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What Tax LegislatioElection years usually slow down tax legislation. Not this one. President Trump already passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act this year via budget reconciliation. Now he's signaling more tax changes could be coming in 2026 before Republicans potentially lose their majority in the midterms. Mark Luscombe, principal federal tax analyst at Wolters Kluwer, laid out what CPAs should watch in a new analysis. Here's the breakdown. The TAS Bill (Bipartisan, Actually Moving) The Taxpayer Assistance and Service bill is working its way through Congress with bipartisan support. Key provisions: Expanded digitization of tax returns Online account expansion for taxpayers Tax preparer penalties get stricter, and PTIN requirements tighten Mailbox rule extended to electronic filings Tax Court jurisdiction expanded to refund cases National Taxpayer Advocate gets more independence from the IRS Parts of this could pass without budget reconciliation, meaning it doesn't need only Republican votes. Saver's Match Kicks In 2027 SECURE 2.0 (passed in 2022) scheduled a new Saver's Match to replace the Saver's Credit starting in 2027. The government will match 50% of contributions up to $2,000, maxing out at $1,000. Trump proposed expanding this to workers without 401(k)s through government-backed retirement accounts modeled on the federal Thrift Savings Plan. He also floated $1,000 payments to farmers to offset tariff impacts. That was before the Supreme Court struck down his tariff authority, so the idea might be dead. More Tax Cuts via Reconciliation Trump said in the State of the Union he wants Congress to pass additional personal and corporate tax cuts beyond TCJA and OBBBA. He wants to use budget reconciliation again, which means passing it before the 2026 midterms in case Republicans lose control. No details yet on what those cuts would look like or how they'd be paid for. Tariffs to Replace the Income Tax? Trump also mentioned (even after the Supreme Court ruling) tha
TAS bill, tariff refund claims, and reconciliation push. The 2026 tax legislation roadmap CPAs need to track.
Emily Asher
1.4 Million TaxpayerThe IRS has now sent refund delay notices to 1.4 million taxpayers, and the number is climbing by 300,000 every week. Why? Because they didn't provide direct deposit info on their tax returns. So the IRS is holding their refunds and asking for bank account details before cutting checks. Two House Democrats just sent a follow-up letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demanding answers. Treasury still hasn't responded to their first letter from March 9, when delayed refunds numbered 830,000. The root cause: President Trump's March 2025 executive order mandating electronic payments. Treasury stopped issuing paper checks for most federal payments on Sept. 30, 2025. That includes tax refunds. The Notice Is Confusing At a Ways and Means hearing earlier this month, Democrats asked IRS CEO Frank Bisignano for a copy of Notice CP53E (the delay letter). They got an altered version that differs from what taxpayers actually received. Key problems with the notice: No clear timeline. It doesn't say refunds could take 10 weeks. No warning about paper checks. Doesn't mention checks could take another 6 weeks beyond the 30-day response window. Phone number doesn't work. The IRS number listed doesn't connect to a live person. It's an automated message telling you to set up an online account. "The IRS has no publicly established process for taxpayers who lack an online account to request a timely check," wrote House Ways and Means members Danny Davis (D-IL) and Terri Sewell (D-AL). Translation: if you don't have internet access or can't navigate an IRS online account, you're stuck waiting. What the Altered Notice Said (and Didn't Say) The version Treasury sent to Congress was titled "Refund Direct Deposit Issue Notice (Summary Version)." It had a warning at the top: "Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) data: Share only with authenticated authorized persons with need to know." The lawmakers pointed out there's nothing sensitive about the notice. It's been sent to 1
1.4M taxpayers are waiting on refunds and growing 300K per week. Here is what CPAs need to tell clients.
Emily Asher
