today announced that interest rates will remain the same for the calendar quarter beginning April 1, 2015.  The rates will be: 

• three (3) percent for overpayments [two (2) percent in the case of a corporation];
• one-half (0.5) percent for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000
• three (3) percent for underpayments; and
• five (5) percent for large corporate underpayments.

Under the Internal Revenue Code, the rate of interest is determined on a quarterly basis.  For taxpayers other than corporations, the overpayment and underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points. 

Generally, in the case of a corporation, the underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points and the overpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 2 percentage points. The rate for large corporate underpayments is the federal short-term rate plus 5 percentage points. The rate on the portion of a corporate overpayment of tax exceeding $10,000 for a taxable period is the federal short-term rate plus one-half (0.5) of a percentage point.

The interest rates announced today are computed from the federal short-term rate determined during January 2015 to take effect Feb. 1, 2015, based on daily compounding.

Revenue Ruling 2015-05 announcing the rates of interest is attached and will appear in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2015-13, dated March 30, 2015.

AccountingToday.com 

Approximately 800,000 taxpayers who received health care coverage through the federal insurance marketplace Healthcare.gov were sent the wrong information on their Form 1095-A and are being urged to wait to file their taxes until the first week of March when they receive the correct information from the federal government.

“About 20 percent of the tax filers who had Federally-facilitated Marketplace coverage in 2014 and used tax credits to lower their premium cost —about 800,000 (< 1% of total tax filers) —will soon receive an updated Form 1095-A because the original version they were issued listed an incorrect benchmark plan premium amount,” said a blog post on the Web site of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “Based upon preliminary estimates, we understand that approximately 90-95% of these tax filers haven’t filed their tax return yet. We are advising them to wait until the first week of March when they receive their new form or go online for correct information before filing. For those who have filed their taxes—approximately 50,000 (< 0.05% of total tax filers) —the Treasury Department will provide additional information soon.”

Read the full article here. 

If your client receives Social Security benefits but did not receive or misplaced either form SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S, he or she may now view, print or replace the form online by creating a my Social Security account.

This filing season, for the first time, a client who enrolled in health care coverage through the federal marketplace or a state marketplace will receive one or more Forms 1095-A. Enter the information from Form 1095-A on Form 8962 to claim the premium tax credit or to reconcile advance payments of the premium tax credit on your client’s tax return. 

WASHINGTON —The Internal Revenue Service today made it easier for small business owners to comply with the final tangible property regulations.

Requested by many small businesses and tax professionals, the simplified procedure is available beginning with the 2014 return taxpayers are filling out this tax season. The new procedure allows small businesses to change a method of accounting under the final tangible property regulations on a prospective basis for the first taxable year beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2014.

Also, the IRS is waiving the requirement to complete and file a Form 3115 for small business taxpayers that choose to use this simplified procedure for 2014.

“We are pleased to be able to offer this relief to small business owners and their tax preparers in time for them to take advantage of it on their 2014 return,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. “We carefully reviewed the comments we received and especially appreciate the valuable feedback provided by the professional tax community on this issue.”

The new simplified procedure is generally available to small businesses, including sole proprietors, with assets totaling less than $10 million or average annual gross receipts totaling $10 million or less. Details are in Revenue Procedure 2015-20, posted today on IRS.gov.

The revenue procedure also requests comment on whether the $500 safe-harbor threshold should be raised for businesses that choose to deduct, rather than capitalize, certain capital expenses.

The January 2015 revision of Offer in Compromise Form 656 Booklet is now available for download on IRS.gov. The booklet contains necessary forms and instructions for submitting an Offer in Compromise. Use of earlier versions will result in delayed processing of Offer applications.

This IRS publication provides a list of online Affordable Care Act resources provided by various federal agencies.

The IRS this week launched a new online public directory of tax return preparers. This searchable directory on IRS.gov will help taxpayers find a tax professional with credentials and select qualifications to help them prepare their tax returns. Practitioners can check the PTIN system to ensure their directory listings are correct.

Due to budget restrictions, extended weekday hours, Saturday and President’s Day service is no longer available. The e-help desk page on IRS.gov lists the current hours of service.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.