Internal Revenue Service

FILE - A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building is seen, May 4, 2021, in Washington. Congress and the Biden administration are considering what, if anything, should be done to tighten restrictions on donor-advised funds, an increasingly popular way for donors to set aside money to spend on charitable causes. This week, the Internal Revenue Service held a public hearing to discuss plans to regulate DAFs. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

The $230 billion donor-advised fund industry gets an IRS hearing

Congress and the Biden administration are considering what, if anything, should be done to tighten restrictions on donor-advised funds, an increasingly popular way for donors to set aside money to spend on charitable causes.

FILE - IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel prepares to testify before a hearing, April 27, 2023, in Washington. The IRS said Thursday, May 2, 2024, it's taken steps to address a wide disparity in audit rates between Black taxpayers and others filers. And the agency is more closely examining the returns of larger numbers of wealthy people and major companies. The discriminatory audits, Werfel told reporters, “degrade trust in our tax system.” (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File)

IRS acts to address wide disparity in audit rates between Black taxpayers and other filers

FILE - The Internal Revenue Service 1040 tax form for 2022 is seen on April 17, 2023. The IRS said Friday, April 26, 2024, more than 140,000 taxpayers filed their taxes through its new direct file pilot program. It says the program's users claimed more than $90 million in refunds, saving roughly $5.6 million in fees they would have spent with commercial tax preparation companies. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File)

140,000 people did their taxes with the free IRS direct file pilot. But program’s future is unclear

FILE - The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building is seen in Washington, on March 22, 2013. The IRS is promoting the improvements its made to its customer service since its received tens of billions in new funds through Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act. Agency leadership is trying to bring attention to what's been done to repair the agency's image as an outdated and maligned tax collector. Monday, April 15, 2024, is the last day to submit tax returns or to file an extension. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

It’s Tax Day. And your refund may be big this year

FILE - A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building is seen, May 4, 2021, in Washington. Tax Day reveals a major split in how Joe Biden and Donald Trump would govern: The presidential candidates have conflicting ideas about how much to reveal about their own finances and the best ways to boost the economy through tax policy. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Tax Day reveals a major split in how Joe Biden and Donald Trump would govern

IRS chief highlights improvements and debunks myths

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel has a message for the high wealth tax cheats who wrongly deduct the cost of private jet flights on their taxes: pay your fair share so “others aren’t shouldering the burden of funding our government and its many critical activities,” he says.

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After audit, single mom overcomes fear of tax season thanks to an IRS program

Many could see tax refunds smaller than last year

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FILE - A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building is seen, May 4, 2021, in Washington. The IRS says it’s making progress with initiatives to claw back money improperly distributed under the Employee Retention Credit. The ERC was designed to help businesses retain employees during pandemic-era shut downs, but it quickly became a magnet for fraud. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

IRS claws back money given to businesses under fraud-ridden COVID-era tax credit program

The IRS says it’s making progress with initiatives to claw back money improperly distributed under the Employee Retention Credit.

A page from the Internal Revenue Service website is shown on a laptop on Monday, April1, 2024 in New York. Taxpayers usually know their identity has been stolen when they try to file their tax returns and the IRS says they've already done so. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

Here’s how to protect yourself from common scams this tax season

Scammers look for ways to trick people into giving them money year-round, but tax season can be particularly fraught. One of the most common tax scams is identity theft.

FILE - Logos for Cash App are shown on devices in New York, Sept. 8, 2023. Tax reporting requirements for freelancers or gig workers who receive payments via apps like Venmo, Zelle, Cash App or PayPal will change for the 2024 tax year. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

How freelancers can prepare for changing tax requirements

If you’re a freelancer or gig worker who receives payments via apps like Venmo, Zelle, Cash App or PayPal, your tax reporting requirements will change for the 2024 tax year.

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel poses for a photo in his office at the IRS headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, March 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

IRS chief zeroes in on wealthy tax cheats in AP interview

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel says in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press the federal tax collector will expand its pursuit of high-wealth tax dodgers with new initiatives in the coming months.

