Recent issues of HowardNews...

Fall 2007.

The IRS has been preparing the forms for the upcoming season in a timely manner, with many forms already released and going to press, including Form 1040 and most of its schedules and instructions. However, new legislation that would affect the AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) and personal credits is widely anticipated by the end of the year, retroactively affecting the rules for 2007. Although the IRS has already released Form 1040 and most of its schedules, it is not planning on releasing the AMT form (Form 6251) and several credit forms before the end of the year because of the likelihood of this legislation. This new issue of HowardNews gives our take on all this. You'll see what specific changes the IRS has made and what further changes we expect, plus information on new forms we're adding to Tax Preparer and new IRS procedures for e-file.

Summer 2007.

Congress passed another significant tax bill at the end of May, but it was overshadowed in the press by the Iraq funding bill to which it was attached. The tax bill, the Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007, includes tax breaks for small businesses and simplified tax reporting for family businesses, but also expands the reach of the "kiddie" tax to older children. In this newsletter, we detail the tax law changes that are relevant to Form 1040 returns and delineate the contents of the three levels of our software for the next tax season.