TAX CONTROVERSY 360

Weekly IRS Roundup December 30, 2024 – January 3, 2025

by Kevin Spencer, Evan Walters and Samuel F. Hamer | Jan 13, 2025 | IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Tax Refunds

Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of December 30, 2024 – January 3, 2025.

December 30, 2024: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2025-1, which includes the following:

Revenue Procedure 2025-1, which contains the revised procedures for letter rulings and information letters issued by the different associate chief counsel offices. This revenue procedure also contains the revised procedures for determination letters issued by the Large Business and International Division, the Small Business/Self-Employed Division, the Wage and Investment Division, and the Tax Exempt and Government Entities (TE/GE) Division.
Revenue Procedure 2025-2, which explains when and how associate chief counsel offices should provide advice in technical advice memoranda (TAM) as well as taxpayers’ rights when a field office requests a TAM.
Revenue Procedure 2025-3, which provides a revised list of Internal Revenue Code (Code) areas under the jurisdiction of the following associate chief counsel offices: Corporate; Financial Institutions and Products; Income Tax and Accounting; Passthroughs and Special Industries; Procedure and Administration; and Employee Benefits, Exempt Organizations, and Employment Taxes. These relate to matters in which the IRS will not issue letter rulings or determination letters.
Revenue Procedure 2025-4, which provides guidance on the types of advice the IRS offers to taxpayers on issues under the jurisdiction of the IRS Commissioner, TE/GE Division, and Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements. It also details the procedures that apply to requests for determination letters and private letter rulings.
Revenue Procedure 2025-5, which provides the procedures for issuing determination letters on issues under the jurisdiction of the Exempt Organizations Rulings and Agreements. It also explains the procedures for issuing determination letters on tax-exempt statuses for organizations applying under Code Section 501 or 521, private foundation status, and other determinations related to tax-exempt organizations. Additionally, the revenue procedure applies to revocation or modification of determination letters and provides guidance on the exhaustion of administrative remedies for purposes of declaratory judgment under Code Section 7428.
Revenue Procedure 2025-7, which provides the areas under the jurisdiction of the associate chief counsel (international) in which letter rulings and determination letters will not be issued.

December 30, 2024: The IRS published Treasury Decision 10018, which contains final regulations regarding the filing of consolidated returns by affiliated corporations. They modify the consolidated return regulations to reflect statutory changes, update language to remove antiquated or regressive terminology, and enhance clarity. The IRS separately issued proposed regulations under which a transferee’s assumption of certain liabilities from a member of the same consolidated group will not reduce the transferor’s basis in the transferee’s stock received in the transfer.

December 30, 2024: The IRS published final regulations clarifying when tax-exempt bonds are considered retired for federal income tax purposes under Code Section 103. The regulations affect state and local governments issuing tax-exempt bonds [...]

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Weekly IRS Roundup December 23 – December 27, 2024

by Kevin Spencer, Evan Walters and Samuel F. Hamer | Jan 9, 2025 | IRS Guidance, Tax Reform

Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of December 23, 2024 – December 27, 2024.

December 23, 2024: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2024-52, which includes the following:

Treasury Decision 10015: These final regulations update the previous regulations under Section 48 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code), which provides for an investment tax credit for energy property (energy credit), and respond to changes made by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA).
- The final regulations update the types of energy property eligible for the energy credit, including additional types of energy property added by the IRA; clarify the application of new credit transfer rules to recapture because of failure to satisfy the prevailing wage requirements, including notification requirements for eligible taxpayers; and include qualified interconnection costs in the basis of certain lower-output energy properties.
- The final regulations also provide rules generally applicable to energy property, such as rules regarding functionally interdependent components, property that is an integral part of an energy property, application of the “80/20 rule” to retrofitted energy property, dual use property, ownership of components of an energy property, energy property that may be eligible for multiple federal income tax credits, and the election to treat qualified facilities eligible for the renewable electricity production credit under Code Section 45 as property eligible for the energy credit.
Notice 2024-82, which sets forth the 2024 Required Amendments List. The list applies to both individually designed plans under Code Section 401(a) and individually designed plans that satisfy the requirements of Code Section 403(b).
Notice 2024-86, which announces the extension of certain timeframes under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Code for group health plans; disability and other welfare plans; pension plans; and participants, beneficiaries, qualified beneficiaries, and claimants of these plans affected by Hurricane Helene, Tropical Storm Helene, or Hurricane Milton.
Revenue Procedure 2024-42, which updates the list of jurisdictions with which the United States has in effect a relevant information exchange agreement or an automatic exchange relationship under Treasury Regulation §§ 1.6049-4(b)(5) and 1.6049-8(a).
Announcement 2024-42, which provides a copy of the competent authority arrangement entered into by the competent authorities of the US and the Kingdom of Norway under paragraph 2 of Article 27 (Mutual Agreement Procedure) of the Convention between the US and Norway for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Property, signed on December 3, 1971.
The IRS issued a notice of proposed rulemaking, setting forth proposed regulations related to the definition of “qualified nonpersonal use vehicles.” Qualified nonpersonal use vehicles are excepted from the substantiation requirements that apply to certain listed property. The proposed regulations add unmarked vehicles used by firefighters or members of a rescue squad or ambulance crew as a new [...]

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Update on Exit Tax for Investment Shares

by Andreas Klaus, LL.M. and Jonathan Storz | Jan 6, 2025 | Uncategorized

Exit taxes will apply to private investors in investment funds who leave Germany and have purchased investment shares priced at a minimum of €500,000, including common exchange-traded funds. This was decided by the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) and the German Federal Council (Bundesrat) via the Annual Tax Act 2024 (Jahressteuergesetz 2024).

