In the blogs: As a matter of FACTA

Competitive differentiator; non-traditional tax regimes; caught off guard; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

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As a matter of FACTA

• National Association of Tax Professionals: The IRS has reminded foreign financial institutions and other affected entities that Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act responsible officer certifications for the period ending Dec. 31, 2025, must be submitted by July 1, 2026. For tax professionals advising financial institutions, trusts, investment entities or multinational clients, this deadline is more than another filing obligation. It’s an opportunity to confirm that internal controls are functioning properly before the IRS comes calling.
• Berkowitz Pollack Brant: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act expands taxpayers’ eligibility for health savings accounts, allowing more people to save and pay for qualifying medical expenses through these triple-tax-advantaged accounts. With an HSA, contributions by qualifying taxpayers via payroll deductions are not subject to federal income tax, whereas self-funded contributions are tax-deductible on participants’ tax returns.
• U of I Tax School Blog: Practitioners spend significant time planning for client retention, but many overlook planning for client disengagement. Failure to develop a disengagement plan can expose the practitioner to litigation risk and long-term professional consequences. A disengagement plan serves the practitioner and the client by providing a road map for a consistent and defensible process. 
• FeedSpot: This site presents the best CPA blogs curated and ranked based on multiple factors, including content relevancy, subject expertise, posting frequency  and freshness of content. Blogs with highest credibility within the CPA space are ranked higher. This list is updated regularly to ensure it reflects the most active, influential and valuable CPA blogs on the internet today.

New Markets Tax Credit

• MeyersBrothersKalicka: Federal funding reductions are straining many nonprofit budgets. Organizations that are struggling to secure the capital needed for critical projects — from constructing a new facility to expanding community services — might want to consider the New Markets Tax Credit. This powerful but often underutilized tool can help close funding gaps that could prevent firms from achieving their strategic objectives.
• Dean Dorton: Artificial intelligence has moved fast — faster than most organizations expected. What started as a technology conversation has become a boardroom priority, a budget question and, increasingly, a competitive differentiator. Boards are asking about it. Executives are piloting tools. Employees are experimenting on their own. And vendors are adding AI features to nearly every platform, whether organizations asked for them or not.
• Avalara: The number of tariff changes implemented by the Trump administration in 2025 caught many businesses off guard, as did the speed at which U.S. tariffs changed. Tariff policies in 2026 are proving to be just as volatile. To remain in compliance and avoid disruptions, businesses must prepare to institute tariff changes quickly.

Power of federal investment

• Tax Vox: Democrats in Congress continue to eye a substantial, near universal child benefit, delivered as an expanded Child Tax Credit. Significant barriers remain to its enactment, but its proposed changes illustrate the power of federal investment in families.
• Tax Pro Center: The returns are out the door. The extensions have been submitted. Your compliance obligation is fulfilled. Now comes the strategic question: Are practices being built by design or by default? Preparers that have been in this profession for three or more years, have already earned their stripes through more than one busy season. The question now isn’t about another tax season. It’s whether you’re building the practice you actually want.
• Baker Tilly: The Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2026-01, “Equity (Topic 505): Initial Measurement of Paid-in-Kind Dividends on Equity-Classified Preferred Stock.” Under the new guidance, issuers of equity-classified preferred stock are required to initially measure paid-in-kind dividends using the PIK dividend rate stated in the preferred stock agreement.
• Taxing Subjects: Tax professionals depend on tax software for return preparation, e-filing, document management, client communication and compliance updates. But even the most advanced software solution is only as strong as the support behind it. Understanding what to look for in tax software customer support can help avoid downtime, improve efficiency and better serve clients.

Drive wealthy people to ruin

• ITEP: New York City is waiting for the statehouse to approve a second home tax. The tax, referred to locally as a pied-à-terre tax, would affect residential properties worth more than $5 million not occupied by a full-time resident. An estimated $500 million in revenue the first year, along with aid from the state and a potential change to the city’s unincorporated business tax, will close budget gaps and protect public services. The real estate industry is predictably warning this will destroy the city’s property market, reduce the city’s property tax rolls and drive wealthy people to ruin. 
• Eide Bailly: As states continue to explore alternative ways to generate revenue, non-traditional tax regimes are becoming more prevalent. Certain states impose gross receipts and excise taxes that differ significantly from the more familiar sales and use tax model. When expanding into new states, many businesses assume sales and use tax rules will feel familiar. However, a handful of states impose gross receipts or excise taxes that operate differently — and can create unexpected exposure if not identified early.
• Vertex: Across global markets, compliance has moved upstream. E-invoicing and real-time reporting frameworks now determine whether transactions can proceed, not just how they are recorded. However, recent research by Vertex  found that only 12% of organizations have achieved full end-to-end integration across their tax and finance systems.  
• Sovos: Mandatory e-invoicing is often presented as a recent reform, driven in Europe by the ViDA — “VAT in the Digital Age” — project and by the national mandates now being rolled out. Yet this transformation did not begin in Brussels or Paris. To understand ViDA, Europe must first be placed within a much longer story, one that began in Latin America in the early 2000s.
• Don’t Mess With Taxes: Hurricane damage is a constant threat to U.S. coastal communities during the annual tropical storm season. But as the storms move inland, landlocked areas also face risks. Get ready before one strikes, or even forms. Businesses need to make sure they are secured, physically and financially, for any approaching storm. This blog provides hurricane prep tips for businesses.