TAX CONTROVERSY 360

IRS roundup: April 13 – April 17, 2026

by Kai M. Fenty | Apr 24, 2026 | IRS Guidance, Significant Court Decision, Trial Courts

Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for April 13, 2026 – April 17, 2026.

April 13, 2026: The IRS issued Notice 2026-26, providing updated monthly interest rates for pension funding calculations, including the corporate bond yield curve, spot segment rates under § 417(e)(3), and 24-month average segment rates under § 430(h)(2). The notice also provides the 30-year Treasury rate for March 2026 (4.85%) and related weighted average rates used in determining minimum funding requirements.

April 13, 2026: The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2026-19, providing updated domestic asset/liability percentages and investment yields used by foreign insurance companies to compute minimum effectively connected net investment income under § 842(b) for 2025. The guidance sets the domestic asset/liability percentages at 128.2% for foreign life insurers and 202.4% for foreign property and casualty insurers, with corresponding domestic investment yields of 2.1% and 2.2%, respectively.

The revenue procedure also provides instructions for calculating estimated tax and installment payments, requiring taxpayers to use these updated percentages and yields when determining minimum effectively connected net investment income and reflects data derived from 2023 tax return information.

April 13, 2026: The IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2026-8, providing updated Standard Industry Fare Level rates and the terminal charge for valuing noncommercial flights on employer-provided aircraft under § 61 and Treasury Regulation § 1.61-21(g). Starting January 1 through June 30, 2026, the ruling sets the terminal charge at $54.48 and establishes mileage rates of $0.2980 (up to 500 miles), $0.2272 (501 to 1,500 miles), and $0.2184 (more than 1,500 miles), which are used to calculate the taxable value of this fringe benefit.

April 16, 2026: The IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2026-9, providing monthly applicable federal rates (AFRs) for May 2026, including short-, mid-, and long-term rates under § 1274, as well as adjusted AFRs, § 382 rates, and low-income housing credit percentages. The ruling also sets the § 7520 rate at 5.00% for determining present value calculations.

The IRS also released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandums, and Chief Counsel Advice)

Recent court decision

April 15, 2026: A federal district court in Texas held that the IRS exceeded its statutory authority in designating certain micro-captive insurance arrangements as “listed transactions” under § 6707A, finding that the agency failed to demonstrate that such transactions are presumptively tax-avoidant. Relying on Loper Bright, the court emphasized that it must exercise independent judgment in determining the limits of the IRS’s statutory authority, rejecting any deference to the agency’s interpretation and focusing on whether the regulations fell within the outer bounds of Congress’s delegation. The court concluded that § 6707A requires a meaningful distinction between transactions that merely have the potential for abuse and those that are more likely than not tax-avoidant and found that the administrative record did not support the heightened standard required for listed transactions. The court therefore declared Treasury [...]

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IRS roundup April 1 – April 9, 2026

by Kai M. Fenty and Edward L. Froelich | Apr 13, 2026 | Court Procedure Matters, IRS Guidance, Significant Court Decision, Tax Reform, Trial Courts

Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for April 1, 2026 – April 9, 2026.

April 3, 2026: The White House proposed significant budget cuts to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), reducing its funding by nearly 17% for fiscal year 2027 to the lowest level since 2007. TIGTA warned that the cuts, combined with recent staffing losses, could lead to a 35% reduction in oversight activities at a time when risks at the IRS are increasing and have already forced the watchdog to cancel dozens of audits and reviews.

The proposal comes alongside broader reductions to IRS funding and staffing, including cuts to enforcement resources, raising concerns among practitioners that diminished oversight could weaken accountability and tax administration – particularly as the IRS undergoes workforce reductions and expands its use of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence.

April 6, 2026: Taxpayers are urging the Supreme Court of the United States to consider whether the Seventh Amendment guarantees a right to a jury trial for IRS civil penalties in Hirsch v. US Tax Court, arguing that the Court’s 2024 decision in SEC v. Jarkesy should apply in the tax context. Hirsch arises from fraud penalties exceeding $15 million that were assessed against taxpayers who allegedly misrepresented US Virgin Islands residency. A ruling in the plaintiffs’ favor could significantly alter IRS enforcement by making penalties harder to impose and potentially slowing audits and collections.

To date, courts have largely rejected similar arguments, relying on the “public rights” doctrine and long-standing precedent treating tax penalties as remedial rather than punitive, but practitioners note that the issue is gaining traction. If the Supreme Court requires jury trials for certain tax penalties, it could reshape the balance between taxpayers and the IRS, particularly for high-dollar cases, while raising concerns about reduced deterrence and increased administrative burdens on the agency.

