March 2023

March 31, 2023

No basis step-up for grantor trust assets if not in grantor’s estate

In a revenue ruling issued Wednesday, the IRS confirms that the step-up in basis under Sec. 1014(a) does not apply to the assets held by an irrevocable grantor trust when the grantor dies if the grantor’s gross estate does not include the assets of the irrevocable trust.

March 27, 2023

Dirty (Half) Dozen: Watch for these red flags when choosing a tax preparer

The IRS reached the halfway point of its annual “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams, advising that taxpayers be careful when choosing a preparer to handle their returns.

March 21, 2023

NFTs as collectibles: IRS issues guidance and seeks comments

Pending further guidance that it intends to issue on the treatment of nonfungible tokens as collectibles, the IRS said that it will use a lookthrough analysis for determining if an NFT is a collectible.

March 17, 2023

Taxpayer services should get more of that $80 billion, advocate says

National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins wrote in her blog post Thursday that Congress should allocate more money from the Inflation Reduction Act’s $80 billion budget infusion over 10 years for the IRS to taxpayer services and business systems modernization and less to enforcement and operations.

March 13, 2023

ERC claims on returns prepared by others raise questions for tax pros

The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility issued a bulletin that reviews the Circular 230 professional responsibilities that apply to claims for the employee retention credit.

March 13, 2023

Questions about software tracking and reporting for basis of digital assets

Tax practitioners have many questions about how to track and report the basis of digital assets, and no clear guidance exists. Here are tips from the AICPA Virtual Currency and Digital Assets Tax Task Force.

March 9, 2023

Senate approves Danny Werfel as IRS commissioner

The Senate voted 54–42 on Thursday to approve Werfel, a former acting IRS commissioner who has served under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

March 9, 2023

Digital scanning of tax documents to expand, will add Form 1040 soon

The IRS announced that it will soon be able to scan paper Forms 1040 and 941 instead of inputting them by hand. The acting commissioner describes the expansion as “another milestone” in the agency’s transformation.

March 8, 2023

IRS clarifies required minimum distribution reporting

New guidance on required minimum distributions reporting provides relief for financial institutions that due to a change to the RMD start date rules made by the SECURE 2.0 Act, may have incorrectly provided RMD statements to IRA owners who turn 72 in 2023.

March 3, 2023

In-person IRS tax forums scheduled for first time since pandemic start

The three-day forums, last held in person in 2019, are designed specifically for CPAs and other tax professionals.

March 1, 2023

Lookback period extended for refunds related to pandemic postponements

In determining the beginning of the lookback period for refund claims for returns with due dates postponed by Notice 2021-21 or Notice 2020-23, the IRS will disregard the periods from April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020, and from April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021. This change will align the lookback periods with the postponed return filing due dates.