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.
Advertisement
TOPICS / TAX
Individual income taxation
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.
G-20 leaders commit to automatic exchange of tax information
“Profits should be taxed where economic activities deriving the profits are performed and where value is created”—so said the leaders of the G-20 major economies as they endorsed the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) global standard for automatic exchange of tax information at the G-20 summit in Brisbane,
IRS fills in details of one-a-year IRA rollover rule
The IRS clarified how the recently announced change in how it interprets the statutory one-rollover-per-year rule for individual retirement arrangements (IRAs) will affect 2014 rollovers and how the rules will apply starting in 2015 (Announcement 2014-32). Sec. 408(d)(3)(A)(i) permits a tax-free rollover of funds in a taxpayer’s IRA as long
Filing season complications loom, IRS commissioner tells AICPA
The 2015 tax filing season “will be one of the most complicated filing seasons we’ve ever had,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in a keynote address Tuesday to hundreds of attendees at the AICPA National Tax Conference in Washington. He also held out hope of penalty relief for taxpayers affected
Effective filing dates of returns are disputable issues of fact
The IRS’s motion for dismissal was denied in a case where determining the timeliness of a taxpayer’s refund claims depended on determining the effective filing date of the taxpayer’s returns. The Court of Federal Claims denied a motion by the IRS to dismiss a taxpayer’s refund claim for two prior
2015 inflation-adjusted items and tax tables issued
The IRS issued the annual inflation adjustments for 2015 for more than 40 tax provisions as well as the 2015 tax rate tables for individuals and estates and trusts (Rev. Proc. 2014-61). Among the inflation-adjusted amounts that have increased are the personal exemption, which increases from $3,950 in 2014 to
Pension plan limitations are increased for inflation
Taxpayers will be allowed to contribute more money to their retirement savings in 2015 under new pension plan limits announced by the IRS on Thursday. The IRS annually adjusts the limitations on pension plan contributions in cases where cost-of-living increases meet the statutory requirements for inflation adjustment. A list of
Asset protection of retirement funds after Clark
Protection for inherited IRAs and Roth IRAs is still possible after a Supreme Court decision denied their exemption from bankruptcy estates.
Final regs. allow deduction for local lodging expenses
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
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
Gain exclusion lost upon reacquisition of former principal residence
A repossession of a former principal residence pursuant to default on a contract for deed results in the partial recognition of gain previously excluded under Sec. 121. The Tax Court held that the portion of a taxpayer’s gain excluded under Sec. 121 was properly recognized when he repossessed his former
Exemption from PFIC regime for indirect ownership expanded
The IRS clarifies that shares held through a variety of tax-exempt organizations, plans, and accounts are generally excluded. On April 14, Treasury and the IRS announced they will amend the regulations under Sec. 1291 to provide that a U.S. person who indirectly owns stock of a passive foreign investment company
Features
FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE
How a CPA beat burnout after strokes, depression
Get ready for tax season with the JofA’s annual filing season quick guide, an easy-to-use compilation of dollar thresholds, tax tables, standard amounts, credits, and deductions. Download and print for quick reference this tax season.
From The Tax Adviser
December 31, 2025
Practical tax advice for businesses as a result of the OBBBA
November 30, 2025
Digital asset transactions: Broker reporting, amount realized, and basis
October 31, 2025
