e-News for Tax Professionals 2025-12

Tax Pros: Registration is now open for the 2025 IRS Nationwide Tax Forum. Register today to ensure your space this summer in one of the five following cities:

Chicago: July 1 – 3
New Orleans: Aug. 5 – 7
Orlando: Aug. 26-28
Baltimore: Sep 9-11
San Diego: Sep. 16 – 18

The IRS Nationwide Tax Forum offers continuing education and networking opportunities to Enrolled Agents, Certified Public Accountants, IRS Annual Filing Season Program participants and other tax professionals. Each forum offers three days of seminars and workshops on a wide variety of federal and state tax issues presented by experts from the IRS and its partner associations. Attendees may earn up to 18 continuing education credits.

Visit IRS Nationwide Tax Forum for information on the program, including accommodations and registration.

2. Tax relief available for storm victims in West Virginia

Disaster-area taxpayers in parts of West Virginia affected by severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides that began on Feb. 15 now have until Nov. 3 to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. The IRS is offering relief to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Currently, this includes Greenbrier, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Summers, Wayne and Wyoming counties. The same relief will be available to any other counties added later to the disaster area. The current list of eligible localities is always available on the Tax relief in disaster situations page on IRS.gov.

3. IRS announces new Criminal Investigation deputy chief

The IRS announced the appointment of a new IRS Criminal Investigation deputy chief. Effective March 19, Gary Shapley, a former supervisory special agent and a 16-year agency veteran, will oversee 20 field offices and 14 foreign posts, including more than 2,000 special agents investigating tax fraud and other financial crimes. He was recently chosen to serve as a senior advisor to Secretary Scott Bessent at the Department of Treasury. “Gary has been instrumental in many of our cases with an international nexus, and he brings a wealth of knowledge to the role of IRS-CI deputy chief,” said IRS-CI Chief Guy Ficco.

4. News from the Justice Department’s Tax Division

The Justice Department filed a civil injunction suit to permanently bar tax return preparer Juan Humberto Garcia, his son-in-law Marcos Yariel Figueroa, and Garcia’s business, from preparing federal tax returns for others. The complaint alleges the two prepared false federal tax returns through Tax Master. The IRS interviewed Tax Master customers who said they did not give Garcia or Figueroa any reason to believe that the items reported on their returns were legitimate. By repeatedly understating their customers’ tax liabilities, the preparers at Tax Master have caused the United States to lose substantial tax revenue. The complaint asks the court to order the defendants to turn over the ill-gotten tax preparation fees.

A federal court in Louisiana, convicted Whylithia R. Robinson in contempt for violating a permanent injunction that forbade her and her business from preparing, filing, or assisting in the preparation or filing of federal tax returns for others. In January 2023, the United States filed a complaint against Robinson and AAA Tax Service. The complaint alleges from 2019-2021, Robinson prepared and filed 2,629 fraudulent income tax returns. In April 2023, the court issued a default judgment of permanent injunction that barred Robinson and AAA Tax Services from preparing tax returns. Following a hearing last week, the court found that Robinson violated the permanent injunction by continuing to prepare tax returns for others. The court found Robinson in civil contempt and mandated that she reimburses the United States for its costs of litigation and travel expenses.

5. Technical Guidance

Revenue Ruling 2025-08 provides various prescribed rates for federal income tax purposes including the applicable federal interest rates, the adjusted applicable federal interest rates, the adjusted federal long-term rate, and the adjusted federal long-term tax-exempt rate. These rates are determined as prescribed by section 1274.

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