Roth IRAs Archives - TAX CONTROVERSY 360

Weekly IRS Roundup March 13 – March 19, 2022

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of March 13, 2022 – March 19, 2022. Additionally, for continuing updates on the tax impact of COVID-19, please visit our resource page here.

March 14, 2022: The IRS issued Announcement 2022-6, announcing that, effective March 14, 2022, and until further notice, the IRS will no longer accept applications for opinion letters relating to traditional individual retirement accounts (IRAs), Roth IRAs, Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) IRAs or simplified employee pensions (SEPs) in order to revise associated forms and procedures and issue guidance to reflect recent legislation.

March 15, 2022: The IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2022-8, providing various prescribed interest rates for federal income tax purposes for April 2022.

March 15, 2022: The IRS issued Notice 2022-13, providing relief to certain taxpayers with income from a farming or fishing business from penalties under Section 6654 of the Code for underpayments of estimated income tax.

March 15, 2022: The IRS issued a news release announcing an expansion of the multilingual options available with respect to certain IRS forms and publications.

March 16, 2022: The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2022-17, providing updated tables for use in determining limitations on, and reductions to, depreciation deductions with respect to passenger automobiles under Section 280F of the Code.

March 16, 2022: The IRS issued a news release announcing that it is hiring for more than 200 information technology positions as part of an initiative to modernize its systems.

March 16, 2022: The IRS issued a news release, providing tips for taxpayers to protect themselves against tax-related fraud and identity theft.

March 17, 2022: The IRS issued minor corrections to proposed regulations published on March 1, 2022, relating to renewal fees for enrolled agents and enrolled retirement plan agents.

March 18, 2022: The IRS issued minor corrections to proposed regulations published on February 24, 2022, relating to required minimum distributions with respect to certain employee pension and retirement plans.

March 18, 2022: The IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2022-06, providing the semi-annual Standard Industry Fare Level (SIFL) rates and terminal charge used in computing the value of noncommercial flights on employer-provided aircrafts for purposes of the taxation of fringe benefits under Section 61 of the Code. The Revenue Ruling provides both unadjusted SIFL rates and SIFL rates as adjusted for relief provided to the airline industry by COVID-related legislation.

March 18, 2022: The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2022-20, providing that hearings held by teleconference must generally meet the public approval requirement under Section 147(f) of the Code for tax-exempt qualified private activity bonds.

March 18, 2022: The IRS issued Notice 2022-11, in conjunction with the US Department of Labor and the [...]

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Sixth Circuit Sets Limits on the Application of the Substance-Over-Form Doctrine

The judicial substance-over-form doctrine provides the IRS with the ability to set aside carefully orchestrated tax planning arrangements to treat a transaction consistent with its substance. However, the doctrine does not give the Service carte blanche to deny tax benefits. In Summa Holdings, Inc. v. Commissioner, No. 16-1712 (available here), the Sixth Circuit overturned the Tax Court and declined to apply the substance-over-form doctrine when faced with taxpayers who, “to [their] good fortune, had the time and patience (and money) to understand how a complex set of tax provisions could lower [their] taxes” and “complied in full with the printed and accessible words of the tax laws.”

Summa Holdings involved a closely held corporation (Summa Holdings, Inc.) that supercharged the tax benefits provided by paying commissions to an interest charge domestic international sales corporation (IC-DISC) by having the IC-DISC owned by two Roth IRAs. While the dividends paid by the IC-DISC were taxable upon receipt, the dividend amounts (totaling $6 million over 7 years) were vastly larger than the annual contribution limits placed on Roth IRAs. For unfathomable reasons, the IRS did not challenge the $3,000 price that the Roth IRAs paid for the IC-DISC stock. Instead, the IRS asserted that that the substance of the arrangement was that the corporation paid dividends to its shareholders and the shareholders made excess contributions to the Roth IRAs.

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Weekly IRS Roundup March 13 – March 19, 2022

Sixth Circuit Sets Limits on the Application of the Substance-Over-Form Doctrine

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