Code Section 355 Archives - TAX CONTROVERSY 360

Weekly IRS Roundup October 1 – 5, 2018

by McDermott Will & Emery | Oct 8, 2018 | IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Uncategorized

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of October 1 – 5, 2018:

October 1, 2018: The IRS announced in Notice 2018-78 that the deadline for the basis election under Treas. Reg. § 1.965-2 was extended from prior to the publication of final Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 965 regulations to 90 days after the issuance of the final Code Section 965 regulations.

October 3, 2018: The IRS issued Rev. Proc. 2018-53, which sets out the procedure for taxpayers requesting private letter rulings with respect to divisive reorganizations under Code Sections 355 and 368(a)(1)(D).

October 3, 2018: The IRS issued Notice 2018-76 providing transitional guidance on the deductibility of expenses for certain business meals under Code Section 274 in an entertainment context and stated that it intended to publish proposed regulations on the matter. For more information, see our post here.

October 4, 2018: The IRS released a reminder that calendar-year taxpayers who placed qualifying property in service during 2017 but intend to elect not to claim the new 100 percent depreciation deduction under Code Section 168(k) must file the election before October 15, 2018.

October 5, 2018: The IRS released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandum and Chief Counsel Advice).

Special thanks to Alex Lee in our DC office for this week’s roundup.

IRS Releases Second Quarter Update to 2017-2018 Priority Guidance Plan

by Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery | Feb 9, 2018 | IRS Guidance, Uncategorized

On February 7, 2018, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) released its second quarter update to the 2017-2018 Priority Guidance Plan to identify tax issues it believes should be addressed through regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, notices and other published administrative guidance. The Priority Guidance Plan contains projects the Treasury hopes to complete during the 12-month period from July 2, 2017 through June 30, 2018. We previously posted on the first quarter 2017-2018 Priority Guidance plan here.

Most of the projects do not involve the issuance of new regulations, instead focus on guidance to taxpayers on a variety of tax issues important to individuals and businesses in the form of: (1) revocations of final, temporary, or proposed regulations (for our prior coverage, see here); (2) notices, revenue rulings and revenue procedures; (3) simplifying and burden reducing amendments to existing regulations; (4) proposed regulations; or (5) final regulations adopting proposed regulations. The initial 2017-2108 Priority Guidance Plan consisted of 198 guidance projects, 30 of which have already been completed. The second quarter update reflects 29 additional projects, including priority items as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) legislation enacted on December 22, 2017, and guidance published or released from October 13, 2017 through December 31, 2017.

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IRS Expands Section 355 Ruling Practice

by John Robert, Kevin Spencer and Macdonald Norman | Oct 6, 2017 | IRS Guidance, Uncategorized

On September 21, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Revenue Procedure 2017-52 which introduces an 18 month pilot program expanding the scope of the IRS’s ruling practice with respect to distributions under Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 355. Prior to Revenue Procedure 2017-52, the IRS had determined that it would not issue letter rulings on whether a distribution qualified for tax-free treatment under Code Section 355. See Revenue Procedure 2013-32. Instead, the IRS had limited its rulings under Code Section 355 to merely addressing “significant issues.” Id. Now, with the introduction of Revenue Procedure 2017-52, a taxpayer may obtain a “transactional ruling” that specifically addresses the general federal income tax consequences of a transaction intended to qualify as tax-free under Section 355.

Practice Point: A letter ruling is an excellent way for taxpayers to gain certainty with respect to a Section 355 transaction and to head off potential controversy with the IRS.