In the blogs: The new abnormal

Backlog remaining; changes from Election Day; no new clients; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

The new abnormal

• National Taxpayer Advocate (https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/taxnews-information/blogs-nta/): When a “season” or two becomes the calendar year: “In recent weeks, the IRS has been processing between 900,000 to 1.1 million total individual and business returns per week and has about six weeks left before it shuts down its systems to prepare them for the upcoming filing season.”
• Don’t Mess with Taxes (http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/): Amid the millions still to go, in a Nov. 10 update the IRS reported that it’s “opening mail within normal time frames” and has “processed all paper and electronic individual returns” that had no errors or didn’t require further review “in the order received.” 
• Eide Bailly (https://www.eidebailly.com/taxblog): All the news that fits about Danny Werfel — and what Republicans might have in mind for the Biden administration and the IRS down the road.
• Tax Vox (https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/): Americans voted on dozens of ballot initiatives this year, including tax hikes, tax cuts, cannabis taxes and sports betting. The results were, so to speak, all over the map. What’d we learn?
• Taxbuzz (https://www.taxbuzz.com/blog): Well for one, it’s now 4% rougher to be a millionaire in Massachusetts.
• Mauled Again (http://mauledagain.blogspot.com/): Is it sufficient for a corporate controller to rely on an external tax consultant’s alleged failure to point out the illegality of what the controller is doing, whether or not the controller is acting at the direction of higher-ups? Now we all have to sit around and wonder who’s being talked about….
• The Tax Times (https://www.thetaxtimes.com): While users of Zelle are required to declare their earnings, the network itself claims it does not have to declare transactions because it does not actually hold the funds.
• Sovos (https://sovos.com/blog/?region=united-states): How will remote work affect the future of businesses’ insurance?
• TaxConnex (https://www.taxconnex.com/blog-): When is virtual the same as real, at least as far as a growing number of tax authorities goes? The latest on the never-ending story of sales tax and crypto.
• Avalara (https://www.avalara.com/blog/en/north-america.html): A reminder that Missouri will start taxing remote sales on Jan. 1. Happy New Year.

Arguably dangerous

• John R. Dundon II EA (http://www.johnrdundon.com/): Favorite opening of the week: “Like waterspouts bearing down, Colorado tax laws updated for 2022-23 are beautiful to look at and arguably dangerous to misunderstand.”
• Taxable Talk (http://www.taxabletalk.com/): The “nightmarish” filing situation that could occur if you don’t grab your records before a company (cryptocurrency exchange FTX, for example) sinks.
• Current Federal Tax Developments (https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/): A look at recent IRS relief on an IRA rollover deadline for a victim of fraud.
• Procedurally Taxing (https://procedurallytaxing.com): In Kelly v. Commissioner, a petitioner sought to use collection due process to obtain first-time abatement (“…seemed a stretch…”) Interesting too, that the case didn’t involve a discussion of prior opportunity. 

Hold everything

• Taxjar (https://www.taxjar.com/resources/blog): For your clients who sell online (and you might have a lot more than you think…), six steps to ensure their sales tax compliance.
• AICPA Insights (https://www.aicpa.org/blog): Burned out? Lacking motivation? Juggling competing priorities? Here’s a half-dozen scenarios paired with a time management technique that could help.
• WCG (https://wcginc.com/blog/): How and why one firm put the brakes on taking on new clients. (“This might sound like a jerk thing to say…but we would definitely be jerks if we said we could, but failed to deliver…”)
• Turbotax (https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com): What to remind them about the tax changes that intertwine with life’s. 
• Hall CPA (https://www.therealestatecpa.com/blog): If your clients dabble or dive into property owning, what to remind them about the tax plusses of qualifying as a real estate professional.
• Tax Foundation (https://taxfoundation.org/blog): As we near this year’s lame duck session of Congress, interest is renewed in Child Tax Credit reform as part of a broader tax deal. But a year after the CTC was enacted, policymakers are no closer to a consensus on where the credit should go moving forward.
• Wolters Kluwer (https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/tax-accounting-us/industry-news): Congress has extended relief through 2025 for taxpayers who purchase health insurance on an exchange and who want to take the Premium Tax Credit. 
• HBK (https://hbkcpa.com/insights/): The latest quarterly newsletter for nonprofits looks at tax-oriented pitches to donors, IRS hopes for a tax-exempt and key considerations before creating an endowment fund, among other topics.
• Boyum & Barenscheer (https://www.myboyum.com/blog/): A reminder of limits and other details for next year on HSAs.