COVID Archives - TAX CONTROVERSY 360

No IDR Enforcement During COVID-19

by Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery | Mar 27, 2020 | IRS Audits, IRS Guidance, Uncategorized

Yesterday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced in a memorandum to all Large Business & International (LB&I) division employees that it was suspending the normal Information Document Request (IDR) procedures. The letter suspends enforcement until July 15, 2020; however, LB&I managers will have the discretion to continue with the IDR enforcement process when in their judgment the interests of tax administration warrant (e.g., cases with short statutes, listed transactions or fraud development). The memorandum, however, does not tell examining agents to stop issuing IDRs or working on their cases as the suspension relates only to enforcement of IDRs.

Practice Point: The suspension of the IDR enforcement procedures is welcome news to taxpayers with ongoing audits. With tax professionals displaced in their homes while mandatory self-isolation continues, meeting IDR deadlines has been challenging. We suggest, however, that taxpayers try to continue to work on their responses to IDRs the best they can so that when the world goes back to normal, responding to IDRs will not be high on the list of things to be done.

IRS Provides Some Relief from Tax Payment (But Not Filing) Deadlines Due to COVID-19

by Carlyn S. McCaffrey, Brian Moore and McDermott Will & Emery | Mar 19, 2020 | IRS Guidance, Uncategorized

On March 13, 2020, President Trump issued an emergency declaration that directed Secretary Mnuchin to provide appropriate relief from tax payment deadlines to Americans who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this direction, the IRS issued Notice 2020-17. The Notice declares that all taxpayers have been affected by the emergency and gives all taxpayers an extension of time until July 15, 2020, to make certain income tax payments that would otherwise have been due on April 15, 2020 (however, at this time, tax returns must still be filed by the April 15 deadline absent an extension).

We outline the specifics.

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The Tax Impact of Recent Federal Actions Relating to COVID-19

by McDermott Will & Emery | Mar 18, 2020 | IRS Guidance, Uncategorized

On March 13, 2020, President Trump signed a Proclamation on Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the “Stafford Act”).

By invoking the Stafford Act, the President provides the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and US Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) significant authority to offer tax relief to those in federally designated disaster areas. While it is not uncommon for a state or locality to be designated as an emergency or disaster area, the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak has required a national response. The President’s declaration has led the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to declare an emergency in every state, territory and certain tribal lands. A list of each declaration is available on FEMA’s website and will be updated as more specific forms of relief are authorized.

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