Tax news and information - Journal of Accountancy

TOPICS

January 8, 2021

Carried interests regulations are finalized

The IRS finalized proposed regulations on certain carried interests to account for changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The TCJA extended from one year to three years the holding period for making carried interests eligible for capital gain treatment.

January 6, 2021

Final regs. address certain Sec. 163(j) rules

The IRS issued final regulations containing rules on the Sec. 163(j) interest expense limitation, including rules for specific passthrough entities and regulated investment companies.

January 5, 2021

Guidance permits change in vehicle use valuation during pandemic

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRS is allowing employers to switch from the vehicle lease valuation method to the cents-per-mile method for determining the value of an employee’s personal use of a vehicle during the pandemic.

January 4, 2021

Final rules govern income inclusion and advance payments

The IRS issued final regulations on Sec. 451 income inclusion rules and advance payments, as those rules were amended by the law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

January 1, 2021

Final regs. issued on foreign partnership interests

Rules govern withholding on transfers and ECI.

January 1, 2021

Filing season quick guide — tax year 2020

Download and print our annual quick guide, a tax season reference, highlighting dollar thresholds, tax tables, standard amounts, credits, and deductions.

January 1, 2021

Enlist an ally in TAS

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

January 1, 2021

Tomato processor’s accrued production costs fail all-events test

The Tax Court holds that the fact of the liabilities was not yet established to currently deduct costs to restore, rebuild, recondition, and retest manufacturing facilities.

January 1, 2021

5 things CPAs need to know about bankruptcy

Examine aspects of bankruptcy, including whether a CPA is likely to get paid and steps that a business can take when dealing with a bankrupt customer.

January 1, 2021

Tax season preview

COVID-19 relief measures confront return preparers with novel predicaments. [Updated with tax provisions from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, the COVID-19 relief package signed into law in late December 2020.]

January 1, 2021

District court holds incarcerated individuals are entitled to economic impact payments

The IRS is ordered to make payments it previously denied.

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 27, 2020

Many tax provisions appear in year-end coronavirus relief bill

The year-end coronavirus relief and spending bill passed by Congress includes many tax provisions, including pandemic-related relief, extensions of expired provisions, and a large number of miscellaneous items, including temporary 100% deductibility for business meals.

December 24, 2020

Simplified accounting rules for small businesses allow annual election

The IRS finalized regulations for simplified accounting rules for small businesses, which are defined as businesses with inflation adjusted average annual gross receipts of $25 million ($26 million for 2020 and 2021).

December 24, 2020

AICPA tax policy and advocacy recommendations deliver results in 2020

Amid challenging circumstances, the AICPA’s tax policy and advocacy efforts provided successful results that benefited the accounting profession and taxpayers in 2020.

December 22, 2020

2021 standard mileage rates decrease

The IRS issued the 2021 standard mileage rates for use in computing the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving expense purposes. The rates all decreased from 2021 to 2020.

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 18, 2020

Executive compensation regulations finalized

The IRS issued final rules on the $1 million executive compensation limits enacted by the law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, finalizing proposed rules with a few changes in response to comments.

FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Build reusable Skills in Anthropic’s Claude AI

Instead of rewriting prompts each time, CPAs can turn routine tasks into reusable AI Skills. This Technology Q&A walks through how to build Claude Skills that process files, ask setup questions, and export clean Excel outputs.