Individual income taxation

TOPICS / TAX

November 1, 2019

Like-kind exchanges and personal property

A recent law change invites new strategies.

November 1, 2019

Alimony tax gap swells to $3.2 billion, TIGTA finds

The difference resulted in $248 million of tax underreporting.

October 14, 2019

Taxpayers may deduct casualty losses in prior years

The IRS finalized regulations permitting taxpayers to deduct disaster losses in the prior tax year and removed the related temporary regulations that were issued in 2016.

October 9, 2019

IRS clarifies the tax treatment of cryptocurrency ‘hard forks’ and ‘airdrops’

The IRS ruled that a taxpayer does not have gross income as a result of a hard fork of a cryptocurrency if the taxpayer does not receive units of a new cryptocurrency, but does have gross income as a result of an airdrop of new cryptocurrency after a hard fork if the taxpayer receives units of the new cryptocurrency.

October 1, 2019

Purported family loans were not bona fide, Tax Court holds

The bank deposit method supports an IRS underpayment assessment.

September 25, 2019

IRS issues 2019 to 2020 per-diem rates for traveling away from home

The IRS issued its annual notice specifying the special per-diem rates, including the transportation industry meal and incidental expenses rates, the rate for the incidental-expenses-only deduction, and the rates and list of high-cost localities for purposes of the high-low substantiation method.

September 24, 2019

Safe harbor allows QBI deduction for rental real estate businesses

The IRS issued a revenue procedure describing the requirements taxpayers have to meet to be a rental real estate business that qualifies for the safe harbor to be treated as a trade or business in order to qualify for the Sec. 199A qualified business income deduction.

September 20, 2019

Final regs. loosen 401(k) hardship distribution requirements

The IRS issued final regulations governing hardship distributions from Sec. 401(k) plans, eliminating the requirements that participants obtain a loan from the plan if available and that suspend participants’ ability to make contributions to the plans for six months after taking a hardship distribution.

September 9, 2019

IRS offers expatriate tax relief

The IRS announced procedures to allow certain individuals who have renounced their U.S. citizenship to get into compliance with their US tax obligations and obtain relief for back taxes.

September 1, 2019

Taxpayer allowed a deduction under claim of right

A divorced spouse could deduct her indirect repayment of an amount previously included in her and her former husband’s jointly reported income.

September 1, 2019

Child dependency claims by noncustodial parents

Practitioners can help taxpayers avoid common miscues under the special rule of Sec. 152(e).

August 22, 2019

Proposed regs. govern maximum automobile values

The IRS issued proposed rules that provide maximum automobile values for the cents-per-mile and fleet-average valuation rules used to determine the amount to include in an employee’s gross income for personal use of an employer-provided vehicle.

August 13, 2019

Alimony tax gap swells to $3.2 billion, TIGTA finds

Discrepancies between the amount of alimony deducted by payers and reported as income by its recipients increased by 38% in six years, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported.

August 1, 2019

The QBI deduction for rental real estate activity

Optimal treatment under Sec. 199A eludes any one-size-fits-all solution.

July 1, 2019

Broadened definition of Sec. 152 dependents

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 greatly increased the availability of the child tax credit. Find out the definition of dependent for those purposes and for taking advantage of “surviving spouse” status.

June 1, 2019

Casualty loss deduction from drug-induced gambling is disallowed

The Tax Court declines to expand ‘other casualty’ beyond one sustained with respect to tangible property.

June 1, 2019

‘Parsonage’ exclusion ruled constitutional

Reversing a district court, the Seventh Circuit upholds the Sec. 107 housing exclusion for ‘ministers of the gospel.’

May 9, 2019

IRS changes maximum-vehicle-value rule

The IRS revised its maximum-vehicle-value rule for personal use of an employer-provided vehicle for 2019 for both the cents-per-mile rule and the fleet-average-valuation rule.

April 17, 2019

More proposed regs. on qualified opportunity funds issued

The regulations define the term “substantially all,” the definition of which was reserved in the earlier proposed regulations issued in October 2018.

March 22, 2019

IRS expands relief from underpayment penalty

The IRS announced that it is lowering from 85% to 80% the amount taxpayers are required to have paid in order to escape an underpayment of estimated income tax penalty for 2018.

FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

How a CPA beat burnout after strokes, depression

Randy Crabtree, CPA, suffered two strokes in four days and struggled with his mental health for years before he learned to recognize, address, and prevent chronic stress. Learn from his insights on how CPAs can avoid professional burnout.