IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman discussed return preparer standards, enforcement in a globalized economy and a new IRS initiative focused on high-wealth individuals’ tax compliance during a speech to the AICPA’s National Tax Conference in Washington on Monday. Return Preparer Oversight In June, Shulman announced during a hearing of the House
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TOPICS / TAX
Individual income taxation
IRS Releases Annual Inflation Adjustments, Many Unchanged for 2010
The IRS has released its annual revenue procedure updating the tax bracket amounts and making inflation adjustments for various credits and other tax items (Revenue Procedure 2009-50). Because inflation has been minimal, many of the numbers are unchanged from 2009 or have only been adjusted slightly. The Social Security Administration
IRS Memo Allows Taxpayer to Deduct Interest on $1.1 Million Mortgage
The IRS Office of Chief Counsel has issued a memorandum in which it reinterprets the definition of “acquisition indebtedness” under IRC § 163(h)(3) to allow a taxpayer to deduct interest on the first $1.1 million of his or her mortgage instead of the usual $1 million limit (CCA 200940030). This
Phone Tax Challenge Reinstated
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that taxpayers could challenge under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) the IRS’ method of refunding long-distance telephone excise taxes. The 2-1 decision in Neiland Cohen v. U.S. reversed and remanded a dismissal of the case by
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FBAR FILING EXTENDED FOR SOME The IRS extended for certain taxpayers the due date for filing Form TD F 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), for tax year 2008. The reporting form originally was due June 30 this year. In Notice 2009-62, the Service said two types
ARRA Changes 2009 Estimated Tax Rules
For tax years beginning in 2009 only, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) reduced the amount of estimated tax that individual taxpayers with income from small businesses must pay. As 2009 draws to a close, practitioners should make sure their clients are aware of and taking advantage
Recovery Act Reminders for 2009
Given the breadth and variety of tax relief provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, PL 111-5, one or more could affect your clients’ individual returns for the 2009 tax year. Many are intended to provide relief for taxpayers in financial distress, stimulate consumer spending or
Disclosure Consent Under § 7216
IRS rules effective Jan. 1, 2009, delineate more strictly tax return preparers’ duties to safeguard taxpayer information from unauthorized disclosure or use. IRC § 7216 imposes criminal penalties on the unauthorized use of taxpayer information. The requirements are closely tailored to the type of information, the party using it, and
Tax Software Survey
Here are highlights of the JofA’s 2009 tax software survey, conducted jointly with The Tax Adviser. Nearly 10,000 AICPA members responded. FULL RESULTS More detailed results are available here and includes complete responses for each product, including many questions not shown here, such as ease of learning the software and how hard
Charitable Remainder Trust Update
Although many investment assets have lost value in the past year, individuals coming to CPAs for estate planning advice often hold highly appreciated assets, and many want to make significant charitable gifts. For that reason, charitable remainder trusts remain a popular method of reducing assets subject to estate tax. They
IRS Updates Travel Expense Per Diem Rates
On Wednesday, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2009-47, which is its annual update to the substantiation rules for business travel expenses when an employer provides a per diem reimbursement allowance. It sets the per diem rate for travel to high-cost localities and for travel to other localities in the continental
IRS Provides 2009 RMD Rollover Relief for IRA, 401(k) Distributions
The IRS on Thursday issued Notice 2009-82 to provide relief for taxpayers who have received required minimum distributions in 2009 from an IRA or similar account. Such taxpayers have until Nov. 30, 2009, (or within 60 days of the distribution, whichever is later) to roll over the distribution into another
Offshore Account Voluntary Disclosure Deadline Extended to Oct. 15
The IRS today extended the deadline for voluntary disclosures by taxpayers with unreported income from hidden offshore accounts from this Wednesday, Sept. 23, to Oct. 15. The IRS cautioned that there would be no further extensions. The IRS said that tax practitioners had requested an extension because some are having
IRS Expands, Updates Appeals Mediation Process
The IRS on Friday expanded the number of cases that are eligible to go through mediation in Appeals and updated the mediation procedures (Revenue Procedure 2009-44). The IRS’ Appeals mediation program was authorized in 1998. The IRS Appeals function is designed to resolve tax controversies without litigation. The mediation program
IRS Boosts Tax Incentives for Retirement Savings
The IRS released several pieces of guidance Tuesday designed to boost tax incentives for retirement savings. The initiatives include expanded opportunities for automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans, vehicles for taxpayers to save their tax refunds and convert accrued vacation time into savings, and better explanations of the available options for
Broken Home: Divorce and the Principal Residence
When Bill and Jen decided to divorce, they never expected their personal residence to become a major problem. Initially, Jen thought she wanted to stay in the house. She was emotionally attached to the home, and she thought remaining in it would help minimize the impact of the divorce on
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TIGTA: CLEARER 1040 COULD REDUCE TAXPAYER ERRORS A few relatively minor changes to Form 1040 could yield improvements in preventing common taxpayer errors, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) said in an audit (available at tinyurl.com/m8625m). Analyzing the approximately 7 million math error notices the IRS sends annually,
Taxpayer Wins Lawsuit on Valuing Transfers of LLC Interests
In a case involving the proper valuation of LLC interests that were transferred by a taxpayer into trusts set up for the benefit of her children, the Tax Court has held that transfers should be valued as transfers of LLC interests and not, as the IRS had argued, as transfers
IRS Provides Guidance on Election to Defer COD Income
In Revenue Procedure 2009-37, the IRS has provided guidance to taxpayers on how to make the new election to defer recognizing cancellation of debt (COD) income under IRC § 108(i). The revenue procedure also requires taxpayers who make the election annually to provide additional information on their returns, starting with
Phone Tax Suit Revived
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that taxpayers could challenge under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) the IRS’ method of refunding long-distance telephone excise taxes. The 2-1 decision in Neiland Cohen v. U.S. (docket no. 08-5088) reversed and remanded a dismissal of
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Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 2
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