IRS Guidance
Subscribe to IRS Guidance's Posts

Weekly IRS Roundup April 1 – 5, 2019

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of April 1 – 5, 2019.

April 2, 2019: The IRS issued a news release providing tips on payment options, penalty waivers, refunds and other filing related recommendations.

April 3, 2019: The IRS issued a notice inviting individuals to apply for positions with the Taxpayer Advocacy Program (TAP) from April 8 – May 3.

April 3, 2019: The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2019-17 providing guidance regarding qualified residential rental projects financed with tax exempt bonds under Section 142(d) of the code.

April 3, 2019: The IRS issued a news release reminding taxpayers who make quarterly payments that the first estimated quarterly payment for 2019 is due Monday, April 15.

April 4, 2019: The IRS issued a news release reminding taxpayers with foreign assets of the annual April 15 Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) filing deadline.

April 5, 2019: The IRS issued a news release dispelling what the agency terms five myths about tax refunds.

April 5, 2019: The IRS released Treasury Decision 9855 specifying which return to use for taxpayers who owe excise taxes under Sections 4960, 4966, 4967 or 4968 of the code.

April 5, 2019: The IRS issued final regulations authorizing the disclosure of certain expense items from business tax returns to the Census Bureau.

Special thanks to Terence McAllister in our New York office for this week’s roundup.




read more

Weekly IRS Roundup March 25 – 29, 2019

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of March 25 – 29, 2019.

March 25, 2019: The IRS issued Proposed Regulations under Section 301 of the code updating existing regulations to reflect changes made by the Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988.

March 25, 2019: The IRS issued Proposed Regulations partially withdrawing and re-proposing 2016 proposed regulations addressing transactions where property of a corporation becomes property of a real estate investment trust (REIT) following certain corporate distributions of controlled corporation stock.

March 26, 2019: The IRS issued Notice 2019-22 announcing the phase out of the Section 30D plug-in electric drive motor vehicle credit for purchasers of eligible General Motors’ vehicles beginning April 1, 2019.

March 27, 2019: The IRS issued Announcement 2019-03 providing an annual report on advance pricing agreements and the Advance Pricing and Mutual Agreement Program.

March 28, 2019: The IRS withdrew proposed regulations (REG-143686-07) that provided guidance on the allocation and recovery of basis in corporate stock redemptions under Section 301 of the code.

March 28, 2019: The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2019-15 providing a waiver from time requirements for individuals electing to exclude their foreign earned income who must leave a country due to war, civil unrest or similar circumstances.

March 28, 2019: The IRS issued Notice 2019-24 providing adjustments to the limitation on housing expenses under Section 911 of the code.

March 29, 2019: The IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2019-11 providing guidance to taxpayers regarding the inclusion in income of recovered state and local taxes in the current year when the taxpayer deducted state and local taxes paid in a prior year.

March 29, 2019: The IRS withdrew proposed regulations (REG-124627-11) that provided guidance on the continuity of interest requirement under Section 368 of the code.

Special thanks to Terence McAllister in our New York office for this week’s roundup.




read more

Weekly IRS Roundup March 18 – 22, 2019

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of March 18 – 22, 2019.

March 18, 2019: The IRS cancelled a public hearing originally scheduled for March 20th on proposed regulations on hybrid arrangements under Sections 245A and 267A of the code.

March 19, 2019: The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2019-14 providing issuers of qualified mortgage bonds and issuers of mortgage credit certificates the nationwide average purchase price for residences located in the United States, and the average area purchase price safe harbors for residences located in certain statistical areas.

March 20, 2019: The IRS requested comments on the treatment of distributions by foreign corporations and coordination with nonrecognition provisions. Comments should be received by May 20, 2019.

March 20, 2019: The IRS issued a news release announcing the conclusion of what it refers to as the “dirty dozen” list of tax scams.

March 21, 2019: The IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2019-09 suspending two revenue rulings from 1957 pending the completion of a study regarding the active trade or business requirement under Sections 355(a)(1)(C) and (b) of the code.

March 22, 2019: The IRS issued Proposed Regulations on new information reporting requirements for certain life insurance companies under Section 6050Y of the code.

March 22, 2019: The IRS issued Notice 2019-25 modifying and superseding Notice 2019-11. The notice increases the availability of the waiver of the addition to tax for underpayment of estimated income tax for certain individuals for 2018.

March 22, 2019: The IRS issued Notice 2019-26 updating mortality improvement rates and static mortality tables for determining the minimum funding requirements under § 430(h)(3) for 2020. The notice also updates the minimum present value under § 417(e)(3) for distributions with annuity starting dates that occur during stability periods beginning in the 2020 calendar year.

Special thanks to Terence McAllister in our New York office for this week’s roundup.




read more

Taxpayers Already Seeking to Hold Treasury and IRS to Policy Statement

On March 5, 2019, the US Department of Treasury (Treasury) issued a policy statement on the tax regulatory process. We previously wrote an article for Law360 on the policy statement, which can be accessed here. In our article, we noted the disclaimer language in the policy statement that “is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or inequity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, it officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.” We further noted that this same limiting language can be found in Executive Orders issued by the President of the United States, and that courts have generally rejected attempts to rely on such orders containing this language, although it might be possible to analogize the positions in the policy statement to the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) statements in CC-2003-014, which instructs IRS employees not to take positions contrary to IRS published guidance.

