Payroll tax cut ended. As you probably noticed by now, your payroll check is less than last year. This is because the payroll tax cut expired at the end of 2012. In 2011 and 2012 you paid 4.2% of your income into Social Security. Starting in 2013, the Social Security tax rate has returned to 6.2%.

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.

Aaaah……The week after tax season (and the first full weekend home in two and half months) is the best week in a tax accountant’s life!

If you haven’t filed your tax return by now, you should probably consider filing for an extension. It is a lot easier to file for an extension than it is to amend a return later for a mistake you made trying to rush your return to completion. A hastily filed return is even more costly if the IRS finds a mistake you made and assesses underpayment penalties and interest.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued proposed regulations to create a new taxpayer identification number known as the IRS Truncated Taxpayer Identification Number, or TTIN, that can be used instead of a Social Security number, in response to the growing problem of identity theft related tax fraud.

About 60% of taxpayers who claim large-dollar noncash charitable contributions on their returns may not be complying with Federal reporting requirements, according to a new report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).