Tax preparers will begin using online tax application in great numbers. Mobile applications will be an increasingly important part of the process. But this year is not the year for those developments. All of that stuff will arrive, but most preparers are still merely dipping their toes in the water in online and mobile. Good old-fashioned changes such as the addition of states, efiling and dealing with the capabilities of multiple monitors is more the order of the day for 2011 tax software.

The Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee is urging the Internal Revenue Service to take steps to provide greater e-file security and to increase return accuracy. Those were among the recommendations the committee delivered in its annual report to Congress. It also wants legislators to fully fund the Modernized eFile program before the IRS undertakes any technology initiatives.

What tax research services to provide on mobile devices and how to provide them remains the hottest area for vendors offering these applications to tax professionals. But whatever direction the providers take, it's clear that resources available via notebooks and smartphones will expand dramatically this year.

A woman who claimed a tax deduction for foster care for wild cats in her home - as many as 70 to 80 at a time - has won a partial victory over the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS had disallowed Jan Elizabeth Van Dusen's deduction of $12,068 as a charitable contribution on her 2004 tax return.