On 1/21/25, the IRS issued Bulletin Issue Number: 2025-02 to remind the FATCA Responsible Officer that Certifications are due 7/1/25 for the Certification period ending December 31, 2024. The Bulletin also provided a...more
On 1/15/25, the IRS announced three pilot programs to test changes to existing Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) programs. The new IRS Pilot Mediation Programs are designed to help taxpayers resolve tax disputes earlier...more
1/30/2025
/ Appeals ,
Fast Track Process ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Mediation ,
Settlement ,
Small Business ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tax Liability ,
Taxation
On 12/19/24, anticipating the 2025 filing season, the IRS published Tax Preparation 2025 Useful Pointers in IR-2024-311: Prepare to file in 2025: Get Ready for tax season with key updates, essential tips. As the 2025 filing...more
1/29/2025
/ 1099s ,
Digital Assets ,
Earned Income Credit ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tax Forms ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Preparers ,
Tax Returns
On 1/8/25, the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) published its 2024 Annual Report to Congress and identified taxpayers’ problems and provided suggestions to further protect taxpayer rights and ease taxpayer burden. “By law,...more
1/28/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Compliance ,
FATCA ,
FinCEN ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Reform ,
Tax Returns ,
U.S. Treasury
On 11/4/24, the Internal Revenue Service issued a warning to taxpayers regarding the dangers of engaging with promoters of fraudulent tax schemes that involve donating ownership interests in closely held businesses, often...more
On 12/2/24, the IRS, along with its Security Summit partners, issued an IRS Consumer Alert and cautioned taxpayers to exercise heightened vigilance during their holiday shopping, as scammers are actively seeking personal...more
On 11/15/24, FinCEN updated two Beneficial Ownership Information Access FAQs. The theme of the 11/15/24 update is Beneficial Ownership Access in accordance with the Corporate Transparency Act. FinCEN had previously update...more
On 10/9/24, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) within the Department of Commerce has issued guidance aimed at financial institutions (FIs), outlining best practices for adherence to the Export Administration...more
12/19/2024
/ Best Practices ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Commerce Control List ,
Due Diligence ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Policy ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Red Flags Rule ,
Risk Management ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On 11/13/24, FinCEN issued an alert aimed at assisting financial institutions in recognizing fraudulent schemes linked to the utilization of deepfake media generated by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools. The...more
12/9/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Deep Fake ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Machine Learning ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Terrorism Funding
On 10/24/24, the National Taxpayer Advocate shared on its NTA Blog that the IRS has discontinued its policy of automatically imposing penalties for late submissions of Form 3520, which pertains to foreign gifts and...more
On 10/29/24, FinCEN announced Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Reporting Relief to specific victims of Hurricane Milton, Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Debby, Hurricane Beryl, and Hurricane Francine. BOI Reporting Relief...more
12/2/2024
/ Beneficial Owner ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
FEMA ,
Filing Deadlines ,
FinCEN ,
Hurricane Season ,
IRS ,
Natural Disasters ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Relief ,
Time Extensions ,
U.S. Treasury
The IRS Whistleblower Program helps boost the “fair and effective enforcement of our nation’s tax laws and the success of our voluntary tax system.” The IRS Whistleblower Program is dependent on people who become aware of tax...more
On 9/19/24, the IRS issued a warning to taxpayers regarding OIC (Offer in Compromise) Mills that are taking advantage of taxpayers. OIC Mills promoters claim that their services are necessary to resolve taxpayer unpaid taxes...more
IRS issued Notice 2024-78 on 10/28/24 providing the extension of temporary relief for FATCA Model 1 Financial Institutions (FFI’s) regarding the reporting of U.S. Taxpayer Identification Numbers. This means that the temporary...more
11/21/2024
/ BSA/AML ,
Competent Authority (CA) ,
Documentation ,
FATCA ,
FFI ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
IRS ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Relief ,
Taxpayer Identification Number ,
U.S. Treasury
On 10/22/24, the IRS announced that is has officially commenced operations of the newly established pass-through field operations unit within its Large Business and International (LB&I) division, which was announced last...more
11/19/2024
/ Audits ,
Business Losses ,
C-Corporation ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Net Operating Losses ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
Small Business ,
Sole Proprietorship ,
Tax Liability ,
Trusts
On 10/22/24, the IRS released the annual inflation adjustments for tax year 2025 that will impact taxpayers when they file their 2025 returns in 2026. Following are the main items for tax year 2025:
Standard Deductions...more
On 10/10/24, FinCEN assessed a record $1.3 billion penalty against TD Bank for BSA violations. This unprecedented penalty should function as a cautionary message and a warning to all financial institutions. All financial...more
11/5/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
BSA/AML ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Popular ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Training
On 10/23/24, the IRS released Notice IR-2024-278 to encourage all taxpayers to sign up for an IRS IP PIN (identity protection personal identification number) to safeguard their identity and help protect against tax-related...more
On 10/3/24, FinCEN published twenty five (25) new updates to the BOI FAQ webpage. The BOI FAQs 10/3/24 address: access to BOI reports, third party service providers, entity conversion, identifications, community property and...more
An ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) is a tax processing number issued by the IRS to foreign nationals and others who have federal tax reporting or filing requirements and do not qualify for Social Security...more
On 10/11/24, the IRS announced that it is ready to provide tax assistance for taxpayers affected by Hurricane Helene and Milton that devastated Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, and parts of...more
Back on February 27, 2023, FinCEN issued (in close collaboration with the United States Postal Inspection Service) an Alert on Nationwide Surge in Mail Theft-Related Check Fraud Schemes Targeting the U.S. Mail....more
On August 2024, the IRS, for the third time in two years, reminded taxpayers that crowdfunding monies may be taxable. Due to the popularity of crowdfunding monies raised online, the IRS issued News regarding how money raised...more
FinCEN seeks to safeguard residential real estate as evidenced by the issuance of the Final Residential Real Estate Rule issued 8/28/24 and taking effect on 12/1/25. The Final Rule requires “certain” industry professionals...more
10/8/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Cash Transactions ,
Condominiums ,
FinCEN ,
Popular ,
Real Estate Transfers ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Residential Real Estate Contracts ,
Single Family Housing ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
FinCEN seeks to safeguard the investment adviser sector from illicit finance as evidenced by the issuance of the Final Investment Adviser Rule on 8/28/24 with a compliance date of 1/1/26. The investment adviser sector final...more
10/1/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) ,
FATF ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Terrorism Funding