September Tax Talk Today Highlights EITC Due Diligence Rules

According to their newest press release, the IRS’ next Tax Talk Today Web cast will be next Tuesday (September 9, 2008) at 2 p.m. The topic of the next web case will be EITC Due Diligence - It’s Your Responsibility.

“Practitioners who prepare Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) claims must meet four due diligence requirements. For example, they must ask the required questions on Form 8867, Paid Preparer's Earned Income Credit Checklist, and probe further when information seems incorrect, inconsistent or incomplete.

Failure to meet the due diligence requirements can result in a $100 penalty for each failure.

The broadcast will be a good opportunity for return preparers to review the requirements and get the latest information from the IRS executive and technical staff responsible for this $43 billion program.

Moderated by Les Witmer, panelists for the September program are: Debra S. Holland, EITC program director; Sue Gaston, director of industry operations, H&R Block; Sherrill L. Gregory, an Orange County, Calif., tax practitioner; and Bridget E. Tombul, IRS counsel.

Tax Talk Today is a Web cast aimed at educating tax and payroll professionals on the most current and complex tax issues. Tax professionals are encouraged to watch and submit questions.

To access the Web cast at no charge, viewers can register online. Tax professionals in need of continuing education credits are eligible to receive one CPE credit by viewing the September 9 Web cast.”

December Tax Talk Today Topic: Filing Season

Recently the IRS’s website announced that the next Tax Talk Today will be on "getting Ready for the Filing Season 2008." It will broadcast on Tuesday December 11th and will "focuses on individual tax return issues, such as changes to forms, the latest tax law changes and IRS processing issues that affect individual taxpayers. Tax preparers also will get tips on how to avoid common errors that can cost them and their clients time and money."

Panelists will be Kathleen Collins, principal of her own Savannah, Georgia-based tax practice, and president of the Georgia Association of Enrolled Agents; William Stevenson, president of National Tax Consultants, Inc., a tax preparation and taxpayer representation firm for individuals and businesses; Pamela J. Walker, IRS deputy director for Submission Processing at Cincinnati and Carole Barnette, IRS acting chief for Individual Tax Forms and Publications.

For more information check out TaxTalkToday.tv

New IRS Tax Talk Today

Later today the IRS will feature a new webcast on their Tax Talk Today website. The Webcast is scheduled for Tuesday, October 16, at 2 p.m. ET. Discussion topics on the Webcast will include an overview of OPR, Circular 230 and monetary penalties. The live hour-long Webcast will focus on the IRS’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which is responsible for setting, communicating and enforcing standards of competence, integrity and conduct among tax professionals who practice before the IRS. Tax Talk Today is a Webcast put out by the IRS with the goal of educating tax and payroll professionals on the most current and complex tax issues. You can access the Webcast for free by registering online at www.TaxTalkToday.tv.