FILE - An Internal Revenue Service 2023 1040 tax form and instructions are shown on Jan. 26, 2024 in New York. It's tax season in the U.S., and for many people, filing tax returns can be a daunting task that's often left until the last minute. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

The IRS launched a free online tax filing system. Find out here if it’s available in your state

After weeks of testing, an electronic system for filing returns directly to the IRS is now available for taxpayers from 12 selected states.

FILE - TurboTax is displayed in a Costco warehouse in Pittsburgh on Jan. 26, 2023. It's tax season in the U.S., and for many people, filing tax returns can be a daunting task that's often left until the last minute. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Today is Tax day. Here are some tips on how to navigate it and file your taxes

April 15 is the last day to submit tax returns from 2023. If you left your tax filing until the last minute, you’re not alone.

Internal Revenue Service employee Dixie Warden poses for a photograph on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, at Mary Kyle Hartson City Square Park in Kyle, Texas. Warden is quick to say she's “not a numbers girl.” But as the very first user of the government's free new electronic tax return filing system, Warden reports she completed her taxes this year using the program in about an hour. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

A new IRS program is helping its first users file their income taxes electronically. And it’s free

The government’s new free electronic filing system for income tax returns is getting its first users this filing season.

FILE - Private jets sit parked at Scottsdale Airport Jan. 27, 2015, in Scottsdale, Ariz. IRS leadership said Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, that the agency will start up dozens of audits on businesses' private jets and how they are used personally by executives and written off as a tax deduction — as part of the agency's ongoing mission of going after high-wealth tax cheats who game the tax system at the expense of American taxpayers. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

IRS to go after executives who use business jets for personal travel in new round of audits

First, there were trackers on Taylor Swift and other celebrities’ private jet usage. Now, there will be more scrutiny on executives’ personal use of business aircraft who write it off as a tax expense.

FILE - A sign for the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington, on May 4, 2021. The IRS says it expects to collect hundreds of billions of dollars more in overdue and unpaid taxes than previously anticipated using funding provided to the agency by the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act.(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

IRS watchdog: Contractors who failed background checks maintained access to sensitive agency systems

A new IRS inspector general report says the agency continued to give 19 contractors access to sensitive systems despite failing background reports as recently as last July.

Tim Sanders, CEO of Silent Donor, poses for a photo at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024. Silent Donor -- which allows people to give anonymously by routing donations through The AnonDo Fund, a donor-advised fund approved as a nonprofit by the Internal Revenue Service in 2022 – has grown quickly. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Silent Donor platform offers anonymous donations to the mainstream, as privacy debate rages

Silent Donor is flourishing just as the privacy debate for contributors heats up, especially for those using donor-advised funds to anonymously give to their favorite, and sometimes controversial, causes while also getting a tax break.

FILE - A sign for the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington, on May 4, 2021. The IRS says it expects to collect hundreds of billions of dollars more in overdue and unpaid taxes than previously anticipated using funding provided to the agency by the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act.(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

IRS expects to collect hundreds of billions more in overdue and unpaid taxes thanks to new funding

The IRS says it expects to collect hundreds of billions of dollars more in overdue and unpaid taxes than previously anticipated using funding provided to the agency by the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act.

FILE - A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building is seen, May 4, 2021, in Washington. As tax filing season officially starts Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, a limited number of taxpayers in 12 states will soon be eligible for a program that will allow them to calculate and submit their returns directly to the IRS without having to pay for commercial tax preparation software. The Direct File pilot program is set to be rolled out in phases. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

The IRS is launching a direct file pilot program for the 2024 tax season — here is how it will work

As tax filing season officially starts Monday, a limited number of taxpayers in 12 states will soon be eligible for a program that will allow them to calculate and submit their returns directly to the IRS without having to pay for commercial tax preparation software.