(more…)




read more

Weekly IRS Roundup March 11 – 15, 2019

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of March 4 – 8, 2019.

March 11, 2019: The IRS cancelled a public hearing scheduled for March 14 on proposed regulations on changes to the foreign tax credit under Section 904 of the Code.

March 12, 2019: The IRS issued Notice 2019-10 requesting comments on possible changes to rules regarding the excise tax treatment of fuel used in a motor vehicle to operate auxiliary equipment via a power take-off.

March 12, 2019: The IRS issued a notice listing the names of individuals losing US citizenship (within the meaning of section 877(a) or 877A) pursuant to Section 6039G of the Code.

March 12, 2019: The IRS announced that a private letter ruling pilot program addressing whether stock distributions are tax free under Section 355 would be extended indefinitely.

March 13, 2019: The IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2019-06 providing tables of covered compensation under Section 401(1)(5)(e) of the Code.

March 13, 2019: The IRS issued a news release providing information on up to $1.4 billion of unclaimed income tax refunds from 2015. The unclaimed refunds potentially affect up to 1.2 million taxpayers who did not file 2015 returns.

March 13, 2019: The IRS issued a news release detailing the rise in the use of IRS FreeFile to prepare and electronically file returns. The IRS states 1.4 million taxpayers took advantage of FreeFile as of March 8, a 5 percent increase from the same time last year.

March 14, 2019: The IRS issued Notice 2019-21 providing guidance on the corporate bond monthly yield curve, spot segment rates under Section 417(e)(3) and the 24 month average segment rates under Section 430(h)(2).

March 15, 2019: The IRS released Revenue Ruling 2019-08 providing monthly tables of prescribed rates under numerous Code sections including the applicable federal rate for April.

Special thanks to Terence McAllister in our New York office for this week’s roundup.




read more

Weekly IRS Roundup March 4 – 8, 2019

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of March 4 – 8, 2019.

March 4, 2019: The IRS issued proposed regulations under Section 250 of the Code for determining domestic corporations’ deductions for foreign-derived intangible income (FDII) and global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI).

March 4, 2019: The IRS issued a news release kicking off the annual list of what the agency terms the most prevalent or “Dirty Dozen” tax scams.

March 5, 2019: The IRS released Notice 2019-18 informing taxpayers that the Treasury Department and the IRS no longer intend to amend the required minimum distribution regulations under § 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code.

March 6, 2019: The IRS scheduled a public hearing for March 25, 2019, on proposed regulations relating to the Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax.

March 6, 2019: The IRS released Notice 2019-20 providing a waiver of penalties under Sections 6722 and 6698 to certain partnerships for the 2018 tax year.

March 8, 2019: The IRS issued a news release postponing tax return filing and payment deadlines for victims of tornadoes and severe storms in parts of Alabama.

March 9, 2019: The IRS issued a news release advising business owners and self-employed individuals that Publication 5318 contains information of recent tax law changes that might affect their bottom line.

March 9, 2019: The IRS scheduled a March 20 public hearing on proposed regulations on hybrid entities and transactions under section 267A, and scheduled an April 10 public hearing on proposed regulations regarding withholding requirements.

Special thanks to Terence McAllister in our New York office for this week’s roundup.




read more

International Tax Journal: Code Sec. 956 Proposed Regs

Code Sec. 951(a)(1)(B) requires a US shareholder of a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) to include in its gross income “the amount determined under section 956 with respect to such shareholder for such year….” This amount generally is the shareholder’s pro rata share of the average of the amounts of US property held by the CFC as of the close of each quarter. The amount of the inclusion is reduced by the amount of the CFC’s previously taxed income, and limited by its earnings and profits.

Proposed Code Sec. 956 regulations generally would eliminate this Subpart F inclusion rule for corporate US shareholders, although not in all cases. In those cases where a CFC’s earnings are subject to taxation under Code Sec. 951(a)(1)(B), proposed foreign tax credit regulations would deny deemed paid foreign tax credits for foreign income taxes paid on the CFC’s earnings that are subject to taxation.

Read more.

Originally published in International Tax Journal, January-February 2019.




read more

Reasonable Cause for E-Filing Errors?

Tax return filing season is fast approaching, and taxpayers big and small are preparing to file their returns. A recent US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decision, Haynes v. United States, No. 17-50816 (5th Cir. Jan. 29, 2019), indicates that many of those taxpayers will face uncertainty if their returns are late due to preparer errors or technological issues when electronically filed (e-filed).

The court in Haynes declined to rule on whether the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Boyle, 469 US 241 (1985), applied to e-filing a tax return. The court instead remanded the case to resolve factual issues. In declining to examine the application of Boyle, the decision leaves in place uncertainty for many taxpayers who e-file their returns.

Internal Revenue Code Section 6651(a)(1) excuses a taxpayer from penalties for failure to file a return on time if they show the failure was “due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect.” In Boyle, an estate executor hired an experienced lawyer to prepare estate tax returns, but the lawyer failed to put the filing date on the calendar. Nevertheless, the court held that determining a deadline and meeting it did not require any special skills, and therefore relying on an agent was unreasonable. Accordingly, the Court in Boyle did not excuse late filing, and the taxpayer was subject to penalty. (more…)




read more

STAY CONNECTED

TOPICS

ARCHIVES

jd supra readers choice top firm 2023 badge