NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Now that House Republicans have had their token show-vote on the health care law, Congress is turning its attention to one small provision that everyone agrees should be repealed.

On Thursday, three Senate Democrats wrote to House Speaker John Boehner urging the House to vote to repeal the so-called 1099 provision, a hated IRS rule that imposes new paperwork burdens on businesses.

Republican Rep. Dan Lungren of California introduced a bill, called the "Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011," to repeal the provision on the House.

"The engine of our economy is small business — and we cannot afford to do anything that would stall our economic recovery," said Lungren in a written statement. "We should be supporting policies that contribute to job growth, not imposing yet another new government mandate on the backs of small business owners."

Last fall, Congress was unable to muster enough votes to repeal the provision — once in September and again in November.

The goal of the provision was to raise revenue to pay for health care reform. The government misses out on an estimated $300 billion each year from tax underpayment.

The repeal would cost $19.2 billion between 2011 and 2020, according to an estimate from the Joint Committee on Taxation. 

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service plans a Feb. 14 start date for processing tax returns delayed by last month’s tax law changes. The IRS reminded taxpayers affected by the delay they can begin preparing their tax returns immediately because many software providers are ready now to accept these returns.

Beginning Feb. 14, the IRS will start processing both paper and e-filed returns claiming itemized deductions on Schedule A, the higher education tuition and fees deduction on Form 8917 and the educator expenses deduction. Based on filings last year, about nine million tax returns claimed any of these deductions on returns received by the IRS before Feb. 14.

People using e-file for these delayed forms can get a head start because many major software providers have announced they will accept these impacted returns immediately. The software providers will hold onto the returns and then electronically submit them after the IRS systems open on Feb. 14 for the delayed forms.

Taxpayers using commercial software can check with their providers for specific instructions. Those who use a paid tax preparer should check with their preparer, who also may be holding returns until the updates are complete.

Most other returns, including those claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), education tax credits, child tax credit and other popular tax breaks, can be filed as normal, immediately.

The IRS needed the extra time to update its systems to accommodate the tax law changes without disrupting other operations tied to the filing season. The delay followed the Dec. 17 enactment of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, which extended a number of expiring provisions including the state and local sales tax deduction, higher education tuition and fees deduction and educator expenses deduction.

Source: Tax News by Leroy Baker, Tax-News.com, New York 

The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has unveiled IRS2Go, its first smartphone application that lets taxpayers check on their status of their tax refund and obtain helpful tax information.

"This new smartphone app reflects our commitment to modernizing the agency and engaging taxpayers where they want when they want it," said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. "As technology evolves and younger taxpayers get their information in new ways, we will keep innovating to make it easy for all taxpayers to access helpful information."

The IRS2Go phone app allows taxpayers to check on the status of their federal refund and obtain tax tips. Apple users can download the free app by visiting the Apple App Store, while Android users can visit the Android Marketplace to download it.

For people who e-file, the refund function of the phone app will work within about 72 hours after taxpayers receive an e-mail acknowledgement saying the IRS received their tax return. For people filing paper tax returns, longer processing times mean they will need to wait three to four weeks before they can check their refund status.

In addition, phone app users can enter their e-mail address to get daily tax tips automatically. Tax Tips are issued daily during the tax filing season and periodically during the rest of the year. The plain English updates cover topics such as free tax help, child tax credits, the earned income tax credit and education credits.

"This phone app is a first step for us," Shulman said. "We will look for additional ways to expand and refine our use of smartphones and other new technologies to help meet the needs of taxpayers."