A husband and wife team of tax preparers have pleaded guilty to crimes relating to the preparation of false tax returns. The couple, Detrick and Natashia Tucker, owned and operated a tax preparation business named T&T Express Tax located in Pine Mountain, Ga. Detrick Tucker pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, and Natashia Tucker pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States in the assessment and collection of federal income taxes.

Somewhere after everyone stops talking about healthcare, there is a tax season coming in which the major purpose is still preparing tax returns. And in the rapidly approaching season, there is a great deal of emphasis by publishers of tax software on improved performance and an unusual number of problems that afflicted tax software during the last season is only part of the reason why.

H&R Block is conducting a test of selling health insurance in its stores in the Phoenix, Ariz. The test is part of a wide ranging set of healthcare services discussed earlier this month when executives of the tax preparation chain held an investor's day that covered the company's plans for 2014.

Four Minneapolis, Minn.-area tax preparers have been indicted on 63 counts that claim they stole identities, filed bogus returns and looted clients' debit cards. Chatonda Khofi, Ishmael Kosh, Amadou Sangaray and Francis Saygbay are accused of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. Each defendant faces multiple counts of aggravated identity theft and multiple counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false individual income tax returns.