News Releases for January 2012

IR-2012-13, Jan. 31, 2012 – The IRS and Justice Department today announced the results of a massive national sweep cracking down on suspected identity theft perpetrators as part of a stepped-up effort against refund fraud and identity theft.

IR-2012-12, Jan. 27, 2012 — Free tax preparation services for low- to moderate-income or elderly taxpayers are available nationwide.

IR-2012-11, Jan. 27, 2012 — Millions of Americans who earned $49,078 or less may be able to take advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit. Taxpayers should look into the credit to see if they qualify, especially if their financial, marital and parental statuses have changed recently.

IR-2012-10, Jan. 18, 2012 –– IRS hosts second meeting to discuss matching information in real-time instead of by the look-back method.

IR-2012-9, Jan. 17, 2012 — Five new members have been selected to serve on the Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee.

IR-2012-8, Jan. 17, 2012 — IRS Free File opens today. Everyone can use Free File, either the brand-name software offered by IRS’ commercial partners or the online fillable forms.

IR-2012-7, Jan. 17, 2012 — The IRS opened the 2012 electronic tax return filing season today with a reminder to taxpayers that e-file remains the best way to get fast refunds and ensure accurate tax returns.

IR-2012-6, Jan. 11, 2012 — National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson released her annual report to Congress, identifying the combination of the IRS’s expanding workload and declining resources as the most serious problem facing taxpayers.

IR-2012-5, Jan. 9, 2012 — The IRS reopened the offshore voluntary disclosure program to help people hiding offshore accounts get current with their taxes and announced the collection of more than $4.4 billion so far from the two previous international programs.

IR-2012-4, Jan. 6, 2012 — The Internal Revenue Service today released a new set of tax gap estimates for tax year 2006. The tax gap is defined as the amount of tax liability faced by taxpayers that is not paid on time.

IR-2012-3, Jan 5, 2012 — New proposed guidelines to provide relief to more innocent spouses requesting equitable relief from income tax liability.

IR-2012-2, Jan. 5, 2012 — Twenty-six new members have been selected to serve on the nationwide Taxpayer Advocacy Panel.

IR-2012-1, Jan. 4, 2012 — Tax filing season begins today. E-file and Free File will be available beginning Jan. 17. Taxpayers have until April 17 to file their tax year 2011 returns.

Find previous year news releases and fact sheets from 1997 through last month.