The United States has taken action in a federal court in Honolulu, Hawaii, to stop James A. Ericson from preparing tax returns for others. The complaint alleges that Ericson, said to have prepared more than 1,000 returns a year, created phony businesses and inflated credits and deductions on clients' returns.

Earlier this year, Congressional haggling delayed the start of tax season. Now, the Internal Revenue Service says the recent government shutdown means the 2014 season will also start late with the delay estimated to be from one to two weeks.

Drake Software has placed its entire product line in the cloud via hosting. The Franklin, N.C.-based company said the platform is supporting the Drake Professional Tax Solution, Client Write-Up, Payroll and Document Manager, as well as hosting important Microsoft applications.

Two tax preparation companies that specialize in serving the elder, and their owner, have been barred from preparing tax returns for others. A court in Columbus, Ohio, issued the order against Tobias Elsass and his companies, Fraud Recovery Group and Sensible Tax Services. The parties were taking 30 percent to 35 percent of some clients' refunds.