Key Takeaways
- Court of International Trade says administration can't slow-walk refunds.
- "The Supreme Court told you what your position is."
- Administration still wants to delay.
- IRS CEO says 55 million returns are already filed.
- Downplays data sharing violations.
- Tax season scams: what to watch for.
- National Cheese Doodle Day
Judge Orders Government to Begin Refunding More Than $130 Billion in Tariffs - Lydia Wheeler, James Fanelli and Louise Radnofsky, Wall Street Journal:
...
The administration is expected to appeal the order to prevent it from taking effect immediately. The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment. In court on Wednesday, a Justice Department lawyer asked for Eaton to pause his order while the government appeals, but the judge denied that request.
The judge said the repayment process should be straightforward and grew impatient when a Justice Department lawyer said the government hadn’t yet formalized its position on refunding the tariffs, which President Trump imposed by citing a decades-old law. “Your position is clear,” the judge said. “The Supreme Court told you what your position is.”
US Court of International Trade Orders Refund of All Illegally Collected IEEPA Tariffs - Ilya Somin, Volokh Conspiracy via Reason. "Importantly, the Court ordered payment of refunds even to those businesses who have not filed a lawsuit to claim them."
Bessent Claims 15 Percent Tariffs Are Coming Soon - Michael Smith, Tax Notes ($):
Bessent said March 4 the 10 percent tariffs implemented under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 will be increased to 15 percent. The section 122 tariffs may only remain in place for 150 days and will expire by July 24. Bessent added that the administration is working on studies on implementing lasting tariffs under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. According to Bessent, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is working on trade reports to initiate the tariffs.
IRS CEO Testifies
IRS Chief Says '26 Tax Filing Season Running Smoothly - Stephen Cooper, Law360 Tax Authority ($):
IRS CEO Frank Bisignano attributed the success of the current tax season to management and technology upgrades at the agency, including a new chief information officer promoted from within the ranks of the IRS. The filing season is about 40% complete, but when finished, the average refund amount will be $1,000 higher than last year, Bisignano told the House Ways and Means Committee.
Bisignano Downplays Tax Data Sharing Concerns - Benjamin Valdez and Cady Stanton, Tax Notes ($):
Bisignano said the events surrounding the data sharing agreement between the IRS and ICE occurred before his tenure as CEO began in October 2025 and declined to comment several times regarding what the agency might do in the future on the issue, citing the ongoing litigation.
IRS CEO, Democratic Lawmakers Spar Over Privacy, Union - Erin Slowey and Erin Schilling, Bloomberg ($):
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Bisignano, in response to questions from Democrats, said that he hasn’t received any requests from the Trump administration to investigate specific tax-exempt groups.
President Donald Trump and his allies have signaled plans to curb nonprofit groups that could be funding political violence, and suggested revoking the tax exempt status of perceived adversaries like Harvard University.
Tax Season Struggles, Scams, and AI
‘No Tax on Overtime’ Isn’t All It Seems for Some Workers - Andrew Duehren, New York Times:
“Overtime filers are the largest individual category,” Mr. Bisignano said.
But some of the steps the Republican Party has taken to play up the deduction this year, like repeatedly advertising it as “no tax on overtime,” have helped create the confusion that individuals and companies now face. “I suppose ‘an overtime deduction on the F.L.S.A. premium portion of your overtime’ doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as smoothly,” said Jim Palmer, the executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, who has tried to clarify the terms for the group’s members.
5 Tax Scams to Watch for This Filing Season - Lori Ioannou, Wall Street Journal:
Tax-debt forgiveness or IRS settlement scams are increasing, targeting taxpayers who owe money to the IRS for a variety of reasons. These may include back income taxes, penalties related to unfiled tax returns, unpaid self-employment taxes, or audit assessments.
Many use robot calls to lure victims, and some are unscrupulous tax-resolution firms that advertise on radio, TV and other media platforms.
Typically, they promise guaranteed IRS debt forgiveness and settlements, charging upfront fees without delivering debt relief. They use high-pressure tactics to get victims to sign immediately to avoid IRS levies, wage garnishments and collections actions, says Ringbauer.
I get calls like this regularly. Here's a voicemail transcript from Monday:
The IRS won't call you about your taxes out of the blue. That's what scammers do. If you have any doubts, call a real tax pro, and ignore calls like this. For peace of mind, get an IRS Individual Online Account so you can always check to make sure your taxes are in order.
Related: Eide Bailly IRS Dispute Resolution and Collections Services.
Link: How to know it's the IRS.
