Government taxation and revenue

alfexe | iStock | Getty ImagesFilers won't be affected by the IRS decision to destroy data for millions of taxpayers, the agency said in a statement Thursday.The IRS tossed an estimated 30 million so-called paper-filed information returns in March 2021, according to an audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.The news has sparked anger in the tax community, many of whom worry about the agency's ability to verify returns, triggering more error notices especially with limited ways to reach the IRS.More…

courtneyk | E+ | Getty ImagesAn audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration revealed the IRS has tossed data for millions of payers, sparking anger from the tax community.The material, known as paper-filed information returns in accounting parlance, are sent yearly by employers and financial institutions, and cover taxable activity, such as W-2 forms, with copies sent to taxpayers and the IRS.The continued inability to process backlogs of paper-filed tax returns contributed to management's decision to…

Morsa Images | E+ | Getty ImagesSoaring inflation, interest rate hikes and the war in Ukraine have sparked ongoing stock market volatility. But there may be a bright spot: the chance to save money on a Roth conversion.The strategy allows higher earners to sidestep the earnings limits for Roth individual retirement account contributions, capped at $144,000 modified adjusted gross income for single investors and $214,000 for married couples filing together in 2022.Here's how it works: Investors make what's known as…

Tom Werner | DigitalVision | Getty ImagesThe IRS may have the ability to automate nearly half of tax returns, according to a working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research.The agency could correctly auto-fill an estimated 62 million to 73 million returns with information it already has, covering 41% to 48% of taxpayers, researchers from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Minneapolis Federal Reserve and Dartmouth College found."Our results suggest that pre-populated returns would be accurate for a…

Intuit, the owner of popular tax filing software TurboTax, will pay $141 million in restitution to millions of low-income Americans who were "unfairly charged" for services that should have been free, according to a multistate agreement announced Wednesday.TurboTax also agreed to reform its business practices. For example, it must suspend a "free, free, free" advertising campaign that "lured" customers with the promise of free tax preparation but then asked them to pay, according to an announcement from New York Attorney…