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In 2025, the IRS experienced a 12% increase in overtime hours, primarily among employees in Taxpayer Services.. A new TIGTA report highlights that overtime costs rose by $27m, reaching $225m, as the agency faced a 25% reduction in its workforce due to resignations and retirements. “We believe that additional overtime costs were needed since the IRS had to balance increasing workforce demands with the impact of Service-wide workforce reductions,” the report stated. The Taxpayer Services division accounted for 87% of all overtime hours, with significant backlogs exacerbated by a 43-day government shutdown. TIGTA flagged 476 questionable overtime claims, indicating a lack of centralized tracking for overtime procedures within the IRS. The report did not include recommendations but noted plans to assess IRS controls over premium pay in the upcoming filing season.

 

Journal of Accountancy

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The IRS has identified approximately $3.2bn in unidentified payments from fiscal years 2022 to 2024, but $218m remains unresolved, according to TIGTA. The watchdog's report highlights that while the IRS successfully applied $2.3bn (70%) to taxpayer accounts, the remaining payments were either transferred to an Excess Collection account or left unresolved. "Missing or incomplete payment information . . . can impact the IRS's ability to apply payments to the correct taxpayer account," the report states. TIGTA recommends that the IRS modernize its processes, including developing an electronic case management system to improve efficiency. Kenneth Corbin, chief of the Taxpayer Services Division at the IRS, acknowledged the need for modernization and said: "We are taking steps to modernize how we manage the Unidentified Payments and Hardcore Payment Tracer Referral programs." The IRS has agreed to implement the recommendations made by TIGTA.

 

FedScoop

Accounting Today

PYMNTS

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said on Tuesday that $20.6bn in tariff refunds is being prepared for distribution to importers that successfully filed claims through a new government web portal established after the Supreme Court overturned a large portion of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The agency also acknowledged that a previously reported $35.5bn in refund claims had been overstated by about $10bn because of a data-query error, with the corrected figure closer to $25bn. CBP said approximately $85bn in potential and certified refunds had been accepted for processing as of May 22nd, while nearly 16m import entries are currently moving through the refund program.

 

Bloomberg

Massachusetts' voter-approved millionaires tax has significantly outperformed expectations, generating over $3.1bn this fiscal year alone. Initially projected by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center to yield around $2bn annually, the surtax has instead brought in $2.4bn in 2024, $3bn in 2025, and now exceeds $3.1bn. Despite concerns that affluent residents would leave the state due to increased taxes, IRS data indicates a net loss of over 30,000 residents, primarily those earning $200,000 or more. However, a report by the Institute for Policy Studies and the State Revenue Alliance shows a 38% increase in individuals with a net worth over $1m since the surtax's implementation. Evan Horowitz, executive director of Tufts University's Center for State Policy Analysis, cautioned: “This money is volatile. If the state builds a budget that relies on this money for core programs, you are going to have a hole in core programs [in the future].”

 

Boston Globe

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green has enacted a new law that introduces a 13% income tax bracket for individuals earning over $1m annually, effective for taxable years after December 31, 2026. The law also repeals future adjustments to income tax brackets and modifies tax rates for subsequent taxable years. Additionally, it eliminates the Technology Infrastructure Renovation Tax Credit starting January 1, 2028, and the High Technology Business Investment Tax Credit and Tax Credit for Research Activities from January 1st 2029.

 

Bloomberg Tax

A recent self-assessment of 438 U.S. accountants revealed that 78% scored in the “Survived” tier or worse on the Tax Season Survival Index (TISS), indicating significant damage to their sleep, health, relationships, and decision-making abilities. Developed by Hitendra R. Patil, the TISS measures factors such as caffeine dependency and deadline-week panic. The average score for accountants in 2026 was 55.6, with a score above 50 indicating measurable costs. Notably, 50% of respondents reported sleeping less than six hours a night, and 70% admitted to errors or near-misses in the final hours before the deadline. Patil said: “The profession has normalized something that shouldn't be normal,” as he emphasized the urgent need for change in the accounting industry. The TISS for 2026 remains open for responses, with aggregate data to be published annually.

