A new, more comprehensive revenue procedure may spell equitable relief for many more taxpayers.
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Tax
Conflicts of interest and client consent
Section 10.29 of Treasury Circular 230, Regulations Governing Practice Before the Internal Revenue Service (31 C.F.R. Part 10), generally prohibits a practitioner from representing a client before the IRS if the representation involves a conflict of interest. Under Section 10.29(a), a conflict of interest exists if: (1) The representation of
QSub election does not create an item of income
The Third Circuit affirmed the Tax Court’s opinion that an S corporation’s election to treat its wholly owned subsidiary as a qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) did not create an item of income or tax-exempt income under Sec. 1366(a)(1)(A). It also determined that an increase in stock bases and declared
IRS provides simplified employer health care coverage reporting
The IRS released final regulations to implement simplified reporting requirements of employers to report health care coverage information under Secs. 6055 and 6056 starting in 2015 (T.D. 9660 and T.D. 9661). Sec. 6055 requires providers of minimum essential coverage and providers of coverage through an employer’s group health plan to
Final FATCA rules are issued
The IRS released regulations needed to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA, enacted as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act of 2010, P.L. 111-147, requires U.S. withholding agents to withhold tax on certain payments to foreign financial institutions (FFIs) that do not agree to
The de minimis safe harbor under the repair regulations
Among the more welcome changes adopted in the final tangible property repair regulations (T.D. 9636) is the de minimis rule related to the acquisition or production of property (Regs. Sec. 1.263(a)-1(f)). This rule provides for a safe harbor applied at the invoice or item level, based on the policies used
Final rules on substantial risk of forfeiture are released
The IRS finalized regulations that clarify when a substantial risk of forfeiture exists on the transfer of stock to an employee that is treated as compensation under Sec. 83. If a substantial risk of forfeiture exists, the employee does not have to recognize the income at the time of the
Guidance on repair regs. updates accounting method change procedures
The IRS in late February issued the second part of guidance on accounting method changes under the so-called repair regulations, which govern the treatment of expenditures incurred in acquiring, producing, or improving tangible assets (Rev. Proc. 2014-17, modifying and superseding Rev. Proc. 2012-20). The first part of the updated procedures
IRS delays health coverage mandate another year for midsize employers
The IRS in February delayed the so-called shared-responsibility requirement under Sec. 4980H for employers who have 50 to 99 full-time-equivalent employees (FTEs) in 2014. These employers will now have until 2016 to offer health care coverage to their employees or be subject to the shared-responsibility penalty. However, these employers will
Rollover contribution to second IRA disallowed
The Tax Court held that a taxpayer who received distributions from two individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and later transferred the amounts back into his IRAs had taxable income equal to the amount of the second transfer. According to the court, the plain language of Sec. 408(d)(3)(B) allows a taxpayer to
Tenth Circuit throws out IRS summonses
In a decision that creates a split from five other circuit courts, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals quashed IRS summonses that were issued after the 23-day period required under Sec. 7609(a)(1) (Jewell, Nos. 13-6069, 13-7038 (10th Cir. 4/28/14)). When the IRS issued four summonses to banks seeking records about nursing
“Killer B” anti-abuse regulations are on the way
Recognizing that taxpayers are exploiting the rules in ways it had not intended, the IRS on Friday announced that it will amend the existing regulations on cross-border reverse triangular reorganizations, popularly known as “Killer B” transactions (Notice 2014-32). Killer B transactions are designed to allow corporations to repatriate foreign subsidiary
IRS issues 2015 inflation adjustments for HSAs
The IRS issued the calendar year 2015 inflation-adjusted figures for the annual contribution limits for health savings accounts (HSAs) and the minimum deductible amounts and maximum out-of-pocket expense amounts for high-deductible health plans (Rev. Proc. 2014-30). Individuals who participate in a health plan with a high deductible are permitted a
IRS employees with conduct issues receive bonuses, TIGTA reports
On Tuesday, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released a report concluding that the IRS’s awards program, which awards cash and compensatory time off to a large number of IRS employees, did not consider employee misconduct, including tax compliance issues, in making these awards. Although the IRS complied with federal
Taxpayers must reveal tax shelter opinion letters despite attorney-client privilege
By attempting to establish good-faith and state-of-mind defenses, taxpayers put their legal knowledge and understanding into contention, and therefore they waived attorney-client privilege, the Tax Court held on Wednesday (Ad Investment 2000 Fund LLC, 142 T.C. No. 13 (2014)). As a result, the court will order the taxpayers to produce
Foreign housing expense limitations issued for 2014
According to the IRS, Hong Kong, Moscow, and Geneva are the three most expensive foreign cities to live in, for purposes of the Sec. 911 foreign housing exclusion. On Monday, the IRS provided its annual list of inflation-adjusted limitations on foreign housing expenses for 2014 (Notice 2014-29). Sec. 911(a) allows
Horse breeder materially participated
The Tax Court held that a taxpayer materially participated in his horse-breeding activity for 2002 through 2004 and therefore was not barred from deducting his losses as passive activity losses under Sec. 469 (Tolin, T.C. Memo. 2014-65). Although the case involved horse-breeding activities, the IRS did not seek to disallow
Guidance issued on application of Windsor to retirement plans
Administrators of qualified retirement plans must recognize the same-sex spouses of legally married participants as of June 26, 2013, under guidance issued by the IRS but will not be required to amend their plans to retroactively recognize participants’ legal same-sex marriages before that date (Notice 2014-19). The Supreme Court, in
Tax filing resources—Tax year 2013
This is the one-stop shop for all the updates you need to know for this year’s tax filing season. Find resources from the Journal of Accountancy, plus tax return checklists and tax savings tips from the AICPA, categorized by tax topic. INDIVIDUAL TAX Taxpayers can claim charitable contributions for typhoon
Taxpayers can claim charitable contributions for typhoon relief on 2013 returns
On Friday, the IRS announced the procedures for taxpayers to follow to take advantage of the recently enacted Philippines Charitable Giving Assistance Act, P.L. 113-92, which allows taxpayers to take deductions for cash contributions to qualified charities for the relief of victims of Typhoon Haiyan on their returns for the
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