Selected government developments with tax-professional takeaways, effective status and source links. Reviewed October 25, 2026. These are editorial summaries, not a continuously refreshed newswire.
Our weekly review checks IRS, Treasury, SSA, CMS and other authoritative updates. Corrections are drafted and reviewed before publication. Proposed regulations are explicitly distinguished from final guidance.
The IRS urged taxpayers to review withholding, estimated tax payments and supporting records before year-end instead of waiting for the filing deadline.
Why this matters: Practitioner action: review significant income changes, withholding and fourth-quarter estimates with clients; document planning conversations and ask for complete third-party forms.
Read the primary IRS source ↗Treasury and IRS released two revenue procedures covering employee plan correction and a separate program for correcting certain IRA failures.
Why this matters: Practitioner action: inventory client plan/IRA errors, review applicable correction methods and eligibility under the new procedures, and don't assume an old correction path continues unchanged.
Read the primary IRS source ↗IRS highlighted protecting online accounts and using Identity Protection PINs to reduce risks from tax-related identity theft.
Why this matters: Practitioner action: reinforce multifactor authentication, educate clients about IP PIN storage, and use a secure upload portal instead of ordinary attachments for sensitive records.
Read the primary IRS source ↗IRS reminded preparers to recognize fraudulent client requests, protect client information and maintain a Written Information Security Plan.
Why this matters: Practitioner action: revalidate staff MFA, phishing training, backup discipline, authorization management and the firm's WISP before busy season.
Read the primary IRS source ↗IRS published a week of resources on refundable-credit due diligence, Form 8867, Schedule C, authorizations, data security and upcoming filing-season topics.
Why this matters: Practitioner action: assign relevant IRS training to preparers and review Form 8867 and Schedule C quality control checklists.
Read the primary IRS source ↗Treasury and the IRS proposed regulations about PTC administration and eligibility. A proposal is not itself a final regulatory requirement.
Why this matters: Practitioner action: flag clients with ACA advance credits, watch subsequent finalized rules and instructions, and do not treat proposed text as effective law unless independently supported.
Read the primary IRS source ↗IRS and the Security Summit highlighted unique passwords, MFA, software updates and recognizing identity-theft scams.
Why this matters: Practitioner action: review written security procedures, staff access and W-2/payroll change-verification protocols.
Read the primary IRS source ↗IRS Newsroom · Internal Revenue Bulletin · Social Security releases · CMS Newsroom
Only a limited number of news items are currently curated. For tax-year-specific thresholds, visit the 2025–2027 reference desk. For the current IRS examination-year rule, see the EA exam guide.