In the blogs: Simple errors

Just a little off; handling online reviews; a star EA; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Simple errors

• Taxable Talk (http://www.taxabletalk.com/): Remember all those times they’ve told you that math mistakes are one of the biggest goofs on tax returns? Weellllll, turns out that the IRS estimate of its own backlog of unprocessed returns was a whisker off.
• The Wandering Tax Pro (http://wanderingtaxpro.blogspot.com/): What to remind them again about what information to get to you this season.
• Henry+Horne (https://www.hhcpa.com/blogs/): The blogger bets he’ll see S corp shareholder W-2s this season that missed including health insurance in Box 1, taxable wages. Although this may be a small impact for some, it makes the blogger (and smart preparers) wonder, “What else did they miss?”
• Mauled Again (http://mauledagain.blogspot.com/: The blogger recently came upon a tweet about the federal government seizing $3.6 billion in Bitcoin; the tweet claimed that, “This is enough money to give each person in the world a half a billion dollars...” Well, no.
• Taxbuzz (https://www.taxbuzz.com/blog): The latest Tax Chat looks at how tax pros are dealing this season in general “with the IRS’s unresponsiveness,” among other topics.
• National Association of Tax Professionals (https://blog.natptax.com/): Because this season wasn’t going to be surprising enough, the IRS rolled out the 7203, “S Corporation Shareholder Stock and Debt Basis Limitations,” just before filing opened. How are tax pros coping?
• TaxMama (http://taxmama.com): A look at the service’s recent suspension of undeserved (and unpleasant) automated notices.

Yearnings and misery

• Taxpro Center (https://proconnect.intuit.com/taxprocenter/): According to some, there are three levels of business ownership: technician, manager and entrepreneur. You started your firm as all three, but which do you yearn to be?
• Canopy (https://www.getcanopy.com/blog): Handling reviews is a critical part of your practice management — and online reviews can be especially slippery. How do you make your first online impression a positive one? Four suggestions.
• CPA Growth Trends (https://www.cpagrowthtrends.com/): Building your practice’s growth engine starts with focusing on your ideal client.
• Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders (http://ritakeller.com/blog/): Today’s quote for firm management: “When we make our own misery, we sometimes cling to it even when we want so bad to change, because the misery is something we know.”

Touch of sophistication

• Don’t Mess with Taxes (http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/): The tax freight that comes with Olympic gold.
• Parametric (https://www.parametricportfolio.com/blog): In the tumultuous 2020s, what can investors control? Taxes, for one.
• Turbotax (https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com): What to remind them about filing for the chance at unclaimed refunds.
• National Taxpayer Advocate (https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/taxnews-information/blogs-nta/): Former foster youth and homeless youth may be eligible to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit.
• Avalara (https://www.avalara.com/blog/en/north-america.html): E-commerce clients have probably become painfully aware of sales tax obligations in their big-business states. What happens, though, when one of those states changes its economic nexus threshold?
• Current Federal Tax Developments (https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/): A look at the new IRS Large Business and International Division campaign on partnership losses exceeding a partner’s basis.
• Sikich (https://www.sikich.com/insights/): How to help them prepare for the potential end of student loan relief.
• Taxing Subjects (https://www.drakesoftware.com/blog): Yes, we’re afraid it can be up to you to remind them that tips are taxable income.
• Tax Warriors (https://www.taxwarriors.com/blog): What they need to know about when it’s time to get themselves a sophisticated tax preparer.
• Wolters Kluwer (https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/tax-accounting-us/industry-news): Substantive changes to the credit, revamped forms and redone instructions: what to remind them about how changes in the 2021 Child Tax Credit may complicate 2021 returns.

Labors of love

• Eide Bailly (https://www.eidebailly.com/taxblog): All the news that fits this Valentine’s season about love among makers of federal tax law.
• Procedurally Taxing (https://procedurallytaxing.com): The blogger’s young grandson Sam loves trains and train tracks. Unfortunately, the lad’s 14-month-old sister has now learned to walk and also wants to play with the train tracks. One day recently the grandson threw his body across a stack of train tracks to protect them from his sister, a tactic that “might work if his only goal is to keep her from the tracks; however, if he also has a goal of playing with the train tracks, this tactic will not work.” How the recent case of Chow v. Lee reminded the blogger of his grandson.
• Tax Vox (https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/): IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig raised eyebrows when he singled out the growing popularity of cryptocurrency as a big factor behind the tax gap. Congress has taken modest bipartisan action to address some crypto tax compliance issues, but many remain. Here are just some.
• TaxProf Blog (http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/): The ability to secure an offer in compromise must be evaluated against a default of full payment, not against a default of no payment.
• Bloomberg Tax and Accounting (https://pro.bloombergtax.com/news-insights/): The latest in the Spotlight series of the careers and lives of tax pros looks at Enrolled Agent Phyllis Jo Kubey, a solo practitioner in New York and president of the New York State Society of Enrolled Agents. Fascinating and well-deserved — and congrats to a longtime contributor to our articles.