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Standard Mileage Rates for 2012 Released

The IRS on Friday released standard mileage rates for use in 2012 (Notice 2012-1). Taxpayers can use the optional standard mileage rates to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile. For business use of an automobile remains at 55½ cents per mile. For medical or moving expenses, it is

IRS Holds First Hearing on Real-Time Tax System

The IRS held a public hearing on Thursday to gather feedback on how to implement a system in which the IRS would match information on tax returns with data from third-party information returns during the processing of the return. Under the proposed “real-time tax system,” if the IRS found discrepancies

Final Regs Issued on Low-Income Community Businesses and New Markets Tax Credit

On Friday, the IRS issued final regulations on how entities serving certain targeted populations can qualify as active low-income community businesses for purposes of the Sec. 45D new markets tax credit (T.D. 9560). The new markets tax credit encourages capital investment in economically depressed areas by private investors in exchange

Schedule M-3 Requires New Disclosures

Schedule M-3, Net Income (Loss) Reconciliation, is required for returns of corporate and partnership entities that report assets of $10 million or more on their Schedule L balance sheet, to reconcile taxable income or loss with financial statement income or loss. The IRS introduced Schedule M-3 effective for tax years

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HIGH COURT TO HEAR BASIS ISSUE SPLITTING CIRCUITS The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari Sept. 27 in U.S. v. Home Concrete & Supply LLC, one of several cases in which the IRS has claimed that a six-year extended statute of limitation applies when an understatement of gross income arises from

Tenth Circuit Remands Employee-Spouse Case to Tax Court

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Tax Court’s decision that denied a farmer’s business deduction for reimbursements made to his wife under an employee medical expense and health insurance reimbursement plan. The appellate court held that the Tax Court should have applied the common-law agency doctrine to determine

Ninth Circuit Affirms Tax Court’s Jurisdiction to Redetermine Partnership Deficiency

In a Son-of-BOSS appeal, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a taxpayer’s two procedural arguments and upheld the Tax Court’s jurisdiction to redetermine the tax shelter participant’s deficiency. The petitioner, Michael Napoliello, entered into two pairs of offsetting long and short foreign currency option contracts held by an LLC

Offers in Compromise and Dissipated Assets

Under IRC Sec. 7122(a), taxpayers may request an offer in compromise (OIC) with the IRS to settle outstanding tax liabilities for less than the full amount owed. To qualify, taxpayers must prove that their outstanding tax liabilities exceed the amount of income and assets available to satisfy those liabilities during

IRS Clarifies Corporate Governance Questions for Tax-Exempt Organizations

The IRS believes that strong corporate governance leads to increased compliance for tax-exempt organizations. In 2008, the IRS released a redesigned Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax, which requires more comprehensive and in-depth information regarding the organization’s governance, structure, policies and disclosure practices. These changes were formalized

Adjunct Professor Ruled an Employee

The Tax Court held that an adjunct university professor was a common-law employee and not a statutory employee or independent contractor, since he exercised only limited control over his course curriculum and materials and the university considered him its employee. William Schramm was an adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern University

ProSystem fx Tips

With tax season just around the corner, here are a few tips for using CCH’s ProSystem fx Tax (Foundation). ProSystem fx was the most-used software among the 10,026 respondents in the 2011 tax software survey conducted by the JofA and The Tax Adviser (see tinyurl.com/42o9h5s). 1. Tax cross-referencing. Pressing F1

Advising Clients in Same-Sex Relationships

Even as the debate over legally recognizing same-sex relationships continues, many such unions are being created in which income, expenses, assets and liabilities are shared, but generally without legal recognition of property and other rights accorded heterosexual marriages, federally and in most states. These unions create unique challenges and opportunities

IRS Offers Employee Reclassification Agreement

Employers may reclassify independent contractors as employees and limit the resulting federal payroll taxes for their most recent tax year, plus avoid related penalties and interest for prior years, under an IRS program announced Sept. 21. In Announcement 2011-64, the IRS outlined its new Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP). Unlike

IRS Proposes New Treatment of LLC Members, Limited Partners Under Passive Loss Rules

The IRS on Friday issued proposed regulations (REG-109369-10) that would redefine “interest in a limited partnership as a limited partner” for purposes of determining material participation under the Sec. 469 passive loss rules. Under Sec. 469(h)(2), losses from an interest in a limited partnership are presumptively treated as passive losses

IRS Launches New Round of Preparer Office Visits

The IRS has sent letters to tax return preparers whom the IRS has identified as at high risk of not complying with their responsibilities as return preparers. The IRS will follow up with office visits to some of these preparers who appear to have serious compliance issues. The IRS has

IRS Announces Competency Testing for Registered Tax Return Preparers

As part of its ongoing initiative to regulate previously unenrolled tax return preparers, the IRS announced on Tuesday that competency testing for registered tax return preparers will start next week (IR-2011-111). The IRS announced that the fee for taking the competency test will be $116 ($27 of which is the

President Signs Government Contractor Withholding Repeal, Veterans Job Credits

On Monday, President Barack Obama signed into law the Three Percent Withholding Repeal and Job Creation Act (H.R. 674), which Congress sent to him last week. The act repeals a requirement that 3% of payments be withheld by the federal or state governments or their instrumentalities or subdivisions (including multistate

Temporary Regs on All-Cash D Reorgs Issued

The IRS on Friday issued identical temporary and proposed regulations on basis allocation in all-cash D reorganizations (T.D. 9558; REG-101273-10). The regulations govern the determination of the basis of stock or securities in a corporate reorganization when the issuing corporation does not distribute any stock or securities in the reorganization.

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