An Internal Revenue Service 2023 1040 tax form and instructions are shown on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. For many people filing U.S. tax returns — especially those doing it for their first time — it can seem like a daunting task. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

Tax season is under way. Here are some tips to navigate it

Tax season starts today and for many people filing U.S. tax returns — especially those doing it for their first time — it can be a daunting task that’s often left to the last minute.

FILE - The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building is seen in Washington, on March 22, 2013. Congress is racing to wind down a tax break meant to encourage businesses to keep workers on the payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic. What was expected to cost the government $55 billion has instead cost it nearly five times that amount as of July. Meanwhile, new claims pour into the IRS each week. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

A COVID-era program is awash in fraud. Congress aims to wind it down and expand the child tax credit

Congress is racing to wind down a tax break meant to encourage businesses to keep workers on the payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic.

FILE - The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington on March 22, 2013. The IRS says it has collected an additional $360 million in overdue taxes from delinquent millionaires, as agency leadership tries to promote the latest work its done to modernize the agency with Inflation Reduction Act funding. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

IRS says it collected $360 million more from rich tax cheats as its funding is threatened yet again

The IRS says it has collected an additional $360 million in overdue taxes from delinquent millionaires.

FILE - A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building is seen, May 4, 2021, in Washington. The IRS is still too slow to process amended tax returns, answer taxpayer phone calls and resolve identity theft cases, according to an independent watchdog within the agency. The organization sent a report to Congress Wednesday that the backlog of unprocessed amended returns has quadrupled from 500,000 in 2019 to 1.9 million in October last year. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

For IRS, backlogs and identity theft problems remain, but there is ‘cautious optimism’ watchdog says

The IRS is still too slow to process amended tax returns, answer taxpayer phone calls and resolve identity theft cases, according to an independent watchdog within the agency.

FILE - A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building is seen, May 4, 2021, in Washington. The IRS is still too slow to process amended tax returns, answer taxpayer phone calls and resolve identity theft cases, according to an independent watchdog within the agency. The organization sent a report to Congress Wednesday that the backlog of unprocessed amended returns has quadrupled from 500,000 in 2019 to 1.9 million in October last year. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

IRS announces Jan. 29 as the start of 2024’s tax season

The IRS has announced January 29 as the official start date of the 2024 tax season, and expects more than 128.7 million tax returns to be filed by the April 15 tax deadline.

FILE - A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building is seen, May 4, 2021, in Washington. The IRS said Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, that it is going to waive penalty fees for people who failed to pay back taxes that total less than $100,000 per year for tax years 2020 and 2021.(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

The IRS will waive $1 billion in penalties for people and firms owing back taxes for 2020 or 2021

The IRS says it’s going to waive penalty fees for people who failed to pay back taxes that total less than $100,000 a year for tax years 2020 or 2021.

FILE - A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building is seen, May 4, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

IRS delays reporting rules for users of Venmo, Cash App and other payment apps

Users of Venmo, Cash App and other payment apps will get a bit of a tax reprieve this year. The IRS announced on Tuesday that it will delay implementing its $600 tax reporting requirement that was to take effect for the 2023 tax filing season.

FILE - Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks at the Atlantic Council Global Citizen Awards, Sept. 20, 2023, in New York. Taxpayers will be able to digitally submit all sorts of tax documents and other communications to the IRS months earlier than originally planned under a new timetable being announced Tuesday, Nov. 7. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

Treasury’s Yellen calls Republican effort to cut IRS funding for Israel ‘damaging and irresponsible’

The IRS commissioner says for the agency to keep building on its customer service and enforcement priorities it needs a reliable funding stream.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with reporters ahead of the debate and vote on supplemental aid to Israel, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House GOP targets IRS in bill to provide emergency aid to Israel

House Republicans went after the IRS when they decided that emergency aid for Israel should be coupled with cuts elsewhere in the budget.

