e-News for Tax Professionals 2025-05

The IRS opened the 2025 tax season on Jan. 27 with a focus on expanding options and features to help taxpayers. The IRS expects more than 140 million individual tax returns to be filed this season. The filing deadline is April 15. Taxpayers residing in a federally declared disaster area may have additional time to file and pay federal taxes.

2. IRS, national partners promote EITC Awareness Day on 50th anniversary of the Earned Income Tax Credit

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Earned Income Tax Credit, the IRS and its partners nationwide launched this year’s EITC Awareness Day Campaign.

Now in its 19th year, the annual campaign aims to increase awareness among the millions of working Americans with a low-to-moderate income who are eligible for the EITC. The IRS estimates that roughly one in five eligible taxpayers miss out on claiming this credit. As of December 2024, roughly 23 million workers and families had received about $64 billion total from the EITC, according to IRS statistics. On average, eligible taxpayers received $2,743 from the credit in tax year 2023.

Taxpayers may use the EITC Assistant to check their eligibility, which may be affected by changes in marital, parental or financial status. Even if taxpayers do not qualify for the EITC, they may be eligible for other credits or deductions. The Interactive Tax Assistant can help determine eligibility for the Child Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit or Credit for Other Dependents.

Visit the Tax Return Preparer Toolkit for more information.

3. Upcoming webinars and continuing education for tax professionals

The IRS offers the upcoming live webinars to the tax pro community:

The ABCs of Foreign Tax Credit for Individuals (FTC) on Feb. 19 at 1 p.m. ET. Earn up to two continuing education credits (Federal Tax). Visit the registration page for this webinar for more information.

The IRS also encourages tax professionals to register for the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum Online to get access to 18 seminars recorded at the 2024 IRS Nationwide Tax Forum. The Nationwide Tax Forum Online offers tax professionals a convenient way to stay informed about current legislation, IRS procedures and key topics for the upcoming tax season.

4. News from the Justice Department’s Tax Division

A federal grand jury in New Jersey returned an indictment charging Christopher Demba with 55 counts of tax return fraud and obstructing the IRS. For tax years 2018 through 2023, Demba, a New Jersey tax preparation business owner, allegedly prepared returns for clients that contained false information resulting in the clients claiming refunds to which they were not entitled. In addition, the claim alleges that Demba obstructed the IRS by providing fictitious working papers to IRS personnel to support some of the claims on returns he prepared for clients. Demba faces three years in prison for each count as well as a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

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