A Word to the Wise: Don’t Trust A.I. to File Your Taxes - Stuart Thompson, New York Times:
They struggled, hard, miscalculating the refund or amount owed to the Internal Revenue Service by an average of more than $2,000. Even when provided with all the necessary materials, including all the forms they needed to fill out, the chatbots whiffed on some calculations.
IRS Says it Still Audits Partnerships
Partnership Audit Efforts Continue Amid IRS Turmoil - Kristen Parillo, Tax Notes ($):
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The Biden administration’s efforts to increase the number of partnership audits have been undercut by a conservative lobbying campaign to dismantle a new exam unit dedicated to passthrough entities that the IRS Large Business and International Division officially launched in October 2024, Black said. Depleted resources and the exodus of partnership specialists and other subject matter experts have also created challenges for the agency’s efforts to heighten audit coverage of partnerships.
Despite those setbacks, new partnership audits are still being opened, according to Gerdy-Zogby. She said LB&I also continues to operate its large partnership compliance program — an initiative launched in 2021 that aims to increase the IRS’s audit coverage of the largest and most complex partnership returns — and that the division is still conducting compliance campaigns on various partnership issues.
Related: Eide Bailly Passthrough Entity Consulting Services.
Against Nonprofits
Targeting this $2.8 trillion tax shelter could solve a big U.S. problem - Scott Hodge, Washington Post:
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Consider nonprofit hospitals and health care plans: In 2023, they generated $1.3 trillion in revenue and nearly $45 billion in tax-free profits. The largest, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and its affiliated hospitals, recently announced over $127 billion in revenue in 2025 — more than many of America’s largest for-profit companies — yet paid no corporate income tax on more than $9.3 billion in net income. The justification? In exchange for their tax exemption, nonprofit hospitals are supposed to provide charity care for the poor. However, studies consistently find that tax-exempt hospitals don’t provide more free or discounted care to low-income patients than their taxpaying competitors.
Related: Eide Bailly Exempt Organization Tax Services.
For Decongestants
Federal Judge Upholds NYC Congestion Pricing Agreement - Emily Hollingsworth, Tax Notes ($):
In a March 3 opinion and order in Metropolitan Transportation Authority v. Duffy, Judge Lewis J. Liman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York determined that U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s attempts to terminate the congestion pricing toll and withhold federal funding from New York projects “were arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, and not in accordance with law.”
“Plaintiffs are thereby relieved of the obligation to cease tolling operations,” Liman ruled.
Blogs and Bits
5 free tax prep and filing options, and a move to restore a sixth - Kay Bell, Don't Mess With Taxes. "Topping the no-cost filing list is this partnership between the Internal Revenue Service and the Free File Alliance."
Court denies business deductions after taxpayer reports no income - Tax Coda. "You cannot deduct personal household costs as business expenses, and calling informal caregiving a 'business' without a profit motive or records will not survive IRS scrutiny."
No matter what it says on TikTok.
High-Earner And Wealth Taxes Vs. Broad Rate Cuts: State Tradeoffs Ahead - Lucy Dadayan and Thomas Brosy, TaxVox. "State tax policy is splitting along two competing tracks. Along one, lawmakers are enacting or considering new taxes on high earners, arguing that they should contribute more to fund public services. Along the other, lawmakers are implementing or pursuing tax rate cuts and flatter income tax structures in a bid to attract more businesses and residents."
Some Inheritance
Former police officer sentenced to three years in prison for inheritance scam - IRS (Defendant name omitted, emphasis added:
According to court documents, [the] former Eastville Police officer concocted a scheme to convince at least 13 people to loan him money needed to pay fees related to a purported inheritance he claimed was due. Defendant solicited loans from friends, acquaintances, and colleagues to pay for attorney fees, taxes, or other related costs that Defendant claimed were necessary to receive an inheritance or life insurance proceeds he was due from a deceased relative.
Some victims had Defendant sign a written contract or promissory note agreeing that he would repay the money. When the due date passed without repayment, Defendant told victims that without more money he would lose the inheritance entirely, and in many instances the victims provided Defendant additional funds. Defendant defrauded his victims of hundreds of thousands of dollars in 33 transactions. Defendant wasted most of the money gambling in casinos, through online sports betting apps, and at slots-style gambling machines in convenience stores.
"Wasted" sounds so judgmental, but "investment" doesn't seem quite right. In any case, assume somebody needing money to "collect an inheritance" is scamming you.
What day is it?
It's National Cheese Doodle Day, so doodle all day long!
