2018 - Page 3 of 5 tax news

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.

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 21, 2018

Supreme Court overturns Quill’s physical presence requirement

The U.S. Supreme Court held that states can assert nexus for sales and use tax purposes without requiring a seller’s physical presence in the state.

June 18, 2018

Disguised-sale partnership regs. withdrawn

The IRS announced that it was withdrawing temporary regulations on the treatment of partnership liabilities for disguised-sale purposes and proposing to reinstate the old rules.

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.

June 5, 2018

Sec. 965 transition tax penalty relief issued

The IRS announced relief from late-payment penalties and that it will allow late elections for taxpayers subject to the new Sec. 965 transition tax on deemed repatriated foreign earnings.

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 new phishing scheme in which cybercriminals send out emails posing as state accounting and professional associations.

May 23, 2018

IRS to clarify rules on payments in lieu of state and local taxes

The IRS announced that it intends to issue regulations explaining that legislation attempting to recharacterize state and local taxes as charitable contributions will be subject to interpretation under federal tax law.

May 17, 2018

Charitable contribution procedures updated

The IRS issued new procedures for contributions to charitable organizations, including rules for when donors can rely on the information about an organization’s tax-exempt status on the IRS database Tax Exempt Organization Search.

May 16, 2018

AICPA recommends flexibility in partnership audits

The IRS should provide a simplified adjustment procedure for partnership audits, the AICPA recommended in a letter to the IRS Chief Counsel’s Office.

May 10, 2018

IRS issues HSA contribution limits for 2019

The IRS issued the inflation-adjusted contribution limits for 2019 for health savings accounts.

May 10, 2018

IRS updates automatic accounting method change procedures

The IRS issued updated procedures for automatic accounting method changes. The new rules generally apply to changes on or after May 9, 2018.

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.

April 26, 2018

IRS gives taxpayers relief from erroneous HSA contributions

The IRS announced it will allow taxpayers to treat $6,900 as the 2018 limit for deductible contributions to HSAs for individuals with family coverage.

April 18, 2018