The IRS announced that it would disallow all claims for refund that were filed for Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes withheld on severance payments in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Quality Stores, Inc., that those payments were subject to tax.
Individual income taxation
IRS issues revised 2014 and 2015 passenger automobile depreciation limits
The IRS issued new figures for depreciation deductions allowed for business use of passenger automobiles for 2014 to take into account the 50% additional depreciation that can be taken for vehicles during the 2014 tax year.
2015’s dirty dozen tax scams
The IRS released its “dirty dozen” list of top tax scams for 2015, starting with phone scams and ending with frivolous tax arguments.
Kiddie tax complexity grows
Complexity begins with the option for parents to “simplify” matters by allowing them to include the child’s income on the parents’ own return instead of filing a separate return for the child.
Gross income omissions and the 6-year tax assessment period
How taxpayers can guard against doubling the statute-of-limitation period for the IRS to assess tax.
Expired tax provisions extended for 2014
Congress acted at the end of its lame-duck session to retroactively extend a host of expired tax provisions affecting the 2015 filing season.
Affiliated group with QPSC allowed graduated tax rates
Regulations do not support the IRS’s “two baskets” approach of separating qualified personal service corporation income, the Tax Court holds.
Taxpayers get penalty relief for incorrect premium tax credit advance payments
The IRS announced penalty relief for taxpayers who find they owe tax when they reconcile the advance payments of the premium tax credit they received with the amount they were entitled to when they file their 2014 tax returns.
Details of the president’s State of the Union tax proposals
The president aims to increase capital gains taxes for higher-income taxpayers in order to pay for various education, child care, and retirement benefits for middle-income taxpayers.
Government to reach out, provide resources to ease health care tax filing burden
The government announced today that, in the next few weeks, it will introduce “consumer-friendly” resources for taxpayers to use to comply with the new rules.
Getting into the swing of tax season
The 2015 tax filing season could be delayed and features several new health carerelated provisions for 2014 returns. Plus: The JofA’s annual Quick Guide, a printable card that contains dollar thresholds, tax tables, standard amounts, credits, and deductions to keep at your fingertips during tax season.
IRS: Tax season to start on time
The IRS announced that it will begin accepting e-filed and paper tax returns on time this filing season. The late passage of tax extender legislation had threatened to delay the start of tax season.
Eighth Circuit weighs in on soil conservation payments
A taxpayer not engaged in the farming business who received payments from a government soil conservation program did not thereby have self-employment income.
President signs tax extenders into law
President Barack Obama signed into law the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, which retroactively extends more than 50 expired tax provisions through 2014.
New law creates tax-favored savings accounts for disabled taxpayers
The tax extenders legislation passed on Tuesday includes a provision allowing states to create tax-favored accounts to allow disabled taxpayers to save money to pay for their disability-related expenses.
Congress passes tax extender legislation
Included in the extended provisions are the research and development credit, bonus depreciation and higher limits under Sec. 179. The bill now goes to the president for his signature.
Final rules govern reporting of specified foreign financial assets
Final regulations issued on Thursday explain how taxpayers whose specified foreign financial assets are great enough to trigger the Sec. 6038D reporting requirement can comply with the rules.
Standard mileage rates will change slightly in 2015
The IRS issued the standard mileage rates for business use of an automobile, and for driving for medical or moving purposes, for 2015.
Gains as gross income unaffected by Home Concrete
Taxpayers’ reported gross income included the gains from investment sales, not the gross proceeds, when determining the applicability of the six-year statute of limitation.
Final regs. include safe harbor for local lodging costs
Employer-required lodging expenses may now be deductible as an employee business expense or, if paid or reimbursed by the employer, excluded under an accountable plan, even if the employee is not away from home.
Features
SPONSORED REPORT
Preparing clients for new provisions next tax season
As the 2025 filing season approaches, H.R. 1 introduces significant tax reforms that CPAs must be prepared to navigate. These legislative changes represent some of the most comprehensive tax updates in recent years, affecting both individual and corporate taxpayers. This report provides in-depth analysis and guidance on H.R. 1.