FILE - A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building is seen, May 4, 2021, in Washington. The IRS plans to invite a select group of taxpayers across 13 states to try out the agency’s pilot electronic free file tax return system, beginning this January. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

IRS plans limited rollout of free e-file tax return system with invitations to select taxpayers

The IRS plans to invite a select group of taxpayers across 13 states to try out the agency’s pilot electronic free file tax return system, beginning this January.

FILE - A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building is seen on May 4, 2021, in Washington. A former contractor for the Internal Revenue Service has been charged with leaking tax information to news outlets about a government official and thousands of the country’s wealthiest people. The Justice Department said in a statement Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, that 38-year-old Charles Edward Littlejohn of Washington, D.C. is accused of stealing tax return information and giving it to two different news outlets between 2018 and 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Ex-IRS contractor pleads guilty in leak of tax return information of Trump, wealthy people

A former contractor for the Internal Revenue Service charged with leaking tax information to news outlets about former President Donald Trump and thousands of the country’s wealthiest people pleaded guilty Thursday in an agreement with prosecutors.

FILE - A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building is seen, May 4, 2021, in Washington. The amount of tax money owed but not paid to the IRS is set to keep growing, according to projections published by the federal tax collection agency on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Gap between US income taxes owed and paid is set to keep growing, IRS says

The amount of tax money owed but not paid to the IRS is set to keep growing. For tax years 2021 and 2020, the projected gross “tax gap” soared to $688 billion and $601 billion, respectively.

The IRS says Microsoft may owe about $29 billion in back taxes. Microsoft disagrees

The Internal Revenue Service says Microsoft owes the U.S. Treasury $28.9 billion in back taxes, plus penalties and interest.

Attorney General Merrick Garland is sworn in as he appears before a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Republicans clash with Attorney General Garland, accusing him of favoring Hunter Biden

House Republicans are using a routine oversight hearing to interrogate Garland about what they claim is the “weaponization” of the Justice Department under President Joe Biden.

FILE - Daniel Werfel testifies before the Senate Finance Committee during his confirmation hearing to be the Internal Revenue Service Commissioner, Feb. 15, 2023, in Washington. The IRS announced Friday, Sept. 8, that it is launching a new effort to aggressively pursue 1,600 millionaires and 75 large business partnerships that owe hundreds of millions of dollars in past due taxes. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

The IRS plans to crack down on 1,600 millionaires to collect millions of dollars in back taxes

The IRS is launching an effort to crack down on 1,600 millionaires and 75 large business partnerships that owe hundreds of millions of dollars in past due taxes.

FILE- In this Feb. 14, 2018, file photo, H&R Block signs are displayed in Jackson, Miss. Congressional Democrats are accusing big tax preparation firms including Intuit and H&R Block of undermining the federal government's upcoming electronic free-file tax return system, and are demanding lobbying, hiring and revenue data to determine what's going on. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Democrats accuse tax prep firms of undermining new IRS effort on electronic free file tax returns

Congressional Democrats are accusing big tax preparation firms including Intuit and H&R Block of undermining the federal government’s upcoming electronic free file tax return system.

FILE - President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden leaves after a court appearance, July 26, 2023, in Wilmington, Del. Hunter Biden has filed a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, arguing that two agents violated his right to privacy when they publicly aired his tax information as they pressed claims that a federal investigation into him had been improperly handled. The lawsuit filed Monday says that his personal tax details shared during congressional hearings and interviews was not allowed by whistleblower protections. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

House Republicans subpoena IRS and FBI agents involved in Hunter Biden case

House Republicans have subpoenaed several FBI and IRS agents involved in the federal investigation into Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden.

This image provided by MinnPost shows Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaking to the crowd about the Clyde Bellecourt Urban Indigenous Initiative inside the Minnesota State Capitol Rotunda in March. (Ava Kian/MinnPost via AP)

Nonprofits are lobbying a lot less than two decades ago, according to new research

A generation ago nonprofit organizations regularly lobbied for legislation and served as advocates on issues.