Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of August 12 – 16, 2019.
August 12, 2019: The IRS issued a news release announcing that John Moriarty has been selected as the new associate chief counsel, Income Tax and Accounting. The Income Tax and Accounting (ITA) Division in Washington, DC, provides legal advisory services regarding fundamental rules of the federal tax system, including a wide variety of income tax and tax accounting issues. Mr. Moriarty has served as deputy associate chief counsel (ITA) since April 2012. In 2017, he served as acting associate chief counsel, Passthroughs and Special Industries for 11 months. He has helped guide ITA through implementation of the recent Tax Cuts and Job Act. Prior to joining the Office of Chief Counsel, Moriarty was a tax attorney with several private-sector organizations.
August 12, 2019: The IRS released a revision to its Internal Revenue Manual that would provide additional guidance to better explain who can bind Corporations and Consolidated Groups in the statute extension process and examples of how to enter the information on the statute extension forms.
August 13, 2019: The IRS released a revision to its Internal Revenue Manual that would clarify actions examiners must take to analyze and document Currency Transaction Report data during an audit. Financial institutions, including casinos, must report each receipt and each withdrawal of currency exceeding $10,000 by filing a FinCEN Currency Transaction Report (CTR), the IRS explained. The guidance is effective immediately.
August 13, 2019: The IRS released a revision to its Internal Revenue Manual that would provide for updated acceptable Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return, series revisions. Forms 4506 must have an acceptable revision date in order to process, the IRS stated. Instructions for third party-transcript requests were also added.
August 14, 2019: The IRS issued a revenue ruling in which it stated that an individual’s failure to cash a distribution check in the current year does not permit the individual to exclude the amount of the designated distribution from gross income under tax code Section 402(a) and does not alter the employer’s withholding obligations under Section 3405 or Form 1099-R reporting obligations under Section 6047(d). The ruling also noted that Treasury and the IRS continue to analyze issues that arise in other situations involving uncashed checks from eligible retirement plans described in Section 402(c)(8)(B), including situations involving missing individuals with benefits under those plans.
August 16, 2019: The IRS issued a revenue ruling in which it released the prescribed rates for federal income tax purposes for September 2019, including the applicable federal rates (AFR) under tax code Section 1274(d); the adjusted applicable federal rates (adjusted AFR) under Section 1288(b); the adjusted federal long-term rate and the long-term tax-exempt rate under Section 382(f); the appropriate percentages for determining the low-income housing credit under Section 42(b)(1); and the federal rate for determining the present value of an annuity, an interest for life or for a term of years, or a remainder or a reversionary interest under Section 7520.
August 16, 2019: The IRS released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandums and Chief Counsel Advice).
Special thanks to Alex Ruff in our Chicago office for this week’s roundup.
