WASHINGTON – As the battle continues against tax-related identity theft, the IRS, state tax agencies and the tax industry renewed their call for tax professionals to be on guard against new and ongoing threats involving their systems and taxpayer data.

This effort begins next week with the Security Summit’s annual summer campaign focused on tax professionals and taking fundamental steps to stop data theft from their offices. This is the seventh year that the Security Summit partners – the IRS, state tax agencies and the nation’s tax community – have worked to raise awareness about these issues through the “Protect Your Clients; Protect Yourself” campaign.

The special five-part news release series will begin July 19 and run every Tuesday through Aug. 16, which coincides with the dates for this year’s IRS Nationwide Tax Forum. The forum will feature 32 webinars to help educate the tax professional community, and several involve security-related features. This Thursday, July 14, is the last day for tax professionals to register to attend and have access to all 32 webinars. For more information and to register, visit www.irstaxforum.com.

“The IRS and the Security Summit partners continue to advance their shared efforts to protect the federal and state tax systems from identity thieves,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “As we’ve increased our defenses, cyberthieves increasingly turn to tax professionals, especially smaller operations, to look for security vulnerabilities. This is a critical link in protecting sensitive taxpayer information.  By taking some basic security steps, tax pros help protect against the relentless efforts of identity thieves.”

This summer’s effort focuses on a reminder for tax pros to focus on fundamentals and to watch out for emerging vulnerabilities being seen for those practitioners using cloud-based services for their practice.

Identity thieves were especially active this past year as they continued to use the pandemic, nationwide teleworking practices and other events as predatory tactics for a variety of scams.

Tax professionals are prime targets of criminal syndicates that are both tech- and tax-savvy and well-funded. These scammers either trick or hack their way into tax professionals’ computer systems to access client data. Even when tax pros think they have client data stored in a secure cloud, lack of strong authentication can make this information vulnerable.

Thieves can use stolen data to file fraudulent tax returns that make it more difficult for the IRS and the states to detect because the fraudulent returns use real financial information. Other data thieves sell the basic tax preparer or taxpayer information on the web so other fraudsters can try filing fraudulent tax returns.

The Security Summit formed in 2015 to join the fight against identity theft. The Summit partners made great inroads against tax-related identity theft, dramatically reducing confirmed identity theft returns and saving billions in tax dollars.

During the next five weeks, the Security Summit partners will highlight a series of simple actions that tax professionals can take to better protect their clients and themselves from sensitive data theft. Taking these steps now will help ensure that the progress in tax-related identity theft that started in 2015 continues. Highlighted recommendations will be to:

This summer series runs for five weeks and coincides with the annual IRS Nationwide Tax Forums, which are being held virtually beginning July 19. The forums feature three webinars focused on cyber- and information security that will be live streamed as follows:

For more information about the IRS Nationwide Tax Forums and to register visit www.IRSTaxForum.com.

IRS Nationwide Tax Forum kicks off July 19; July 14 is the last day to register for all 32 webinars

IRS YouTube Videos:
2022 IRS Nationwide Tax Forum – English

WASHINGTON — This Thursday, July 14, is the last day for tax professionals to register to attend the 2022 IRS Nationwide Tax Forum and have access to all 32 webinars -- including a keynote address by IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig, updates on tax law, cybersecurity, practitioner ethics and more.

The 2022 virtual event is being held over a five-week period from July 19 through Aug. 18. Webinars will be livestreamed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays of each week. To guarantee access to a webinar, registration must be completed a minimum of three business days in advance. Participants who register after July 14 will not have access to the full lineup of webinars.

Participants are encouraged to view the Forum schedule and course descriptions to plan their experience.

For more information and to register, visit www.irstaxforum.com.

Tax Forum Virtual Expo

Included with their registration, attendees may also visit the Forum’s Virtual Expo with dozens of exhibitors representing tax and business services, IRS association partners and key IRS offices and initiatives in the “IRS Zone.”

The Expo will be staffed from noon-2 p.m. and 3-5 p.m. EDT every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, permitting attendees to interact with exhibitors. However, registrants will have access to most Expo content 24 hours a day from for the entire length of the Forum.

Focus groups and digital product demos

As a special feature of the 2022 Forum, the IRS invites attendees to participate in one or more virtual focus groups. Focus groups are arranged around the following topics:

• Improving the Taxpayer Experience and IRS Services
• Improving the Taxpayer Experience and IRS Outreach
• Tax Pro Account and Business Online Account
• Digital Asset Transactions
• Tax Treatment of Retirement Distributions
• Affordable Care Act Forms
• IRS Online Accounts
• Responding to IRS Correspondence Audit Notices
• Taxpayer civil rights: Are your clients receiving the services they need?
• Online tools and resources for refundable credits: The past, the present, and the future

In addition to our focus groups, the Office of Online Services will conduct demonstrations of the IRS tax pro and individual online accounts.

