IRS & Enforcement
Audit triggers, enforcement actions, compliance requirements, reporting thresholds, IRS technology changes, and taxpayer rights.
Latest in IRS & Enforcement
Skip a required IRA withdrawal after age 73 and the IRS can take 25% of what you missed
Retirees who turn 73 and forget to pull money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) face a federal excise tax that claims one quarter of...
The IRS lets most households file federal taxes free, yet millions still pay for software they don’t need
Millions of Americans hand over money to commercial tax software companies every filing season to prepare returns they could file for free. The IRS provides...
If you can’t pay your tax bill, the IRS will set up a monthly payment plan online in minutes
Taxpayers who owe the IRS more than they can pay in one lump sum now face a straightforward choice: set up a monthly installment plan...
Dishwashers, DJs, and golf caddies all made the IRS’s final list of 70 jobs eligible to deduct up to $25,000 in tips
Workers who never expected a tax break on their tips, from dishwashers splitting pooled gratuities to DJs collecting cash after a wedding set, now qualify...
The IRS’s interest rate on unpaid taxes climbs back to 7% on July 1
Taxpayers who owe the IRS back taxes will see the cost of carrying that debt rise on July 1, 2026, when the agency’s underpayment interest...
Adding a bank account to your free IRS online account is the fastest way to avoid weeks of refund delay this year
Millions of taxpayers filing returns this year face a new procedural step that could mean the difference between receiving a refund in days or waiting...
The IRS will now freeze your tax refund if you don’t have direct deposit on file
Millions of individual taxpayers who file returns without valid bank account details will see their refunds temporarily frozen starting in the 2026 filing season. The...
Any taxpayer can lock scammers out of their tax refund with a free six-digit IRS identity-protection PIN
Every year, refund fraud costs taxpayers time, money, and peace of mind when someone files a bogus federal return using a stolen Social Security number...
The IRS shut down its free Direct File program for the 2026 tax season, ending government-run filing in 25 states
Taxpayers in 25 states who filed their federal returns for free through the IRS Direct File program will not have that option when the 2026...
The IRS pays 8% interest on any federal refund delayed past 45 days — the rate just reset for Q3 2026, and the agency owed billions to late filers
If your federal tax refund is late, the IRS is paying you 8% annual interest on every day it keeps your money past a 45-day...
Form 5498 quietly reports every IRA contribution to the IRS each May — it’s the form that proves your basis and stops the IRS from taxing you twice in retirement
Every spring, a one-page tax form lands in the mailboxes of IRA holders across the country weeks after they have already filed their returns. Most...
Scammers are filing tax returns under stolen Social Security numbers — but a free six-digit IRS PIN locks them out, and any taxpayer can request one
Last filing season, thousands of Americans discovered they had been robbed before they even knew anything was wrong. They sat down to e-file their federal...
Skip your required retirement withdrawal at 73 and the IRS can claw back 25% of the amount you missed — one of the harshest penalties in the tax code
A 73-year-old retiree sitting on $500,000 in a traditional IRA owes roughly $18,900 in required minimum distributions this year. If that money doesn’t leave the...
Student loan forgiveness is taxable again in 2026 — borrowers who finally get their debt erased could owe the IRS thousands on “income” they never actually received
Imagine making student loan payments for 20 years, watching your balance barely budge, and finally reaching the finish line where the federal government promises to...
The IRS’s new crypto tax form leaves out one number — and it could make the agency think you owe thousands more than you actually do
Say you bought $14,000 worth of Bitcoin, sold it for $15,000, and owed tax on the $1,000 profit. Simple enough. Now imagine the IRS received...
The IRS will phase out paper refund checks for tax year 2026 — anyone filing without direct deposit on file will wait six extra weeks for their money
The average federal tax refund last filing season topped $3,100. Starting with tax year 2026 returns, filed during the 2027 season, anyone who doesn’t have...
If you sold crypto in 2025, your broker will send a Form 1099-DA in January — the IRS gets a copy, and 125 AI models match every entry automatically
Sometime in February, a tax form you had never seen before likely showed up in your Coinbase, Kraken, or Gemini account. Form 1099-DA, the IRS’s...
The IRS deployed 125 AI models to flag tax returns this year, up from 54 two years ago — crypto now triggers automatic matching
This spring marks the first time cryptocurrency brokers are required to report your sales directly to the IRS. If you sold Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, or...
The IRS is phasing out paper refund checks under a new executive order — filers without direct deposit will need a bank account on file by next tax season
If you got your federal tax refund as a paper check last year, that’s almost certainly not going to happen again. Under Executive Order 14247,...
The IRS may owe you money from COVID-era penalties — but you have to mail a paper form by July 10 or lose it forever
Millions of Americans paid IRS penalties during the COVID-19 pandemic, wrote off the loss, and never looked back. That may have been a costly mistake....