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Weekly IRS Roundup January 22 – January 26, 2024

Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of January 22, 2024 – January 26, 2024.

January 22, 2024: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2024-4, which includes Revenue Procedure 2024-8. This revenue procedure lists qualified census tracts used to determine income limits for targeted area residences for purposes of Internal Revenue Code (Code) § 143(a), dealing with qualified mortgage bonds, and Code § 25(c), dealing with mortgage credit certificates.

January 22, 2024: The IRS announced that individuals and businesses in parts of Connecticut affected by severe storms, flooding and a potential dam breach that began on January 10 now have until June 17, 2024, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.

January 22, 2024: The IRS reminded taxpayers that they must disclose whether they received or disposed of digital assets, such as cryptocurrency, on their 2023 personal income tax returns.

January 22, 2024: The IRS announced that IRS Free File is now available for the 2024 filing season. IRS Free File is generally available to taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $79,000 or less. Additional information can be accessed here.

January 23, 2024: The IRS announced that work is underway on the Simple Notice Initiative, which will review and redesign various IRS notices. The IRS intends to focus first on the notices that are most commonly sent to individual taxpayers.

January 23, 2024: The IRS published a Request for Information from the US Department of the Treasury, Employee Benefits Security Administration, US Department of Labor, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation following the directive provided under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 to review the existing reporting and disclosure requirements for retirement plans. Comments are due by April 22, 2024, and each agency will be required to report to US Congress on December 29, 2025. Reports will offer recommendations for simplifying, standardizing and improving reporting and disclosure requirements.

January 25, 2024: The IRS issued Notice 2024-23, which provides special relief under Code § 529 for certain rollovers to or from Maryland Prepaid College Trust (MPCT) accounts. Due to accounting discrepancies and administrative issues, access to MPCT interest earnings was frozen in April 2022 and restored in July 2023. As a result of the freeze, many taxpayers executed a qualified rollover out of MPCT accounts. Notice 2024-23 permits taxpayers to transfer funds back into an MPCT account in a qualified rollover even though the transfer of funds out of the MPCT account may have occurred within 12 months of the transfer back into an MPCT account.

January 26, 2024: In the spirit of the IRS’s annual Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day outreach campaign, the IRS posted information on the Earned Income Tax Credit to help educate low- to middle-income taxpayers who may be eligible to [...]

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Weekly IRS Roundup May 15 – May 19, 2023

Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of May 15, 2023 – May 19, 2023.

May 15, 2023: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2023-20, which highlights the following:

Announcement 2023-16: The IRS announced that it will no longer conduct public hearings on notices of proposed rulemaking solely by telephone for proposed regulations that are published in the Federal Register after May 11, 2023. The change comes with the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. A telephonic option will remain available for those who prefer to attend or testify at a public hearing by telephone.

May 15, 2023: The IRS released a letter from Commissioner Daniel Werfel to the US Senate regarding the request for information about racial disparity in the selection of tax returns for audit and the IRS’s plan to address the issue.

May 15, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-67, announcing that tax relief is available for people living in areas that are declared disasters by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Click here to find out which areas qualify for federal disaster relief.

May 15, 2023: The IRS released Notice 2023-40, which provides the corporate bond monthly yield curve and corresponding spot segment rates and the 24-month average segment rates for May 2023. This notice also provides guidance as to interest rates on 30-year Treasury securities and 30-year Treasury weighted average rates.

May 15, 2023: The IRS released Revenue Ruling 2023-10, providing the applicable federal rates for federal income tax purposes for June 2023. The short-term federal interest rate is 4.43%, the mid-term rate will drop to 3.56% and the long-term rate is 3.79%.

May 16, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-68, reminding taxpayers that installing solar panels or making other home improvements may qualify them for the home energy credit.

May 16, 2023: The IRS released Revenue Procedure 2023-23, which provides the 2024 inflation-adjusted amounts for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) as determined under Section 223 and the maximum amount that may be made newly available for excepted benefit health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) provided under Section 54.9831-1(c)(3)(viii) of the Pension Excise Tax Regulations.

May 16, 2023: The IRS announced the release of the IRS’s report from Commissioner Werfel evaluating the feasibility of providing taxpayers with a free Direct File option. The evaluation of the system focused on three areas: taxpayer opinions, cost and feasibility. The report also includes an analysis conducted by an independent third party. The IRS plans to pilot the project for the 2024 filing season.

May 17, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-69, reminding taxpayers that emergency preparedness plans should include financial records and tax information.

May 19, 2023: The IRS released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private [...]

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