Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of July 26, 2021 – July 30, 2021. Additionally, for continuing updates on the tax impact of COVID-19, please visit our resource page here.

July 26, 2021: The IRS issued Notice 2021-46 as a supplement to Notice 2021-31 issued in May, providing additional guidance on the temporary premium assistance for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) health insurance benefits and the associated COBRA premium assistance credit—enacted by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA).

July 27, 2021: The IRS issued a news release urging tax professionals to raise awareness amongst clients about the availability of Identity Protection PINs, a tax return security feature designed to protect against tax-related identity theft.

July 28, 2021: The IRS issued a news release announcing the imminent issuance of another round of tax refunds to those who paid taxes on unemployment compensation in 2020, pursuant to the retroactive exclusion of such compensation from 2020 taxable income under ARPA. The refunds will be issued to approximately 1.5 million taxpayers, averaging more than $1,600.

July 29, 2021: The IRS issued a news release announcing an update to previously-released FAQs regarding paid sick and family leave tax credits under ARPA.

July 30, 2021: The IRS issued Notice 2021-45, providing a list of counties and parishes that constitute as qualified disaster zones for purposes of determining low-income housing tax credits under section 42 of the Code, as expanded by the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020.

July 30, 2021: The IRS issued Notice 2021-48, providing guidance on changes made under ARPA to the funding rules for single-employer defined benefit pension plans.

July 30, 2021: The IRS issued Announcement 2021-12, revealing recent disciplinary sanctions imposed on certain tax practitioners pursuant to the Circular 230 rules for practice before the IRS.

July 30, 2021: The IRS issued a news release announcing the awarding of a $100,000 Low Income Taxpayer Clinic grant to West Virginia University College of Law to assist the university in providing tax controversy litigation services to low-income and English as a second language (ESL) taxpayers.

July 30, 2021: The IRS issued a news release reminding taxpayers who hold Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) of their responsibility to file Form 8822-B, updating their information with the IRS upon a change of responsible party or contact information.

July 30, 2021: The IRS released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandums and Chief Counsel Advice).

Special thanks to Le Chen in our Washington, DC, office for this week’s roundup.