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IRA accounts aren’t limited to low-interest instruments - never have been. My tIRA and RothIRA accounts are held in IRA brokerage accounts with Fidelity and Vanguard. I can invest them in any manner I wish. For me, that is 50% fixed income (CDs, govt bonds, etc) and 50% equity (in the Vanguard Total Market Index ETF). And I rebalance periodically to maintain the 50-50 ratio as market conditions ebb and flow. So don’t fall into the trap of thinking IRA’s can only be held in bank Money Market accounts or other low-paying instruments. And I would never suggest that someone toss their money into a crypto scheme and call it an investment. By that’s just me …

Crypto is a pyramid scam that will come crashing down someday, and it's also very bad for the environment because of the huge amount of electricity it consumes. When summers get really hot and you have to cut back on cooling or even have a blackout, remember the strain that crypto puts on our electric grids. And IRAs only earn pennies in interest if you have them in cash investments. Although these days, interest rates are providing better returns on safe investments. I have some CDs in my IRAs, but stocks should eventually give better returns.

I agree with Abby Normal on the crypto investing. As for your second question, if you are simply suggesting that the client considers an IRA and are explaining the effects it would have on their tax return, then you are not giving investment advice.

This is a copy of a post on the OSCPA Board from Tuesday: "I have a client that received an IRS notice dated April 30, 2025, regarding not filing their 2025 tax return. It is LTR 112C. This is frankly baffling Have others received this notice? Is this a harbinger of things to come with the IRS going forward? Are we going to have to be constantly responding to notices that are totally bogus, while the IRS customer service declines due to a reduction in force? Is this what AI will look like at the IRS?"

Wow!

The AICPA says that you shouldn't give investment advice. They listed a number of cases where CPA's were sued and lost for giving investment advice or for recommending specific investment advisors. I know my Professional Liability Insurance Carrier specifically excludes investment advice.

This bill is an abomination and needs to die in the Senate.

Things like direct deposits of refunds, direct debits of balances due, application of overpayments to estimated taxes, are computerized functions that should and used to work almost seamlessly. And if they still are, the computers that spit out letters are getting the wrong information. The DOGE kids had gotten into the IRS systems at one point. Could they have somehow messed up the coding? I can't imagine why electronic transactions and/or automated responses have become unreliable. I have seen a number of know-it-alls mess up their computers by rapidly clicking away without reading what is on the screen. If the kids inadvertently broke something, they surely know enough to fix it so hopefully these odd letters will cease soon.

I registered for login.gov and id.me, so looks like I'll need to be on the lookout for scams with either one. I don't think I'd fall for it since I never click on links unless I'm expecting them, but one never knows when there might be a lapse in attention. And that one has a fairly legitimate look to it (well, except for the big red arrow and the word "SCAM" )

Client whose spouse died in 2024 and for which we filed a final joint return showing the husband's date of death. She received a letter this week saying they have no record of receiving the tax return for the tax period ending Dec. 31, 2025. It also refers to payments or credits for 2025 of $XXX. ???

I had one client receive a letter stating that the IRS could not apply their overpayment to their estimates for 2025. No reason was given. No money was refunded either.