The Internal Revenue Service is accepting nominations for the IRS Advisory Council. The council provides a forum for IRS officials and representatives of the public to discuss federal tax administration issues. Committee members submit report to the IRS commissioner each year.

The Internal Revenue Service and many industry observers expected returns filed this year would exceed 2016 totals by 1 percent. Instead, the total fell .7-percent short as a last minute surge of 135.6 million returns did not overcome the gap between this year through April 21 and last year's corresponding period as efiled returns from paid professionals dropped but the self-prepared total rose slightly.

H&R Block told customers to get taxes won, not done. But for tax season 2017 the winner was again Intuit which saw increased sales of its TurboTax units while the two publicly held tax store chains, Block and Liberty Tax Services, reported declines year-over-year for the season through 22.

A scheme that caused the Internal Revenue Service to pay more than $9 million in undeserved refunds has netted a California prepare 120 months in prison. Pollock Pines, Calif.-based Teresa Marty, 57-years old, must also serve two years of supervised release and repay the IRS slightly more than $9.5 million. Marty and others pleaded guilty in a case in which they were identified as tax defiers.