Intuit is offering taxpayers free advice via TurboTax for 2011. The company says that purchasers of the latest version of its dominant consumer tax preparation package can get advice from professionals via phone or live chat as part of its "Ask a Tax Expert Service." The system also offers tax preparation and filing via the iPad.

The Internal Revenue Service is planning a series of public meetings to solicit opinions about long-time changes to the tax system. Starting with a December 8 meeting in Washington D.C., these events will focus on moving away from the current "look back" compliance system and changing to a real time system in which returns are matched when they are first filed. The change was outlined in April by IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman. Read more...

A taxpayer who blamed TurboTax for failing to pick up an error in calculation has defeated the Internal Revenue Service in tax court. Kurt Olsen, a patent attorney in the Department of Energy, won against the IRS in its attempt to assess an accuracy-related penalty for understating the amount of taxes owed by $9,297. The tax court cited unique facts in the case in ruling that Olsen and his wife were not liable for the $1,859 penalty for tax year 2007. The ruling was a summary opinion, which cannot be treated as a precedent in other cases.

The Internal Revenue Service has launched the Registered Tax Return Preparer competency test. The test is part of the IRS' effort to regulate paid tax preparers. Those required to take the test have until Dec. 31, 2013 to pass it. Test scheduling begins next week.