If you run payroll, manage more than one entity, or review benefits every year, here are three IRS changes from this summer you should know about. They deal with an occasional missed deadline, routine IRS document retrieval and a new employer contribution option for Trump Accounts.
A good compliance history can help when one thing goes wrong
The IRS is rolling out Automatic Exemption from Penalty, or AEP, for eligible taxpayers with a history of timely compliance. Beginning with eligible 2025 tax-year returns and 2026 quarterly returns, certain failure-to-file, failure-to-pay and failure-to-deposit penalties can be prevented from being assessed automatically. No separate request is required.
Generally, eligibility depends on timely compliance for the prior three years, or 12 consecutive quarters for quarterly filers, along with the other AEP requirements. It doesn’t cover every return or every penalty, and any tax and interest due still have to be paid.
For a business with payroll, multiple entities and a lot of filing dates, one isolated miss can happen. Years of doing things right can now help when one thing goes wrong.
I still wouldn’t treat AEP as a cushion you plan to use. Its value is that an otherwise-compliant business may avoid a separate penalty-relief process over one mistake.
Your Business Tax Account is becoming much more useful
Before asking someone to track down an IRS document for you, check your Business Tax Account.
Depending on the business type and the user’s role, eligible users can handle payments, including scheduling them up to a year ahead, download certain transcripts and digital notices, retrieve EIN verification, request a tax compliance check and give eligible employees account access.
For a family business where several people touch payroll, banking or tax records, the expanded account can cut down on back-and-forth inside the business and with outside advisors.
Trump Accounts belong in the employee-benefits conversation
Trump Accounts are a new type of traditional IRA for eligible children. Employers can contribute, too.
Beginning July 4, 2026, employers may contribute up to $2,500 per year to the Trump Account of an employee or an employee’s dependent. When the contribution is made through a qualifying Trump Account contribution program, it can be excluded from the employee’s gross income. Employer contributions count toward the account’s general $5,000 annual contribution limit.
The employer contribution program requires a separate written plan. An employer who wants to offer it needs to treat it as part of the benefits plan, with the paperwork that goes with it.
I wouldn’t add a benefit simply because Congress created one. A growing company reviewing compensation and benefits should compare Trump Account contributions with the benefits employees already use and value.
No business owner should be spending August reading IRS fact sheets for fun. If you’re starting year-end planning, ask us which 2026 changes apply to your business and whether any of them call for action now.