Issue Number:  2026-23

Inside This Issue

1. IRS creating new Tax Professional Management Office

2. Early bird registration for the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum ends June 15

3. IRS and Security Summit partners announce new framework

4. IRS hiring customer service representatives and tax examining technicians

5. IRS activities described in fiscal year 2025 Data Book

6. More than half of U.S. States signed up to participate in the federal scholarship tax credit program enacted under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill

7. Transcript Delivery System issue resolved

8. Update to tax relief for taxpayers impacted by wildfires in Southeast Georgia

9. Did you know? Data thieves target tax professionals’ tax software and email accounts

10. Technical guidance

1.  IRS creating new Tax Professional Management Office

Effective June 28, the IRS is creating a new office to simplify and modernize how it interacts with the tax professional community. The Return Preparer Office (RPO) and the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) will align under the new Tax Professional Management Office.

The merger will benefit tax professionals by creating improved efficiencies and simplified operations, making it easier to work with the Service. This reorganization will not change the distinction between credentialed tax professionals and uncredentialed tax preparers. The missions of RPO and OPR will remain intact. They will operate independently within their respective roles and authorities. Aside from improved efficiencies, the merger will have no impact on how IRS oversees the tax professional community.

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2.  Early bird registration for the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum ends June 15

The early bird registration rate of $275 for the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum ends Monday, June 15. Tax professionals will pay the standard rate of $329 from June 16 through June 23. After June 23, the late registration rate of $409 takes effect. See the Rates & Deadlines webpage for complete information.

Tax professionals can see what to expect from the Forum by viewing:

• The schedule-at-a-glance;

• The list of seminar topics; and

• Descriptions of the forum highlights.

The IRS encourages tax professionals to register as soon as possible to take advantage of the early bird registration rate.

The IRS encourages tax professionals to register as soon as possible to take advantage of the early bird registration rate.

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3.  IRS and Security Summit partners announce new framework

The IRS and Security Summit partners announced a restructuring of the public-private partnership designed to strengthen protections and enhance information sharing across the tax system. The change supports ongoing efforts to safeguard taxpayers from identity theft and related fraud.

The Security Summit is a unique public-private partnership comprised of the IRS, state tax administrators, tax software companies, the tax professional community, and the larger tax community. As the IRS and Summit partners have strengthened their systems, identity thieves have increasingly shifted to stealing underlying tax and financial information from taxpayers, businesses, and tax professionals to file authentic-looking fraudulent returns, hoping to evade traditional safeguards.

The new Security Summit structure enhances collaboration with payroll partners, whose wage and withholding data has become an attractive target for cybercriminals. The new work groups focus on improving early detection of suspicious activity, enhancing data protection practices, and reducing the risk of compromised information used to facilitate fraud.

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4.  IRS hiring customer service representatives and tax examining technicians

The IRS is recruiting talented individuals – including tax professionals – for key seasonal roles. The IRS is seeking candidates who are committed to public service, detail-oriented, and ready to assist taxpayers with professionalism and integrity.

Positions available include:

• Customer service representatives, who research multiple computer-based programs and resources to provide tax-related assistance to taxpayers over the phone.

• Tax examining technicians, who analyze and resolve tax processing problems, adjust taxpayer accounts, and respond to taxpayer inquiries regarding preparation of a variety of tax returns and related schedules.

The IRS is holding hiring events for these positions in multiple locations across the country. Interested individuals should apply to the USAJOBS announcement before going to the event. IRS hiring officials will make on-the-spot job offers to qualified attendees who applied to the exclusive announcement before the event.

The IRS offers competitive pay, exceptional benefits, career development, advancement opportunities, and meaningful, purpose-driven work.

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5.  IRS activities described in fiscal year 2025 Data Book

The IRS issued the 2025 Data Book detailing the agency’s activities during fiscal year 2025. The report provides a statistical overview of the agency’s operations and the work employees performed to meet statutory responsibilities.

Highlights from fiscal year 2025 include:

• 271.4 million federal tax returns and supplemental documents processed.

• Over $5.3 trillion in revenue collected.

