Issue Number: 2017-33
Inside This Issue
1. Don’t Take the Bait, Step 6: Watch Out for the W-2 Email Scam
2. YouTube: Why Every Tax Professional Needs a Security Plan
3. Sept. 7 Webinar: Understanding S Corporations Part II
4. Free Cybersecurity Webinars for Tax Professionals
5. e-Services Unavailable over Labor Day Weekend
1. Don’t Take the Bait, Step 6: Watch Out for the W-2 Email Scam
The IRS, state tax agencies and the tax industry urge tax professionals and businesses to beware of a recent increase in email scams targeting employee Forms W-2.
The W-2 scam – called a business email compromise or BEC – is one of the most dangerous phishing email schemes trending nationwide from a tax administration perspective. The IRS saw a sharp increase in the number of incidents and victims during the 2017 filing season.
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2. YouTube: Why Every Tax Professional Needs a Security Plan
This YouTube video explains the importance for all tax professionals of having and adhering to a data security plan.
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3. Sept. 7 Webinar: Understanding S Corporations Part II
Sign up now for this Sept. 7 webinar, which will:
- Discuss the three loss limitations for S corporations’ shareholders
- Discuss the shareholder's responsibility for tracking stock and debt basis
- Review the stock basis ordering rules (with example)
- Define when a shareholder has debt basis
- Identify case law factors used to establish when debt is bona fide
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4. Free Cybersecurity Webinars for Tax Professionals
Tax professionals are prime targets for identity thieves. Why? Your clients’ information — bank and investment accounts, Social Security numbers, medical records and more — can be a virtual goldmine in the wrong hands. That’s why securing it against a data breach is critical to protect your clients and your business.
On Wednesday, August 23, experts from the IRS, FTC, and the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP) will discuss cybersecurity for tax professionals in the second of four free webinars. The series covers the NIST Cybersecurity Framework — guidelines that the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology developed to help organizations identify, assess and manage cybersecurity risks. The webinars track the NIST core principles of Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond and Recover.
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5. e-Services Unavailable over Labor Day Weekend
IRS will conduct annual Labor Day maintenance on numerous electronic systems beginning Saturday, Sept. 2 at 8:00 p.m. ET and ending Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 5:00 a.m. ET. The Transcript Delivery System, TIN Matching, e-file Application, ACA and Registration Services will not be operational during this timeframe. Please refrain from accessing e-services to conduct business during this period.
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