Continuing Education (CE)

Attendance at any of the 2022 Nationwide Tax Forum webinars qualifies as continuing education (CE) for enrolled agents, certified public accountants, Annual Filing Season Program participants, California Tax Education Council (CTEC) participants and Certified Financial Planners (CFP).

Note: With four seminars this year presented in both English and Spanish, participants can earn up to 28 continuing education credits.

Attorneys: Please check with your state bar to determine whether participation in the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum seminars qualifies for continuing legal education credit.

Visit the CE and CFP Certification page for more information.

Registration information

For more information and to register online, visit www.irstaxforum.com.

Revenue Procedure 2022-32 provides a simplified method for certain estates to obtain an extension of time under § 301.9100-3 to file a return on or before the fifth anniversary of the decedent's death to elect portability of the deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE) amount pursuant to § 2010(c)(5)(A).  This revenue procedure applies to estates that are not normally required to file an estate tax return because the value of the gross estate and adjusted taxable gifts is under the filing threshold in § 6018(a). 

Revenue Procedure 2022-32 will be in IRB:  IRB 2022-30, dated July 25, 2022.

Revenue Ruling 2022-13 describes the determination of deemed critical status under section 432(b)(7) with respect to the merger of a multiemployer defined benefit pension plan that receives special financial assistance (SFA) pursuant to section 432(k) (section 4262 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974) from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation into a multiemployer defined benefit pension plan that does not receive SFA.

Revenue Ruling 2022-13 will be in IRB:  2022-30, dated July 25, 2022.

Today, the IRS published the latest executive column, “A Closer Look,” which features IRS Commissioner, Chuck Rettig, discussing how the IRS has prioritized enhancing services to the many diverse communities that comprise the United States. “Over the course of the past few years, during the pandemic, IRS employees have demonstrated our respect for all people by successfully expanding our outreach into multiple languages and in historically underserved communities across the country,” said Rettig. “We have made a significant difference in the lives of millions of people.” Read more here. Read the Spanish version here.

“A Closer Look” is a column from IRS executives that covers a variety of timely issues of interest to taxpayers and the tax community. It also provides a detailed look at key issues affecting everything from IRS operations and employees to issues involving taxpayers and tax professionals.

Check here for prior posts and new updates.

Notice 2022-31 provides guidance regarding the changes made by section 9707 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to the election of alternative minimum funding standards under section 430(m) of the Internal Revenue Code for a defined benefit pension plan that is a community newspaper plan or any other plan that is sponsored by an eligible newspaper plan sponsor. 

Notice 2022-31 will be in IRB: 2022-29, dated July 18, 2022.

WASHINGTON — The Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) today released its annual report to Congress, featuring recommendations focused on budget support for the Internal Revenue Service and enhancements to e-filing.

“The entire IRS leadership team appreciates the work that ETAAC’s volunteer members have put into their annual report, and we look forward to reviewing their recommendations,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.

The 2022 report groups a total of five recommendations into two sections: recommendations to Congress and recommendations to the IRS.

The recommendations to Congress include:

The recommendations to the IRS include:

The full 2022 report is available on IRS.gov.

At today’s annual meeting, Rettig and IRS leaders thanked five members of the committee ending their terms this year:

The ETAAC is a public forum whose members work closely with the Security Summit, a joint effort of the IRS, state tax administrators and the nation’s tax industry established in 2015 to fight tax-related identity theft and cybercrime.

ETAAC members represent various segments of the tax community, including individual and business taxpayers, tax professionals and preparers, tax software developers, payroll service providers, the financial industry and state and local governments.

Revenue Procedure 2022-26 provides the exclusive procedures for importers, exporters, and interested parties to request a determination under § 4672(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) that a substance be added to or removed from the list of taxable substances under § 4672(a) of the Code. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law 117-58, 135 Stat. 429 (November 15, 2021), reinstates the Superfund excise taxes imposed by sections 4661 and 4671 of the Internal Revenue Code, effective July 1, 2022.

Revenue Procedure 2022-26 will be in IRB:  2022-29, dated 7/18/2022.

Notice 2022-30 announces that the Treasury Department and the IRS intend to amend the regulations under sections 59A and 6038A to defer the applicability date of certain provisions of the regulations relating to the reporting of section 59A qualified derivative payments until taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2025.

 

Notice 2022-30 will be published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2022-29 on July 18, 2022