In the blogs: Baby, you can drive my car 

Cybersecurity Awareness Month; cross-functional team; durable power of attorney; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

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Baby, you can drive my car 

• Tax Foundation: In recent years, lawmakers in several states have considered proposals to impose sales taxes on vehicles purchased by rental car companies for their fleets. While most proposals failed, Maryland adopted a new 3.5% tax on rental car companies’ registration of new vehicle purchases. Proponents see these bills as leveling the playing field, since individuals pay sales tax on their vehicle purchases. But exemptions for rental car companies’ fleets exist for a reason.
• U of I Tax School Blog: On Oct 1, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that it had completed automatic enrollment, resulting in more than 60 million additional eligible children having Trump accounts ready to be claimed. The Treasury and the IRS also issued temporary regulations in TD 10056 guiding automatic enrollment and the administration of Trump accounts. The temporary regulations apply to taxable years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2026, and expire on Sept. 30, 2029.
• Tax Vox: The IRS Taxpayer Bill of Rights states that taxpayers have the right to pay no more than the correct amount of tax. For many workers with low incomes, that means both paying the taxes they owe and getting back refundable tax credits, which can exceed taxes owed. But a new IRS form developed alongside a proposed rule change governing several refundable credits could make claiming those credits more complicated.

Evergreen concern

• TaxProf Blog: In a system predicated on voluntary compliance, taxpayer privacy is an evergreen concern. But in recent weeks, three disparate events have raised questions about the security of taxpayer data — and what information the government should collect through the tax system. This blog describes those three events.
• Armanino: Frequent and significant tariff updates and shifts in the tariff landscape increase the need for timely decisions that may affect supply chains, pricing, cash flow and taxes. Creating a cross-functional team with specific areas of focus supports existing decision-making by acting as a source of information, rapid review and identification of challenges. The team helps ensure the flow of timely information and data to and from affected areas and senior leadership.
• CLA: Real estate has long been one of the most tax-advantaged asset classes, offering opportunities to accelerate depreciation, defer gain, claim incentives and structure ownership in tax-efficient ways. Many of these benefits are expressly intended by Congress to encourage investment, development and housing creation. At the same time, those same tax benefits can result in tax returns that look very different from those of other businesses.

Major turning point

• MeyersBrothersKalicka: Closing a business is a major turning point, but tax obligations must be wrapped up before moving on to the next chapter. File a federal income tax return for the business’ final year, and, if there were employees, make all required final federal tax deposits and file employment tax returns.
• National Association of Tax Professionals: Form 2848, “Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative,” is the standard document a taxpayer uses to authorize an eligible individual to represent them before the IRS. It isn’t the only option. The IRS also accepts a durable power of attorney, the document often prepared for financial or estate planning, when it meets the same requirements.
• Taxing Subjects: In recognition of Cybersecurity Awareness Month this October, this blog is highlighting practical ways to protect owners, tax practices and clients’ sensitive information. With cyber threats continuing to evolve, staying informed and taking preventive measures are essential to keeping a business secure. Tax season is peak season, but now isn’t the time to keep your guard down — and cybercriminals know it. A bad email or fake “urgent” request can lead to stolen logins, client data exposure or days of lost productivity.
• Current Federal Tax Developments: On Oct. 6, 2026, the IRS and the Treasury issued Revenue Procedure 2026-20, which describes an administrative safe harbor for state law trusts holding digital assets. Under this guidance, an arrangement formed as a trust under applicable state law that otherwise qualifies as an investment trust and as a grantor trust may stake its digital assets without jeopardizing its classification as a trust for federal income tax purposes.

Flip that logic

• The Sales Tax People: The same product is sold at the same price to two customers in different cities within Texas. One invoice shows 8.25% sales tax. The other shows 6.25%. Both are correct. If that scenario seems strange, look at why sourcing rules matter. These rules determine which tax rate applies to a transaction, and they’re the reason the collected rate sometimes doesn’t match what is expected on an invoice. Most states use destination-based sourcing. This means the tax rate depends on where the buyer receives the product. But a handful of states flip that logic.
• Abrigo: Artificial intelligence may feel like the newest topic in banking, but financial institutions have used forms of AI for years. Machine learning, for example, already helps institutions analyze large volumes of financial transactions and identify activity that warrants closer scrutiny. What is changing is the sophistication of the technology. 
• Tax Pro Center: Family members who are paid to take care of a loved one may have tax responsibilities. This depends on whether they are considered an employee or provide their services as their own business. This blog offers a summary of the special rules of being a family caregiver.
• ITEP: In Florida, a new calculator examines the local impacts of Amendment 3, which would lead to the elimination of non-school property taxes in the state and threatens severe impacts on local services. As the Iran War continues to cause gas prices to rise across the country, lawmakers are stepping on the accelerator instead of pumping the brakes on costly and ineffective proposals to suspend the gas tax ahead of the November election.