Courtesy of the IRS.  For more information, see the Special Identity Theft Enforcement Efforts – 2012 page.
See related article about IP PIN at MarketWatch.com this weekend.

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department today announced the results of a massive national sweep cracking down on suspected identity theft perpetrators as part of a stepped-up effort against refund fraud and identity theft.

Working with the Justice Department’s Tax Division and local U.S. Attorneys’ offices, the nationwide effort targeted 105 people in 23 states. The coast-to-coast effort took place over the last week and included indictments, arrests and the execution of search warrants involving the potential theft of thousands of identities and taxpayer refunds. In all, 939 criminal charges are included in the 69 indictments and informations related to identity theft. 

Paychex, Inc., one of the nation’s leading providers of payroll, human resource, and employee benefits solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, today released its top 12 in ’12 list, containing the top 12 potential regulatory changes that America’s small businesses need to know about in 2012. Paychex works closely with the IRS and other government agencies on issues of importance and is constantly monitoring regulatory and compliance-related matters that impact its 564,000 clients.

Your kids can be helpful at tax time. That doesn’t mean they’ll sort your tax receipts or refill your coffee, but those charming children may help you qualify for some valuable tax benefits. Here are 10 things the IRS wants parents to consider when filing their taxes this year.

Courtesy of the IRS

[TaxMama note: Read this in conjunction with today’s MarketWatch article – How to file your taxes for free

WASHINGTON — Over 12,000 free tax preparation sites will be open nationwide this year as the Internal Revenue Service continues to expand its partnerships with nonprofit and community organizations providing vital tax preparation services for low- to moderate-income and elderly taxpayers.

The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program offers free tax help generally to people who earn $50,000 and less. The Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) Program offers free tax help to taxpayers who are 60 and older.

Courtesy of IRS.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today released a new set of tax gap estimates for tax year 2006. The tax gap is defined as the amount of tax liability faced by taxpayers that is not paid on time. 

The new tax gap estimate represents the first full update of the report in five years, and it shows the nation’s compliance rate is essentially unchanged from the last review covering tax year 2001.

WASHINGTON — National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson today released her annual report to Congress, identifying the combination of the IRS’s expanding workload and declining resources as the most serious problem facing taxpayers. The result, the report says, is inadequate taxpayer service, erosion of taxpayer rights, and reduced tax compliance. The Advocate expressed her continuing concern that the IRS’s expanding use of automated processes to adjust tax liabilities is causing harm to taxpayers and recommended that Congress enact a comprehensive Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

[TaxMama Note: Another bookkeeping nightmare. Are YOU keeping track of how you pay YOUR vendors and service providers?]

No 1099-MISC if paid by credit card (01-19-2012)

In the instructions to Form 1099-MISC, the IRS has made it clear that payments made with a credit card, or through any third-party payer, are not reported on Form 1099-MISC. These amounts are now reported on Form 1099-K. Thus, if a business pays a service-provider with a credit card, debit card, gift card, or electronically via a service like PayPal, the payment is not included on a 1099-MISC.

Courtesy of the IRS

The Internal Revenue Service receives thousands of reports each year from taxpayers who receive suspicious emails, phone calls, faxes or notices claiming to be from the IRS. Many of these scams fraudulently use the IRS name or logo as a lure to make the communication appear more authentic and enticing. The goal of these scams – known as phishing – is to trick you into revealing your personal and financial information. The scammers can then use your information – like your Social Security number, bank account or credit card numbers – to commit identity theft or steal your money.

Courtesy of the Internal Revenue Service

WASHINGTON — Individuals and businesses making contributions to charity should keep in mind several important tax law provisions that have taken effect in recent years. Some of these changes include the following:

Special Charitable Contributions for Certain IRA Owners

This provision, currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2011, offers older owners of individual retirement accounts (IRAs) a different way to give to charity. An IRA owner, age 70½ or over, can directly transfer tax-free up to $100,000 per year to an eligible charity. This option, created in 2006, is available for distributions from IRAs, regardless of whether the owners itemize their deductions. Distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans, including SIMPLE IRAs and simplified employee pension (SEP) plans, are not eligible.