Regulations issued on Tuesday finalize rules the IRS put into effect in 2012 allowing employees to deduct certain expenses paid or incurred for local lodging as business expenses (T.D. 9696). Normally, lodging expenses a taxpayer incurs while not traveling away from home are considered personal expenses under Sec. 262(a) and
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Board members keenly focused on risk
Corporate board members of U.S. public companies are keenly focused on risk, but many are not comfortable with their understanding of which risks the companies are willing to take, according to new PwC survey results released Tuesday. In the interest of reducing fraud risk, an increasing percentage of board members
Vision, dental, and long-term-care benefits qualify as limited excepted benefits under new IRS rules
Dental, vision, and long-term-care benefits will qualify as excepted benefits under final regulations issued by the IRS (T.D. 9697). Excepted benefits are not subject to certain health reform requirements enacted as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), P.L. 104-191, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care
IRS signals PPACA compliance issues for 2015
This month, the IRS made several updates to the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) that provide insight on the notices and enforcement methods the Service will use next tax season to ensure taxpayers comply with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), P.L. 111-148. Most compliance efforts focus on the
New nonauthoritative guidance related to management representations, EBP accounting
New Technical Questions and Answers (TPAs) have been issued and are available on the AICPA website to provide nonauthoritative guidance. TPAs 6931.18–.30 address the effect of FASB Accounting Standards Update No. 2013-07, Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205): Liquidation Basis of Accounting, on the accounting for primarily single-employer, defined benefit
AICPA identifies problems with IRS’s electronic signature rules
Jeffrey Porter, chair of the AICPA’s Tax Executive Committee, sent a letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen on Wednesday raising concerns about the IRS’s recently issued guidance on electronic signatures. The letter addresses the electronic signature standards that apply when a taxpayer does not appear in person before the tax
Doctors lack standing to challenge delay of employer mandate
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a suit objecting to the IRS’s decision to delay imposing the Sec. 4980H employer mandate penalty until 2015 (Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc., No. 14-2123 (7th Cir. 9/19/14), aff’g No. 13-C-1214 (E.D. Wis. 3/18/14)). Under Sec. 4980H, an applicable large employer
Treasury moves to curb tax inversions
The Treasury Department announced late on Monday that it will take steps to curb corporate tax inversions, a growing tax minimization strategy that has been the subject of many headlines recently. In a prepared statement, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew hailed the move as the first steps in making “substantial progress
Details of proposed anti-inversion rules are revealed
The IRS followed up on the Treasury Department’s Monday announcement that it is cracking down on corporate tax inversions by providing more detail on how the crackdown will work (Notice 2014-52). The new rules, which will be issued as regulations, generally apply to inversion transactions occurring on or after Sept.
Auditors still responsible for going-concern evaluation under PCAOB rules
Recent changes to U.S. GAAP do not change public company auditors’ responsibilities for following existing PCAOB standards when considering a company’s ability to continue as a going concern, the PCAOB said Monday. In a staff audit practice alert, the PCAOB said current auditing requirements remain in force in light of
SEC expects to pay whistleblower a record $30 million
The SEC expects to pay an award of more than $30 million to a whistleblower—a total that’s more than twice the previous record payout announced in the commission’s 2-year-old whistleblower program. An informant living in a foreign country who provided important, original information that led to a successful SEC enforcement
IRS announces proposed changes to cafeteria plan elections and lookback period
The IRS issued two notices on Thursday, proposing to change the rules for when a taxpayer can revoke health care coverage in a cafeteria plan and enroll in a plan on the Health Insurance Marketplace exchanges, and how to measure the lookback period for determining who is a full-time employee
Special per diem rates issued for 2014–2015 travel expenses
On Friday, the IRS issued its annual update of special per diem rates for use in substantiating certain business expenses taxpayers incur when traveling away from home in 2014 and 2015 (Notice 2014-57).The notice provides the transportation industry meal and incidental expenses rates, the rate for the incidental-expenses-only deduction, and
Changes proposed to allocation rules for rollovers
The IRS says it has become aware that some plan providers have been treating disbursements from retirement plans that contain both pretax and after-tax contributions as a single distribution of the aggregate disbursement amount, rather than as separate distributions, as required by the regulations. In proposed regulations issued on Thursday
Dispositions of property get automatic accounting method change procedures
The IRS on Thursday issued Rev. Proc. 2014-54, providing procedures for taxpayers to obtain automatic consent to accounting method changes involving dispositions of tangible depreciable property. The guidance outlines how taxpayers may obtain the IRS’s automatic consent to change to certain methods provided in recently finalized regulations (T.D. 9689, issued
Regulations update hybrid defined benefit plan rules
On Monday, the IRS released final and proposed regulations providing guidance on so-called hybrid defined benefit pension plans (T.D. 9693 and REG-111839-13). The regulations deal with changes made by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, P.L. 109-280, and the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008, P.L. 110-458. The
PCC approves private company GAAP exception for certain acquired intangible assets
The Private Company Council (PCC) voted Tuesday to approve a GAAP alternative that will allow private companies to elect not to separately recognize and measure certain intangible assets acquired in a business combination. Private companies that elect the alternative would not recognize: Noncompetition agreements. Customer-related intangible assets that are not
ASB proposes moving content of AT Section 501 into GAAS
The AICPA Auditing Standards Board (ASB) is proposing moving a section of its attestation standards into generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS). Engagements performed under existing AT Section 501, An Examination of an Entity’s Internal Control Over Financial Reporting That Is Integrated With an Audit of Its Financial Statements, as well
PFIC reporting rules do not apply to certain marked-to-market stock
On Wednesday, the IRS announced that it will amend the regulations governing the reporting requirements for U.S. persons who hold stock in passive foreign investment companies (PFICs). The amendments will provide that, if a taxpayer marks to market PFIC stock under Sec. 475 or any Code section other than Sec.
PCAOB alert calls for auditors to focus on revenue
The PCAOB on Tuesday urged auditors to focus on the board’s standards for auditing revenue. In Staff Audit Practice Alert No. 12, Matters Related to Auditing Revenue in an Audit of Financial Statements, the PCAOB discusses board requirements for auditing revenue that are relevant to significant audit deficiencies found frequently
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