IRS practice & procedure

TOPICS / TAX

January 1, 2021

Enlist an ally in TAS

The Taxpayer Advocate Service stands ready to assist taxpayers and their representatives.

January 1, 2021

Effect of delayed filings on statute of limitation

Assessment and refund time limits are clarified amid postponements caused by the pandemic.

December 27, 2020

PPP expense deductibility and forgiveness raises basis, other issues

The potential for the deductibility of PPP-funded expenses raises some practice questions, and traps for the unwary lurk in the details.

December 22, 2020

Circular 230 update planned for 2021

Updating the rules governing practice before the IRS is one of the goals of the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility for the new year, its director says.

December 21, 2020

IRS regs. govern misdirected refund claims

The IRS announced procedures for identifying and recovering direct deposit refunds that a taxpayer did not receive in the designated account.

December 15, 2020

Temporary e-signature authorization for IRS forms extended

The IRS announced that it was extending taxpayers’ ability to file a number of forms using electronic signatures due to the pandemic. The limited relief extends the authorization through June 30, 2021.

December 3, 2020

Expenses used for PPP loan forgiveness: Deductible or not?

Two experts look at the issue of the deductibility of expenses paid with PPP loan funds and conclude that they should be deductible.

December 2, 2020

IP PINs to be available to all individuals in 2021

The IRS announced that it would begin allowing all individual taxpayers to opt in to receive an identity protection personal identification number (IP PIN), beginning in mid-January 2021.

December 1, 2020

Missing IP PIN does not toll the limitation period

The IRS’s deficiency notice was untimely, the Tax Court holds.

November 23, 2020

AICPA mobilizes members to push for deductibility of PPP-funded expenses

The AICPA is asking its members to write to their senators and representatives in Congress in support of legislation that would mandate that anyone who receives a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program can deduct business expenses even when payment of those expenses results in loan forgiveness under the CARES Act.

November 20, 2020

Centralized partnership audit regime changes proposed

The IRS issued rules on two special enforcement matters for purposes of the unified partnership audit rules.

November 17, 2020

IRS commissioner: Penalty relief will not be ‘blanket’

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig told attendees at the AICPA National Tax & Sophisticated Online Tax Conference not to expect blanket penalty relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and he addressed other effects of the pandemic on the agency.

November 13, 2020

IRS will mask business tax transcript identifying information

The IRS announced that beginning Dec. 13 it will mask sensitive data on business tax transcripts, a step it took two years ago for individual tax transcripts.

November 3, 2020

IRS announces help with tax debt

The IRS said it was revising its procedures to help taxpayers who cannot pay their taxes because of the pandemic. The new program is called the Taxpayer Relief Initiative.

November 1, 2020

Limiting the impact of negative QBI

Here are the rules for the treatment of negative QBI and some planning ideas for mitigating its effect on the QBI deduction.

November 1, 2020

Preparers beware: PTIN fees are back

After a lengthy hiatus and despite ongoing litigation, final regulations are in place.

October 30, 2020

Guidance on deferred employee payroll tax issued

The IRS issued guidance to employers and employees on reporting deferred Social Security tax on Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, under the Aug. 8 Presidential Memorandum authorizing the deferral.

October 28, 2020

Template for requesting penalty abatement available from AICPA

The AICPA has created a template for members to use when requesting a penalty abatement from the IRS. Many taxpayers are receiving penalty notices after COVID-19 hampered their ability to meet tax filing obligations.

October 26, 2020

2021 inflation adjustments and tax tables issued

The IRS issued the 2021 inflation adjustment amounts and tax tables for use in preparing 2021 tax returns in the 2022 filing season. Many of the over 60 items increased from 2020.

October 7, 2020

With Oct. 15 looming, some practitioners face daunting challenges

Tax practitioners have expressed concerns that they will not be able to meet upcoming Oct. 15 tax filing deadline for a variety of reasons related to the global pandemic.

FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Flip out with the latest Tech Q&A

The September Technology Q&A column shows how to create dynamic to-do lists with Excel's checkboxes and also how to set up multifactor authentication texts that don't rely on phones. Flip through both items and view a video walkthrough in our digital format.