 

CPA Practice Advisor

Concerns have been raised regarding inaccuracies in NASBA's "The NASBA Report: Candidate Performance on the Uniform CPA Examination - 2024 Edition." Joseph Ugrin, PhD, CPA, from the University of Northern Iowa, highlighted that nearly 46% of their CPA candidates were missing from the reported results. The discrepancies stem from outdated education data collection methods, particularly affecting programs that encourage students to take the CPA exam before graduation. Despite NASBA's acknowledgment of these issues and plans for improvements, the root causes of inaccuracies are expected to persist in future reports. Ugrin emphasized: "Getting it right shouldn't be optional," as he highlighted the need for reliable data in the accounting profession.

 

Accounting Today

U.S. home-price growth eased slightly in March as elevated mortgage rates continued to pressure affordability for homebuyers, according to the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller National Home Price Index. National home prices rose 0.7% year over year in March, down from a 0.8% increase in February. The report noted that inflation has outpaced national home-price appreciation for 10 consecutive months, reflecting softer housing market conditions. Higher borrowing costs continued to weigh on demand after the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rebounded to about 6.4% by the end of March following a brief dip below 6% earlier in the year. Among major cities, Chicago recorded the strongest annual home-price growth at 6.1%, followed by New York at 4% and Cleveland at 3%. Seattle posted the weakest performance, with home prices falling 2.5% from a year earlier. S&P Dow Jones Indices said the renewed rise in mortgage rates intensified affordability challenges and likely further slowed home sales and price growth nationwide.

 

Wall Street Journal

The U.S. government has filed a $286m claim against bankrupt auto-parts supplier First Brands Group, alleging the company undervalued imports from China to avoid paying higher tariffs. The Justice Department is seeking repayment of unpaid duties and penalties as part of the company’s ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The allegations stem from a whistleblower lawsuit filed in 2022, which accused First Brands and subsidiaries Brake Parts and Centric Parts of systematically understating the value of imported auto components after acquisitions completed in 2020. The government is continuing to investigate the claims, while former executives, including founder Patrick James, have denied wrongdoing.

 

Bloomberg

Wall Street Journal

Senior U.S. executives expect commercial litigation and financial crime risks to rise further in 2026, driven by economic uncertainty, cyber threats, and the growing impact of artificial intelligence, according to a new AlixPartners survey. Nearly two-thirds of legal, compliance, and regulatory executives surveyed said they anticipate an increase in corporate disputes, including litigation and arbitration. Cybersecurity and data privacy are emerging as major areas of concern, with 47% of executives expecting more legal conflicts tied to those issues. At the same time, confidence in companies’ ability to detect and prevent cyber threats has weakened sharply. Only 48% of executives said they are very prepared to address cyber risks, while confidence in risk-detection technology fell to 36%, down from 56% a year earlier. The survey also found rising concern over AI-powered cyberattacks and an increasingly fragmented regulatory landscape for artificial intelligence. More than one-third of executives identified AI-driven attacks as a top security concern, while 80% said evolving federal AI policy creates strategic compliance risks as U.S. and international regulations diverge. 

 

CFO

Insurance entrepreneur Greg Lindberg has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after federal convictions tied to a $2bn insurance fraud scheme and an attempted bribery of a North Carolina regulator. The sentencing concludes a yearslong legal battle involving two separate criminal cases against Lindberg, who prosecutors accused of diverting policyholder funds from life insurance companies he controlled through a network of affiliated loans. Prosecutors described the case as one of the largest insurance frauds in U.S. history. A judge also issued a preliminary order requiring Lindberg to pay $1.6bn in restitution. Prosecutors had sought a prison term of more than 14 years. Federal authorities said Lindberg used insurance companies as a “personal piggy bank,” financing luxury spending that allegedly included private jets, a superyacht, real estate, and millions of dollars in payments tied to personal relationships.

 

Bloomberg

Wall Street Journal

U.S. consumer confidence weakened slightly in May as households continued to face inflation pressures linked to the conflict in the Middle East, according to data from The Conference Board. The organization’s consumer confidence index fell to 93.1 in May from a revised 93.8 in April, although the reading came in above economists’ expectations. Consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions declined, with the present situation index falling 3.2 points to 121.2. Meanwhile, the expectations index, which measures short-term views on income, business, and labor conditions, edged up slightly to 74.4. Confidence trends varied by age group, rising modestly among consumers aged 35 to 54 but declining among younger and older Americans. Perceptions of the labor market also softened, with fewer consumers saying jobs are plentiful.

 

Bloomberg

Reuters

US News and World Report

Wall Street Journal