Tax news and information - Journal of Accountancy

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May 8, 2015

Regs. on notional principal contracts change treatment of nonperiodic payments

The IRS issued temporary and proposed regulations amending the treatment of nonperiodic payments made or received under certain notional principal contracts (NPCs).

May 7, 2015

List of designated private delivery services is updated, postmark rules revised

For the first time since 2004, the IRS has updated the list of private delivery services (PDSs) that qualify under the mailbox rule of Sec. 7502.

May 6, 2015

Rulings illustrate transactions that qualify as D reorganizations

The IRS issued revenue rulings on whether two transactions, one involving domestic entities and another involving both domestic and foreign entities, qualified as Section 351 exchanges followed by D reorganizations.

May 5, 2015

2016 inflation adjustments for HSAs released

The inflation-adjusted amounts include the annual contribution limitation, the minimum deductible amounts and maximum out-of-pocket expense amounts for high-deductible health plans.

April 30, 2015

“Be on the lookout” lists gone from IRS reviews of Sec. 501(c)(4) applications

Two years after finding the IRS used inappropriate criteria when reviewing applications for tax-exempt status under Sec. 501(c)(4) and delayed the processing of some applications, the TIGTA issued a follow-up report to check on the IRS’s progress in eliminating the controversial practices.

April 28, 2015

IRS intends to amend rules so refunds match foreign withholding payments

The IRS has proposed to amend its regulations to limit refunds paid to beneficial owners of withheld payments to amounts actually deposited by withholding agents.

April 27, 2015

CHIP buy-in programs may qualify as minimum essential coverage

The existence of Children’s Health Insurance buy-in programs that qualify as minimum essential coverage will not make taxpayers ineligible for the premium tax credit except in periods when they are actually enrolled in the program.

April 23, 2015

Proposed PFIC rules would define “active conduct” of an insurance business

Proposed rules would define when investment income earned by a foreign insurance company would not be considered passive income in the determination of whether the company is a passive foreign investment company (PFIC).

April 16, 2015

Millions of taxpayer phone calls went unanswered by IRS this tax season

The interim report for the 2015 filing season revealed that the average time a taxpayer calling the IRS for assistance had to wait was 24.6 minutes, up from 11.7 minutes last year, and that very few taxpayer calls were actually answered.

April 13, 2015

IRS grants penalty relief to taxpayers who received incorrect health care forms

The incorrect forms generally included the monthly premium amount of the second-lowest-cost Silver plan for 2015 instead of for 2014.

April 13, 2015

Tax practice responsibilities involved in Schedule UTP

The need to file Schedule UTP, Uncertain Tax Position Statement, may have taken many corporate taxpayers by surprise in 2014, since the asset threshold for compliance was lowered from $50 million to $10 million.

April 13, 2015

Change is coming: Accounting method changes under the tangible property regulations

This article discusses the details of some of the accounting method changes businesses may need to make to comply with the tangible property regulations, popularly known as the “repair regulations.”

April 13, 2015

Proposed rules would govern Sec. 41 credit for software

The IRS offers a test and safe harbor for qualifying dual-function internal-use software.

April 13, 2015

Egg donor’s payment for pain is taxable income

Payments a woman received under a voluntary egg-donation contract could not be excluded from income as damages for physical injury or sickness under Sec. 104(a)(2).

April 13, 2015

10 situations when a CPA should call “timeout”

This article highlights situations when a tax accountant needs to recognize that it’s time to call in legal counsel.

April 13, 2015

The importance of tax quality control

Quality control (QC) is of utmost importance when delivering professional services, including tax planning and compliance services.

April 13, 2015

Small businesses excused from filing Form 3115 to comply with repair regs.

IRS provides relief requested by AICPA and numerous others for accounting method changes.

April 13, 2015

IRS issues new and revised passenger automobile depreciation limits

New figures for 2014 reflect the retroactive extension of bonus depreciation.

April 13, 2015

Anti-splitter rules finalized

The IRS issued regulations under Sec. 909 regarding the foreign tax credit splitter rules.

April 13, 2015

Sec. 4980D excise tax relief is available for certain small employers

IRS gives limited transition relief for employer payment plans and 2% S corporation shareholder arrangements.

FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

4 ways solo practitioners can stand out

Five years ago, a grieving Angel Zhen started his own CPA firm with no clients and no revenue. Today, he has 300 clients, $600,000 in revenue and 12 weeks of annual vacation. In this JofA article, he shares how he set up his firm and how you could do the same.