April 6, 2026: The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2026-14, providing guidance for states to nominate population census tracts for designation as qualified opportunity zones, effective January 1, 2027, under §§ 1400Z-1 and 1400Z-2, as amended by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The revenue procedure outlines eligibility requirements for low-income communities, limits designations to 25% of eligible tracts per state, and establishes deadlines for nominations and US Department of the Treasury certification.

The IRS also released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandums, and Chief Counsel Advice).

Proposed changes to the Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP)

April 6, 2026: The IRS proposed updates to VDP that would replace the one-time 75% civil fraud penalty with 20% accuracy-related penalties applied annually over the six-year disclosure period while also imposing a new requirement that taxpayers pay all taxes, penalties, and interest and file all required returns within 90 days of conditional acceptance. Practitioners generally support the move away from the 75% penalty but warn that the cumulative penalties (along [...]

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IRS roundup: March 23 – March 31, 2026

by Kai M. Fenty | Apr 3, 2026 | Court Procedure Matters, IRS Audits, Significant Court Decision, Transfer Pricing Resource, Trial Courts

Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for March 23, 2026 – March 31, 2026.

March 23, 2026: A US Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) report found that the IRS’s approach to auditing large partnerships has been ineffective due to resource constraints and inefficient selection processes, resulting in missed audit opportunities before the statute of limitations expired. The report highlighted delays caused by duplicative review steps, prompting TIGTA to recommend improvements to streamline procedures and better target high-risk partnerships.

March 30, 2026: The IRS released its annual Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) report for 2025, summarizing the operations of the Advance Pricing and Mutual Agreement Program and transfer pricing agreement trends. The report shows that 178 APA applications were filed and 110 APAs were executed in 2025, with 622 cases pending at year-end, reflecting continued demand for advance certainty in transfer pricing. Bilateral APAs remained the dominant category, and a significant portion of cases involved jurisdictions such as India (26%) and Japan (24%) for filings, with similar trends reflected in executed agreements.

The report further indicates that most APAs covered intercompany service transactions, and the comparable profits method/transactional net margin method was used in approximately 86% of cases involving tangible and intangible property, with the operating margin as the most common profit level indicator. The average time to complete an APA was approximately 44 months overall (about 50 months for new bilateral APAs), and the typical APA term averaged six years, often including rollback years to prior tax periods.

The IRS also released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandums, and Chief Counsel Advice).

Recent court decisions

March 26, 2026: The Tax Court held that taxpayers involved in a micro-captive insurance arrangement were liable for a 40% accuracy-related penalty under Internal Revenue Code (Code) § 6662(i) because the transaction lacked economic substance and was not adequately disclosed. The Court analyzed economic substance within the meaning of Code § 7701(o). The Court found that the arrangement did not meaningfully change the taxpayers’ economic position, involved a circular flow of funds among related entities, and was undertaken primarily to obtain tax benefits.

The Court noted that a “circular flow of funds among related entities” may be a strong indication that a transaction lacks economic substance. The Court further emphasized that the taxpayers failed to satisfy the adequate disclosure requirements under Code § 6662(i)(2), judging that merely reporting an “insurance” deduction without providing details of the micro-captive structure was insufficient for alerting the IRS to the potential issue.

March 26, 2026: The Tax Court rejected a $180 million conservation easement deduction, finding that the partnership’s valuation exceeded the property’s actual value and imposing a 40% gross valuation misstatement penalty. The Court rejected the taxpayer’s income-based valuation, which it considered “inherently speculative and unreliable,” and instead relied on comparable sales to determine a substantially lower value.

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The Employee Retention Credit: Ninth Circuit affirms denial of injunction, but leaves door open on merits

by Akiva B. Ungar and Edward L. Froelich | Mar 27, 2026 | Appellate Courts, Court Procedure Matters, IRS Appeals, Significant Court Decision, Trial Courts

Case: ERC Today, LLC v. McInelly, Case No. 25-2642 (9th Cir. Mar. 17, 2026)

We previously discussed the US District Court for the District of Arizona’s April 2025 order denying a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by two tax preparation firms challenging the Internal Revenue Services’ (IRS) automated “risking” model for processing Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claims. The firms appealed, and on March 17, 2026, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial – but the way in which it did so warrants attention.

