The IRS on Friday released standard mileage rates for use in 2012 (Notice 2012-1). Taxpayers can use the optional standard mileage rates to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile. For business use of an automobile remains at 55½ cents per mile. For medical or moving expenses, it is
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Business tax
Final Regs Issued on Low-Income Community Businesses and New Markets Tax Credit
On Friday, the IRS issued final regulations on how entities serving certain targeted populations can qualify as active low-income community businesses for purposes of the Sec. 45D new markets tax credit (T.D. 9560). The new markets tax credit encourages capital investment in economically depressed areas by private investors in exchange
Schedule M-3 Requires New Disclosures
Schedule M-3, Net Income (Loss) Reconciliation, is required for returns of corporate and partnership entities that report assets of $10 million or more on their Schedule L balance sheet, to reconcile taxable income or loss with financial statement income or loss. The IRS introduced Schedule M-3 effective for tax years
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HIGH COURT TO HEAR BASIS ISSUE SPLITTING CIRCUITS The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari Sept. 27 in U.S. v. Home Concrete & Supply LLC, one of several cases in which the IRS has claimed that a six-year extended statute of limitation applies when an understatement of gross income arises from
Tenth Circuit Remands Employee-Spouse Case to Tax Court
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Tax Court’s decision that denied a farmer’s business deduction for reimbursements made to his wife under an employee medical expense and health insurance reimbursement plan. The appellate court held that the Tax Court should have applied the common-law agency doctrine to determine
Ninth Circuit Affirms Tax Court’s Jurisdiction to Redetermine Partnership Deficiency
In a Son-of-BOSS appeal, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a taxpayer’s two procedural arguments and upheld the Tax Court’s jurisdiction to redetermine the tax shelter participant’s deficiency. The petitioner, Michael Napoliello, entered into two pairs of offsetting long and short foreign currency option contracts held by an LLC
Adjunct Professor Ruled an Employee
The Tax Court held that an adjunct university professor was a common-law employee and not a statutory employee or independent contractor, since he exercised only limited control over his course curriculum and materials and the university considered him its employee. William Schramm was an adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern University
IRS Offers Employee Reclassification Agreement
Employers may reclassify independent contractors as employees and limit the resulting federal payroll taxes for their most recent tax year, plus avoid related penalties and interest for prior years, under an IRS program announced Sept. 21. In Announcement 2011-64, the IRS outlined its new Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP). Unlike
IRS Proposes New Treatment of LLC Members, Limited Partners Under Passive Loss Rules
The IRS on Friday issued proposed regulations (REG-109369-10) that would redefine “interest in a limited partnership as a limited partner” for purposes of determining material participation under the Sec. 469 passive loss rules. Under Sec. 469(h)(2), losses from an interest in a limited partnership are presumptively treated as passive losses
President Signs Government Contractor Withholding Repeal, Veterans Job Credits
On Monday, President Barack Obama signed into law the Three Percent Withholding Repeal and Job Creation Act (H.R. 674), which Congress sent to him last week. The act repeals a requirement that 3% of payments be withheld by the federal or state governments or their instrumentalities or subdivisions (including multistate
Temporary Regs on All-Cash D Reorgs Issued
The IRS on Friday issued identical temporary and proposed regulations on basis allocation in all-cash D reorganizations (T.D. 9558; REG-101273-10). The regulations govern the determination of the basis of stock or securities in a corporate reorganization when the issuing corporation does not distribute any stock or securities in the reorganization.
Congress Sends Repeal of 3% Government Contractor Withholding to President
Late on Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill (H.R. 674) that will repeal a 3% government contractor withholding requirement. The vote was 422-0. The Senate approved the bill on Nov. 10, and it now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature. The bill repeals Sec. 3402(t), which
Witnesses Tell Congressional Subcommittee Small Business Health Tax Credit Is Too Complicated
A tax credit enacted to encourage small businesses and tax-exempt organizations to provide health insurance coverage for employees is too complicated and is not meeting its goal, witnesses told a congressional panel Tuesday. The credit, passed as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, P.L. 111-148, in 2010,
Final Regs Issued on Debt Satisfied by a Partnership Interest
The IRS on Tuesday issued final regulations on the application of Sec. 108(e)(8) to partners and partnerships (T.D. 9557). The regulations provide rules for determining a partnership’s discharge of indebtedness (DOI) income when it transfers a partnership interest to a creditor to satisfy a partnership debt. The regulations also discuss
Senate Passes Amended Bill Repealing 3% Withholding on Government Contracts
The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved a bill (H.R. 674) to repeal 3% income tax withholding on payments to vendors by federal, state and local governments. The vote was 95-0, with one senator voting “present.” Immediately before the vote, the Senate added an amendment that would allow a tax credit
Different Tax Results for Two Horse Breeders
The Tax Court recently allowed claimed losses from horse-breeding activities in one case but denied them in another. In the first case, the court held that the taxpayers could deduct all of the expenses of their horse-breeding activity, since they had a profit motive when they started and conducted the
Noncompete Agreement Is a Section 197 Intangible
The First Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming the Tax Court, held that a covenant not to compete must be amortized over 15 years rather than its one-year term. Recovery Group Inc. was an S corporation that provided services to insolvent companies. To buy out the interest of one of its
Short-Term Rentals Preclude Use of Losses
CPA tax practitioners who have clients involved in a real estate rental trade or business are no doubt aware of the rule allowing $25,000 of passive losses from rental real estate to be deducted against nonpassive income and the 750-hour material participation rule for qualifying as a real estate professional
Regs Extend Religious and Family Member FICA, FUTA Exceptions to Disregarded Entities
The IRS on Monday issued temporary and proposed regulations that extend the religious and family member FICA and FUTA tax exceptions to disregarded entities (T.D. 9554; REG-136565-09). The regulations also clarify the rule that owners of disregarded entities—except for qualified subchapter S subsidiaries (QSubs)—are responsible for backup withholding and information
IRS Gives Penalty Relief, Delays Backup Withholding for Payment Card Reporting
The IRS postponed for a year the effective date of the backup withholding requirement for payments in settlement of payment card and third-party network transactions. The Service also created an FAQ page explaining the new requirements. The postponement, in Notice 2011-88, applies to transactions subject to reporting under Sec. 6050W
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