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Knowing how the IRS defines something is often key to understanding how to or whether to file or report; as well as going a long way toward helping you handle B-Notices, Proposed Penalty Notices or Audit situations. Today, let's examine what exactly the IRS means when it speaks of a "missing TIN" and what you should be doing in response. 

There continues to be tremendous interest from those interested in what kind of questions we handle via our TIR Answer Center subscriber service.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) announced today that the number of partnership audits has increased by nearly 25% from 2007 to 2011. In addition, a renewed focus on transactions involving payees across borders resulted in audits netting $2.1 billion in additional taxes.

We hope this hasn't slipped under your radar but the federal budget for Fiscal Year 2013 has allocated a $14 million increase to the Department of Labor budget, and in the form of grants to states to help in identifying misclassified workers, recover unpaid taxes, and boost enforcement measures.

Our very own Steven Mercatante Esq. will be the expert speaker for CFO Learning's Webcast "Decoding the IRS Worker Classification: Employee or Independent Contractor" scheduled for Wednesday July 25, 2012 at 2:00pm EST. Register today!

Ok, we have had the current poll question up for a long time, and are sure many of you are ready for an answer. As such, here is not only what your AP department needs to know, but also a good look at the kind of detailed guidance our subscribers enjoy access to on a regular basis:

So your boss thinks worrying about the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) program is a waste of time? Well, here is the biggest wake-up call you could ask for.

So many people enjoyed seeing the types of questions their AP peers were asking earlier this spring we thought we would follow up with the following sample of questions asked over the past few weeks, answered for our current subscribers, and that have recently been added to our Tax FAQ Database.

Question #1

As you may know, the gross tax gap has increased from $345 billion dollars in TY2001 to $450 billion in TY2006. Moreover, the IRS has singled out underreporting of income amongst businesses and corporations as among the primary reason for this gap. However, we would like to remind you that this tax gap is not entirely the fault of accounts payable professionals such as our readers.

Just a quick update. It appears that via IRS Notice 2012-34 Cost Basis reporting for debt instruments and options has been effectively date delayed for one year.