Standing, but not substance

The Ninth Circuit affirmed on the narrow ground that the tax preparation firms failed to demonstrate Article III standing. The Court found that the firms offered no evidence that they were making less money or spending more on representations because of the IRS’s processing approach. The Court also rejected claims of procedural and reputational injury, holding that IRS administrative procedures are designed to protect taxpayers, not the economic interests of third-party contingency fee firms.

Given the standing ruling, the Court did not address whether the IRS’s Disallowance During Processing program, which uses automated risk models to categorically disallow thousands of claims without individualized review, violates the Administrative Procedure Act or is otherwise unlawful. Those questions remain open. A challenge brought by a party with proper standing could reach those merits and might reveal the program to be infirm.

The future of taxpayer challenges

This decision comes as the IRS closes the book on ERC processing. In February 2026, the IRS announced it had closed all non-examined ERC claims as of December 31, 2025, meaning businesses whose claims were closed without payment must now pursue litigation to secure their refunds.

Unlike the tax preparation firms in ERC Today, taxpayers whose claims have been disallowed can engage the jurisdiction of a refund court under Internal Revenue Code Sections 6532 and 7422 and would have no standing issues. They would be better positioned to test the legality of the IRS’s automated processing procedures on the merits and should consider raising the argument in their complaint. As we have previously cautioned, however, taxpayers must remain vigilant about statutes of limitations: Administrative delay does not eliminate judicial deadlines, and a protest to the IRS Independent Office of Appeals does not suspend the two-year period under Section 6532(a) to file a refund suit.

IRS roundup: March 9 – March 25, 2026

by Kai M. Fenty, Matthew J. Blaney and Edward L. Froelich | Mar 26, 2026 | Court Procedure Matters, IRS Guidance, Significant Court Decision, Tax Reform, Trial Courts

Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for March 9, 2026 – March 25, 2026.

AI controversy developments

March 20, 2026: The US Tax Court is considering developing a disciplinary framework for the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) in litigation following concerns raised by Judge Mark V. Holmes regarding lawyers citing AI-generated, nonexistent cases. Judge Holmes indicated that the Court is proceeding cautiously given that a large share of its docket involves pro se taxpayers and emphasized the difficulty of crafting appropriate sanctions in that context. The discussion highlights broader concerns about hallucinated authorities, potential IRS misuse of AI, and the need to protect sensitive taxpayer information as the Court balances enforcement with legitimate AI uses.

IRS guidance

March 13, 2026: The IRS announced that the secretary of the US Department of the Treasury is no longer serving as acting IRS commissioner following the expiration of authority under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. Chief Executive Officer Frank J. Bisignano is currently leading the IRS’s day-to-day operations.

March 16, 2026: The IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2026-11, updating the rules and technical specifications for substitute versions of Form 941, Form 8974, and related schedules, including Schedules B, D, and R. The guidance provides standards for paper and computer-generated substitutes used by software developers and payroll providers and supersedes prior guidance.

March 17, 2026: The IRS issued Notice 2026-19, providing updated interest rates for pension the corporate bond monthly yield curve, spot segment rates under Internal Revenue Code (Code) § 417(e)(3), and 24-month average segment rates under Code § 430(h)(2). The notice also includes the applicable 30-year Treasury rate for February 2026 (4.76%) and related weighted average rates.

March 18, 2026: The IRS issued Notice 2026-20, extending for one additional year the temporary relief provided by Notice 2025-7, which allows taxpayers to use alternative methods to identify which units of digital assets are sold, disposed of, or transferred when held with a broker. Under this relief, taxpayers may identify units on their own books and records, including through standing orders, rather than communicating with brokers. The notice clarifies that this does not prevent taxpayers from complying with § 1.1012-1(j)(3)(ii).

March 20, 2026: The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2026-17, providing transition relief under Code § 163(j) that allows certain taxpayers to withdraw previously irrevocable elections to be treated as electing real property trades or businesses, electing farming businesses, or excepted regulated utility trades or businesses. The guidance also permits taxpayers withdrawing those elections to make a late election out of bonus depreciation, allows taxpayers to revoke or make controlled foreign corporation group elections without regard to the 60-month limitation, and permits eligible Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA) partnerships to file amended Forms 1065 and issue amended Schedules K-1.

The IRS also released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandums, and Chief Counsel Advice).

Recent court decisions

March 9, 2026: [...]

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IRS roundup: April 13 – April 17, 2026

IRS roundup April 1 – April 9, 2026

IRS roundup: March 23 – March 31, 2026

The Employee Retention Credit: Ninth Circuit affirms denial of injunction, but leaves door open on merits

IRS roundup: March 9 – March 25, 2026