IRS practice & procedure

TOPICS / TAX

July 25, 2018

Stock-based compensation cost-sharing regs. valid

The Ninth Circuit reversed a Tax Court decision invalidating a cost-sharing regulation that requires allocation of stock-based compensation costs between related parties.

July 17, 2018

Many tax-exempt organizations no longer need to list donor information

News IRS procedures eliminate the requirement for many exempt organizations to list certain substantial donors’ names and addresses on some forms.

July 12, 2018

AICPA: 2019 Form W-4 needs to be simplified

The AICPA’s Tax Executive Committee sent a letter to the IRS, urging the Service to simplify the proposed draft 2019 Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate.

July 10, 2018

Tax practitioners are warned to safeguard client data

The IRS warned that it is increasingly difficult for it to recognize fraudulent tax returns as cybercriminals succeed in getting more and more accurate information.

July 1, 2018

Claiming child tax benefits for noncustodial parents

IRS guidance on the waiver of a dependency exemption remains significant with the newly enhanced child tax credit.

July 1, 2018

Explaining refund payment delays to clients

PATH Act provisions and IRS security filters can often hold up the processing of legitimate refunds.

July 1, 2018

Charitable contribution deduction denied for conservation easement

The taxpayer expected a substantial benefit from the donation, the court holds.

July 1, 2018

IRS clarifies identity theft procedures

An affidavit is needed only when an unauthorized return has been filed using the taxpayer’s Social Security number.

July 1, 2018

First Circuit allows DISC dividends paid to Roth IRAs

The IRS suffers its second defeat when the First Circuit, agreeing with the Sixth Circuit, denies application of the substance-over-form doctrine to recharacterize DISC commissions and dividends as excess Roth contributions.

June 27, 2018

Form 1040 to be shorter but with more schedules

The IRS is working on a draft version of the 2018 Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, that reduces the size of the form to two half-pages in length and eliminates more than 50 lines.

June 15, 2018

AICPA advocates for IRS tax guidance priorities

The AICPA sent a letter to the IRS with recommendations for items of tax guidance that should be priorities for the Service to issue from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019.

June 8, 2018

Draft 2019 Form W-4 and instructions posted

The IRS released a draft Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, and its instructions, for individual taxpayers to use to determine their income tax withholding for 2019.

May 30, 2018

AICPA recommends IRS FAQs on virtual currency taxation

The comments were prompted by new questions that have emerged about how the tax rules apply to virtual currency transactions since the AICPA first submitted comments.

May 25, 2018

Standard mileage rates, depreciation amounts updated

The IRS issued guidance on the standard mileage rates and depreciation limits that were changed by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

May 25, 2018

IRS warns tax practitioners of new phishing scam

The IRS alerted tax practitioners to beware of a phishing scheme in which cybercriminals send out emails posing as state accounting and professional associations.

May 3, 2018

Small businesses should guard against tax-return identity theft

The IRS urged small businesses to be wary of a growing amount of identity theft attempts aimed at employers and small businesses in general, and partnerships and trusts and estates.

May 1, 2018

Virgin Islands ‘cover over’ partial return transmittal constitutes IRS filing

The Tax Court finds an assessment is barred by the statute of limitation.

May 1, 2018

IRS pursuing self-employment taxes from LLC members

IRS court victories asserting that LLC members should pay self-employment taxes on distributive shares of LLC income should give practitioners pause before claiming this income is exempt from those taxes.

April 17, 2018

IRS computer crash prompts deadline extension

After the IRS’s Modernized e-File and Direct Pay systems were not in operation for most of the day on Tuesday, the IRS extended the filing and payment deadline for 2017 individual tax returns until midnight on Wednesday, April 18.

April 12, 2018

Treasury regulations to be subject to OMB review

The Treasury Department and the White House’s Office of Management and Budget have agreed to change the procedures under which Treasury regulations are reviewed.

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.