The new regulation will apply starting January 1, 2025. However, investors can ensure that the exit tax does not apply or is only payable in installments – even after January 1, 2025. Similar rules on exit taxes are already applied to corporations and business investors, such as entrepreneurs. The new rule does not directly affect custodian banks and financial investment management companies.

Weekly IRS Roundup December 16 – December 20, 2024

by Kevin Spencer, Evan Walters and Samuel F. Hamer | Dec 31, 2024 | IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Tax Refunds

Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of December 16 – 20, 2024.

December 16, 2024: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2024-51, which includes the following:

Treasury Decision 10009, which provides guidance regarding the advanced manufacturing investment credit under § 48D of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). The guidance reflects changes made by the CHIPS Act of 2022. The § 48D credit may be claimed for qualified investments in an advanced manufacturing facility that engages in the manufacturing of semiconductors or semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Treasury Decision 10010, which provides the rules for claiming the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit under Code § 45X. The regulations describe the requirements for the production of eligible components, including the domestic production requirement. The regulations also provide rules regarding the sale of eligible components to unrelated persons, as well as rules that apply to sales between related persons. They include definitions of eligible components, rules related to calculating the credit, and specific recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
Treasury Decision 10014, which finalizes 2013 proposed regulations under Code § 752, which relates to a partner’s share of a partnership recourse liability. The final regulations adopt a proportionality rule in instances where more than one partner bears the economic risk of loss of the partnership recourse debt. The regulations also provide guidance regarding how partnership recourse debt should be allocated in tiered partnership structures, as well as guidance on the related-party rules. Interestingly, no new notice of proposed rulemaking or opportunity for public comment was provided regarding these regulations in the 11 years since the 2013 proposed regulations were issued.
Revenue Ruling 2024-27, which publishes the base period T-bill rate for the period ending September 30, 2024, pursuant to Code § 995(f). The rate for this period is 4.93%.

The IRS also released Notice 2025-1, which provides guidance on the corporate bond monthly yield curve, the corresponding spot segment rates used under § 417(e)(3), the 24-month average segment rates used under § 430(h)(2), the interest rate on 30-year Treasury securities under § 417(e)(3)(A)(ii)(II) as in effect for plan years beginning before 2008, and the 30-year Treasury weighted average rate under § 431(c)(6)(E)(ii)(I) of the Code.

The IRS also issued Revenue Ruling 2025-1, which provides the January 2025 applicable federal rates for purposes of Code § 1274(d) and relates to the determination of issue price in the case of certain instruments issued for property.

December 17, 2024: The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2025-8, which modifies the procedures under Code § 446 and Treasury Regulation § 1.446-1(e) for obtaining automatic consent of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue (Commissioner) to change methods of accounting for expenditures paid or incurred in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2021, to comply with § 174 or to rely on interim guidance provided in Notice 2023-63, 2023-39 I.R.B. 919, as modified by Notice 2024-12, 2024-5 I.R.B. 616.

December 18, 2024: In Notice 2025-4 the [...]

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IRS Roundup for November 25 – December 13, 2024

by Kevin Spencer, Evan Walters and Samuel F. Hamer | Dec 17, 2024 | IRS Guidance, Tax Reform

Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for November 25, 2024 – December 13, 2024.

November 25, 2024: The IRS released Treasury Decision 10011, which modifies the regulations governing the sale of a taxpayer’s property that the IRS seizes by levy. The modified regulations allow the IRS to maximize sale proceeds for the benefit of the taxpayer and the public fisc. Effective November 5, 2024, these regulations affect all sales of property the IRS seizes by levy.

November 26, 2024: The IRS issued Notice 2024-85, announcing revisions to transition relief for third-party settlement organizations under Internal Revenue Code (Code) § 6050W, also known as “payment apps” and “online marketplaces.” Under this guidance, payors will be required to report transactions when the amount of total payments is more than $5,000 in 2024, more than $2,500 in 2025, and more than $600 in calendar year 2026 and after.

November 26, 2024: The IRS issued Announcement 2024-40 in which it confirmed that amounts paid or incurred by a taxpayer for the construction, expansion, or modernization of advanced manufacturing facilities pursuant to an agreement entered into with the US Department of Commerce under 15 U.S.C. § 4652(a)(6)(C) (the CHIPS Act of 2022) will not fail, solely by reason of such agreement, to constitute a “qualified investment” for purposes of determining the amount of any advanced manufacturing investment credit under Code § 48D.

December 2, 2024: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2024-49, which includes the following:

Revenue Ruling 2024-25, which provides the interest rates for overpayments and underpayments of tax for the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 2025.
Revenue Ruling 2024-26, which provides the December 2024 applicable federal rates for purposes of Code § 1274(d) and relates to the determination of issue price in the case of certain instruments issued for property.
Notice 2024-81, which provides an update for weighted average interest rates, yield curves, and segment rates.
Notice 2024-83, which provides an update to the fee on issuers of specified health insurance policies and plan sponsors of applicable self-insured health plans to help fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund. This update is effective for plan years ending on or after October 1, 2024, and before October 1, 2025.

December 2, 2024: The IRS issued proposed regulations under Code § 959 regarding companies’ previously taxed earnings and profits (PTEP). These proposed regulations are the first in a series of guidance on PTEP rules. This first tranche of guidance includes a framework on which to build rules on mergers and acquisitions, along with provisions addressing basis adjustments under Code § 961 and foreign-currency gains and losses.

December 2, 2024: The IRS announced that December 2 marked the beginning of the 9th annual National Tax Security Awareness Week. The IRS warned of holiday scams and [...]

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