• Almost 18.6 million calls answered.

• Nearly 2 million taxpayers served at Taxpayer Assistance Centers.

• Close to 417 million inquiries on the popular “Where’s My Refund?” online tool.

To learn more, view the complete Data Book on IRS.gov.

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6.  More than half of U.S. States signed up to participate in the federal scholarship tax credit program enacted under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill

The IRS announced that 27 states have elected to participate in the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program, which enables eligible taxpayers to claim a federal tax credit for qualified contributions to Scholarship Granting Organizations providing scholarships for qualified elementary and secondary education expenses.

As of early 2026, multiple states have formally opted into the program, including: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Tax professionals should remain aware of which states are participating so they can accurately advise their clients regarding eligibility for the tax credit. The IRS will maintain and update the official list of participating states as they complete the required election and submission process. The most current information is available on the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit page on IRS.gov.

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7.  Transcript Delivery System issue resolved

The IRS recently resolved an issue affecting Account Transcripts and Record of Account Transcripts. The issue caused certain transaction codes (TCs) to be omitted from transcript documents. As a result, the transcripts did not reflect tax increases (TC 290/300) and tax reductions (TC 291/301) made to taxpayer accounts. Tax professionals and their clients may now resume obtaining these transcripts, which reflect complete and accurate account information.

The IRS apologizes for any inconvenience this may have caused and thanks tax professionals who reported this issue.

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8.  Update to tax relief for taxpayers impacted by wildfires in Southeast Georgia

The IRS updated the news release announcing tax relief for taxpayers impacted by wildfires in Southeast Georgia.

A prior version of the news release referenced the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023, which does not apply to any payments described in the announcement. The prior version also referenced retirement plan or IRA distribution relief under the SECURE 2.0 Act or disaster-related hardship withdrawal provisions; however, that relief is not available here.

Please see the “Other relief” section of the news release for additional information.

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9.  Did you know? Data thieves target tax professionals’ tax software and email accounts

Multifactor authentication, or MFA, is more than a security best practice for tax professionals. It is a requirement for anyone accessing taxpayer information under the FTC Safeguards Rule, and IRS Publication 1345 reminds Authorized IRS e-file Providers to implement MFA as part of protecting taxpayer data.

MFA is also an important part of a tax professional’s Written Information Security Plan. Tax preparation software uses MFA to help protect accounts by requiring a second verification factor in addition to a username and password. MFA codes are often sent by text message, mobile app, or email.

Unfortunately, the IRS is seeing an increase in data breaches affecting tax professionals, even when they use MFA. How can this happen?

One way data thieves may bypass MFA is by checking tax professionals’ incoming emails. If a data thief gains remote access to a tax professional’s computer, they may be able to view email accounts the tax professional accesses from that device. If the tax preparation software sends an authentication code by email, and the thief can access that email account, the thief may be able to use the code to access the tax software.

Tax professionals should make sure their authentication methods cannot be accessed from the same devices they use to prepare tax returns. For example, if they use a personal email address for MFA, they should not access that email account from their work devices.

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10.  Technical guidance

The Department of the Treasury and the IRS recently announced their intent to issue proposed regulations for excise tax on excess tax-exempt organization executive compensation under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill.

Notice 2026-36 announces intent to issue proposed regulations addressing the tax on excessive compensation and excess parachute payments to employees of tax-exempt organizations under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBB).

Tax professionals with tax-exempt clients should note that the OBBB expanded the application of excise tax on excess compensation by broadening the definition of covered employee of an applicable tax-exempt organization. Previously, this tax applied to the five highest-compensated employees for the tax year. Now the tax may apply to any employee with compensation exceeding $1 million in a tax year or an excess parachute payment.

The notice also sets out important exceptions for individuals who provide volunteer
services to tax-exempt organizations that could otherwise be impacted by the OBBB changes.

Tax professionals can comment on all aspects of this notice and any other issues that should be addressed in the forthcoming proposed regulations by Aug. 4, 2026. The notice includes complete instructions on submitting comments.

Note: Notice 2026-36 will be in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-26, dated June 22, 2026.

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