Mark Friedlich

If your clients carried federal tax debts through the pandemic, the interest deserves a second look, writes Mark Friedlich @mfriedlich. A pending Tax Court case asks whether Congress required the IRS to disregard Jan. 20, 2020, through July 10, 2023, when computing interest on affected liabilities. sbrew.link/ZMi8mytL #tax #IRS

Opportunity zones are now permanent. The old 2026 deadline is gone, but a new planning window is already open, writes Mark Friedlich @mfriedlich. Capital gains realized this year can still qualify for the permanent regime if invested under the right timing rules. sbrew.link/wG9E0mzc #tax #RealEstate

The revised order from Todd Blanche about Donald Trump's taxes clarifies the immunity provision applies only retroactively to claims that were open at the time of settlement, but doesn't shield future tax filings from examination. Mark Friedlich @mfriedlich explains why this is a live case study in a mistake tax attorneys and CPAs make often that carries exposure for clients and the professionals who advise them. sbrew.link/5GZ6QVyd #tax #CPA

The IRS is phasing out First Time Abate and replacing it with a new Automatic Exemption from Penalty program. This is not a minor procedural tweak, writes Mark Friedlich @mfriedlich. It changes how penalty relief gets delivered to millions of taxpayers, and it changes what we owe our clients as their advisors. bit.ly/4bZiHhY #tax #IRS

On June 22, 2026, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Murrin v. Commissioner, No. 25-988. The court said nothing about the merits. The denial leaves in place a precedential Third Circuit decision that should change how practitioners talk to clients about old returns and how to evaluate the people who prepared them, writes Mark Friedlich @mfriedlich. bit.ly/3QV72JM #tax #SCOTUS

The Employee Retention Credit was meant to keep workers on payroll during the worst of the pandemic. Five years later, it has become one of the most contested provisions in the Internal Revenue Code. Three recent developments deserve close attention right now, say Mark Friedlich @mfriedlich and Mary Lundstedt @mlundstedt1. bit.ly/3QNrNHp #tax #IRS

AI is a powerful tool for tax professionals, but not a substitute for good judgment. The IRS is smaller, more automated and less forgiving than it was two years ago. Mark Friedlich @mfriedlich and Sterling Cunningham explain why it's important to exercise due diligence. bit.ly/3QdgQi1 #tax #AI

For the roughly 300,000 retirement-age Americans relocating to the Sun Belt each year, the savings they are counting on may not exist, writes Mark Friedlich @mfriedlich. That is a client conversation for us to have before they sign the moving contract. bit.ly/42MJ5qr #tax

The IRS announced a streamlined process for Employee Retention Credit claimants to extend the two-year deadline to file a refund suit after a claim disallowance, writes Mark Friedlich @mfriedlich. The eligibility window is six months or less remaining on the two-year clock. The announcement is short. The implications for practitioners are not. bit.ly/3Qt3qOT #tax #IRS

Until now, cannabis businesses operating under state law generally could not deduct basic expenses such as rent, payroll or marketing, writes Mark Friedlich @mfriedlich. They could recover the cost of goods sold, but little else, which often drove effective tax rates to punishing levels. The DOJ's new order may change that, bit.ly/4tZXBH4 #cannabis #marijuana #tax

We are in the relative early stages of a shift that many tax practitioners still underestimate, writes Mark Friedlich @mfriedlich. AI is already embedded in the systems we use, the data we analyze, and the expectations our clients now bring to the table. But there's a disconnect. bit.ly/4scrh2i #tax #AI

Tax season is the natural trigger for an estate planning conversation, and the logic is simple, Mark Friedlich @mfriedlich writes. The documents your clients are already gathering for their returns are the same documents an estate planning attorney needs to build or update a comprehensive plan. bit.ly/475bnze #tax #estateplanning

The ERC trap: We are deep in the messy stages of the Employee Retention Credit, writes Mark Friedlich @mfriedlich. If you represent clients who claimed the ERC, you are frustrated. The IRS stops processing without warning. The agency says they are done. The reality on the ground says otherwise. bit.ly/4kWLjfn

The ERC trap: We are deep in the messy stages of the Employee Retention Credit, writes Mark Friedlich @mfriedlich. If you represent clients who claimed the ERC, you are frustrated. The IRS stops processing without warning. The agency says they are done. The reality on the ground says otherwise. bit.ly/4kWLjfn

The IRS has finally addressed the reporting threshold confusion that has plagued tax practitioners since 2021, writes Mark Friedlich @mfriedlich. The Treasury and the IRS issued proposed regulations last month to align backup withholding rules with the OBBBA's restoration of the original $20,000 and 200-transaction threshold. bit.ly/4qfZ35X #tax #IRS

After extensive cuts in IRS staffing, will the 2026 tax season be seamless or turn into a doomsday? Former IRS Commissioners Charles Rettig and Danny Werfel share an optimistic view of the agency's ability to pull off a successful tax filing season with tax expert Mark Friedlich @mfriedlich. bit.ly/4bBuP9z #tax #IRS

Tax work has always required patience, judgment and a steady hand. What is different today is the speed of change and the pressure that comes with it. Here are some of the challenges that tax professionals will face in 2026, from Mark Friedlich @mfriedlich. bit.ly/3N9CeCP #tax