IRS
IRS2Go Is Out; the New IRS App Actually Shows You Your Account
The new IRS app is a handy way to see notices, payments and your IP PIN. Just download it from the official store listing, not a look-alike.
On September 25 the IRS launched a new mobile app, simply called the IRS app, to replace IRS2Go. The old app was mostly a refund tracker. The new one uses a secure sign-in and brings a slice of the IRS Individual Online Account to your phone. You can check refund and amended-return status, see your balance, make and review payments, read some IRS notices and letters, pull transcripts, and get your Identity Protection PIN.
If automatic updates are on, current IRS2Go users will get the new app without doing anything. It’s free on the Apple App Store and Google Play. The IRS is clear that it doesn’t replace IRS.gov or the full online account, and more features are promised later. The IRS also warned about fake look-alike apps, so check that the publisher is the Internal Revenue Service before you download one and sign in.
Source: IRS Newsroom (IR-2026-114)
Security
Identity Theft Victims Waited 655 Days, on Average, for the IRS
If someone files a return in your name, getting your refund can take nearly two years. An IP PIN is the cheapest insurance against that.
A Treasury Inspector General report released in the last week of September found that identity theft cases the IRS closed in fiscal 2023 took an average of 655 days to resolve, about 20 months. The IRS’s own goal is 120 days, and only 4 of the 114 cases reviewed met it. Most of the wait happened before anyone worked the case: the average file sat unassigned for 533 days. Those delays aren’t free. The IRS paid $124.2 million in interest on delayed refunds from fiscal 2023 through 2025, including $61.6 million in 2025 alone.
The IRS agreed to triage cases faster, and said it would look at AI to help, and to send acknowledgment letters. It disagreed with a third recommendation on confirming that required letters are actually delivered. For taxpayers, the lesson is prevention. An Identity Protection PIN stops a fraudster from filing under your Social Security number in the first place, and any taxpayer can now get one.
Source: Journal of Accountancy
Tax Pros
Tax Forums Wrap With an Eye on the 2027 Filing Season
The first filing season with tip and overtime deductions is coming, and the IRS is already preparing practitioners for it.
The IRS closed its fifth and final 2026 Nationwide Tax Forum in San Diego on September 21. Nearly 13,000 people attended across Chicago, New Orleans, New York, Orlando and San Diego. The sessions show where the IRS expects to focus: artificial intelligence, the new digital-asset information reporting, collection case management, audits, the Working Families Tax Cuts provisions such as no tax on tips and overtime, and what to expect when the 2027 filing season opens.
The practical side got results too. The IRS said 1,165 cases were resolved in the forums’ Case Resolution Room, and 1,635 tax professionals got help with e-services and PTINs. The IRS confirmed that the forums will return in 2027.
Source: IRS Newsroom (IR-2026-113)
Indiana
Indiana’s Gas Tax Holiday Reaches Its Next Decision Point
Unless there’s another extension, Indiana gas taxes come back October 6. Budget for it now.
The current suspension of Indiana’s Gasoline Use Tax and Gasoline Excise Tax runs through October 5, so collection resumes October 6 unless Governor Braun extends it again. He has extended it every month since the original suspension, and each time he has said he’ll reassess in about 30 days. Coverage this week put the combined suspended taxes at roughly 62.5 cents a gallon and warned that pump prices could jump by up to 60 cents once the taxes return.
Both taxes are collected at the distributor level, so distributors feel the change first. During the holiday, DOR has had distributors report gas use tax gallons as exempt on the GT-103 and not accrue excise tax on gallons received through October 5. Fleet operators and anyone who budgets fuel costs should plan for the higher cost in early October, while keeping in mind that another extension is still possible.
Source: The Sales Tax People (sales.tax)