IRS & Enforcement
Audit triggers, enforcement actions, compliance requirements, reporting thresholds, IRS technology changes, and taxpayer rights.
Latest in IRS & Enforcement
An IRS bank levy freezes existing money for 21 days
An IRS bank levy does not usually sweep an account the instant the bank receives it. The institution identifies money available at that moment, freezes...
The IRS has shut down its free Direct File tool for the 2026 filing season
The free, government-run tax program that let some Americans file directly with the IRS at no cost will not return for the 2026 filing season....
Non-itemizers can deduct up to $1,000 in cash gifts, or $2,000 jointly, starting in 2026
A new federal deduction gives charitable donors who claim the standard deduction a tax benefit that used to be largely reserved for itemizers. Starting with...
A missed required minimum distribution can trigger a 25% tax, reduced to 10% after a timely correction
The excise tax on an RMD failure is calculated on the missing distribution, not on the entire retirement account, and current law rewards a correction...
Interest on a qualifying new car loan can create a federal deduction up to $10,000
Federal law has reopened a deduction for personal vehicle interest, but only for a narrowly defined loan on a newly purchased, U.S.-assembled vehicle. The annual...
Qualified overtime can unlock a $12,500 deduction, or $25,000 for joint filers
The new overtime deduction is built around a surprisingly small slice of an overtime paycheck: the premium required by the Fair Labor Standards Act, not...
Workers can deduct up to $25,000 in qualified tips on 2026 federal returns
A new federal deduction can remove as much as $25,000 of qualifying tip income from taxable income for 2026, but it does not make every...
The 2026 standard deduction climbed to $16,100 single and $32,200 married filing jointly
The basic federal deduction rises again for 2026, sheltering a larger slice of income before tax rates apply. The change does not create a matching...
The IRS is automatically testing penalty relief for some taxpayers with clean filing histories
The IRS is moving a common penalty waiver from a taxpayer request to the return-processing system, using prior compliance as the eligibility test. The new...
Who qualifies for the new $6,000 senior tax deduction, and when does it phase out?
The new senior deduction can remove as much as $6,000 per eligible person from taxable income, but it is neither a $6,000 refund nor a...
The IRS will now waive a late-filing penalty automatically for taxpayers with a clean record.
Taxpayers who have filed and paid on time for the past three years will no longer need to call the IRS or submit paperwork to...
The IRS has stopped mailing paper refund checks and will hold your refund until you give direct-deposit details
Millions of taxpayers expecting paper refund checks from the IRS after Sept. 30, 2025, will instead receive a notice telling them to provide direct-deposit details...
The IRS waives a first-time filing or payment penalty, but only if you ask
Thousands of taxpayers pay IRS penalties every year that they could have had wiped clean, simply because they never asked for relief. The agency’s First...
The IRS lets you spread a big tax bill over months with an installment agreement, heading off a lien
Taxpayers facing a large IRS balance they cannot pay in full now have a clear, statute-backed path to break that bill into monthly chunks, and...
A free IRS identity PIN blocks tax returns filed under your Social Security number
Any taxpayer who files a federal return without a required six-digit Identity Protection PIN risks an outright rejection from the IRS, a consequence that can...
The IRS just made penalty relief automatic for taxpayers who usually file and pay on time
Taxpayers with a clean compliance record will no longer need to call the IRS, write a letter, or file paperwork to get a first-time penalty...
A free six-digit IRS PIN locks scammers out of filing a tax return under your Social Security number
Criminals who steal Social Security numbers to file bogus federal tax returns and collect fraudulent refunds now face a simple but effective barrier: a free...
Without direct deposit, the IRS now freezes your refund for six weeks
Taxpayers who filed their 2025 returns without providing bank account information now face a new obstacle: the IRS will hold their refund for up to...
A free six-digit IRS identity PIN blocks crooks from filing a tax return in your name
Every tax season, identity thieves race to file fraudulent returns using stolen Social Security numbers, often collecting refunds before the real taxpayer even logs in....
More than a million taxpayers waited an extra five and a half weeks for refunds this year while the IRS held up 14 million returns
More than a million taxpayers saw their refunds delayed by roughly five and a half extra weeks during the 2026 filing season after the IRS...