News

The Internal Revenue Service spelled out some of the services that will be limited or unavailable during the government shutdown that's now surpassed the three-week mark.

In a letter submitted to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) requested guidance related to the 2025 reporting and substantiation requirements regarding the deductions for qualified tips and qualified overtime compensation.

As the federal government shutdown grinds on, most Internal Revenue Service operations are closed. With agency-wide furlough in place since Oct. 8 for everyone except already-identified excepted and exempted employees, tax professionals and taxpayers alike can expect a lot less from the agency.

The AICPA and state societies have pledged strong support for accounting education programs to gain STEM status, and the idea also has backing from the majority of respondents in a new survey.

The IRS furloughed almost half its workforce as the government shutdown entered its second week, the agency said Wednesday evening in its updated contingency plan.

Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano will also serve in the newly created position of chief executive officer of the IRS, the Treasury secretary said Monday in a news release.

The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service today issued guidance providing deposit penalty relief for the first three quarters of 2026 to remittance transfer providers. Notice 2025-55 PDF provides relief in connection with the new excise tax imposed on certain remittance transfers under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill.

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) has relaunched CPAMobility.org, a modernized, online resource that helps Certified Public Accountants determine where and how they can practice across state lines. Practice privilege, or CPA mobility, laws allow CPAs in good standing to serve clients in other state

The president’s campaign promise of no taxes on tips and no taxes on overtime pay was fulfilled with the signing of the tax law, H.R. 1, in July 2025. With only four months left in the year, employees who receive this additional compensation and employers who need to understand their requirements are starting to ask how this will be put into action.

There’s a new IRS Senior Stakeholder Liaison in town! (Well, new to CTCPA members, anyway.) Yolanda Durant has actually been with the Internal Revenue Service since 2012, with a resume that runs the gamut of responsibilities: Senior Individual Taxpayer Advisory Specialist, Tax Compliance Officer, Intake Advocate for the Taxpayer Advocate Department, Customer Service, and Collection Representative.

The House passed the Senate’s version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, sending it to President Donald Trump for his signature. The bill extends many of the expiring provisions from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), P.L. 115-97. It also addresses other tax priorities of the Trump administration, including providing deductions to eliminate income taxes on certain tips and overtime pay.

Following its continued opposition to the severe limitations on the deductibility of state and local tax (SALT) for specified service trades or businesses (SSTBs) included in recent tax legislation passed by the House of Representatives, the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) sent a second letter to leadership of the Senate Finance and House Ways & Means Committees urging modifications to troubling tax proposals in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by the House and being considered by the Senate.

The boards of directors of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) have approved expansion of accountancy’s model legislation to include an additional path to CPA licensure. The optional path maintains public protection while providing added flexibility and options for CPA candidates.

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is signaling its strong support for bipartisan legislation to establish the accounting profession as a career pathway through Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). H.R. 2911, the Accounting STEM Pursuit Act, introduced by Representatives Young Kim (R-CA) and Haley Stevens (D-MI), would allow K-12 grant funding to be used for accounting education, with a focus on improving access for underrepresented students. This will help ensure future leaders are highly skilled and prepared to meet the public's evolving needs.

A small business advocacy organization that sued over beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements asked the federal government to destroy BOI reports filed before the government dropped the requirement for domestic entities.

The Board of Trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) today announced the Appointments Committee is seeking nominations for new members of the Private Company Council (PCC). New member terms will be for three years beginning January 1, 2026, and ending on December 31, 2028, with the possibility of reappointment to an additional three-year term.

According to a news release, CohnReznick will operate in an alternative practice structure following the closing of the transaction. CohnReznick LLP, a licensed CPA firm, will provide attest services, and CohnReznick Advisory LLC (which will not be a licensed CPA firm) will provide tax, advisory, and other nonattest services.

Chad Acord is a 41-year-old father of four who's been in the accounting profession for more than a decade. Now, after years of waiting, he's about to close the 13-college-credit-hour gap that's been keeping him from earning his CPA license.

H.R. 736, Protect Small Businesses from Excessive Paperwork Act of 2025 (Rep. Zach Nunn, IA-3), which would delay FinCEN BOI reporting for one year (until January 1, 2026), passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 408-0. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

As part of its ongoing efforts to support smaller audit firms, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) today launched a new online resource page: Information for Smaller Firms. The page features PCAOB content tailored for smaller firms, including publications, videos, and more.