Tax News - The Tax Adviser

June 21, 2019

Supreme Court holds North Carolina cannot tax trust

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision holding that North Carolina’s attempt to tax a trust based solely on the residence of a beneficiary violates the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.

June 19, 2019

Virtual currency not FBAR reportable (at least for now)

The AICPA Virtual Currency Task Force reached out to Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to help practitioners answer the question of whether virtual currency (or cryptocurrency) must be reported on FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).

June 18, 2019

W-2 methods proposed for Sec. 199A(g) deduction by agricultural co-ops

The IRS issued methods for calculating W-2 wages for the Sec. 199A(g) deduction for agricultural and horticultural cooperatives, similar to the former Sec. 199 domestic production activities deduction.

June 17, 2019

Final HRA rules permit integration with individual health insurance

The IRS issued final regulations on health reimbursement arrangements, which may be offered to individuals as individual coverage HRAs and integrated into health insurance plans.

June 17, 2019

Final rules govern GILTI, Subpart F income, and foreign tax credits

The IRS issued final regulations on the Sec. 951A global low-taxed income inclusion and foreign tax credits, finalizing proposed rules issued in October and December 2018.

June 12, 2019

SALT deduction cap rules finalized, safe harbor proposed

Here are details on the new rules that deny a federal tax deduction to taxpayers who donate to a state charitable fund and receive a state or local tax credit in return.

June 10, 2019

Ninth Circuit upholds IRS cost-sharing regulation

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a Tax Court decision that had held that a cost-sharing regulation that required allocation of stock-based compensation was invalid.

June 4, 2019

Changes coming to tax transcript availability

To fight identity theft, starting June 28 the IRS will no longer fax transcripts to taxpayers, tax professionals, and other third parties. And in July it will stop providing an option for mailing transcripts to third parties.

May 31, 2019

IRS issues draft of revised Form W-4 for 2020

The new draft form, which has been extensively redesigned, is intended to simplify the calculation of income tax withholding after the changes made by the law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

May 28, 2019

2020 limits on HSA contributions are issued

The IRS issued its annual notice of the inflation-adjusted limits on contributions to health savings accounts. All of the limits increased from 2019 to 2020.

May 24, 2019

Rules for certified professional employer organizations finalized

Certified professional employer organizations (CPEOs) enter into contracts with employers to be treated as the employer for employment tax purposes and are subject to IRS rules in order to qualify as CPEOs and maintain that status.

May 21, 2019

2019 inflation-adjusted vehicle depreciation limits and income inclusions issued

The IRS provided the limitations on depreciation deductions for passenger automobiles first placed in service in 2019 and the amounts of income inclusion for lessees of passenger automobiles first leased during 2019.

May 17, 2019

IRS corrects error in Schedule D tax calculation worksheet

The IRS notified tax software companies that it had discovered an error in the Schedule D, Capital Gains and Losses, Tax Worksheet used to calculate the tax on certain capital gains that had new rates as a result of the law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

May 14, 2019

IRS extends filing deadlines for CCH customers

The IRS announced that taxpayers affected by the recent Wolters Kluwer service outage who are facing May 15 filing deadlines can follow certain procedures to obtain reasonable cause waivers for failing to file on time.

May 14, 2019

FASB proposes simplifying accounting for income taxes

FASB issued a proposal that is intended to make accounting for income taxes less costly and complex.

May 10, 2019

Distribution by former S corporation is part dividend

The IRS ruled that a distribution to the sole shareholder of a C corporation was partly a recovery of the former S corporation’s accumulated adjustments account (AAA) and a taxable dividend for the remaining distribution.

May 9, 2019

IRS changes maximum-vehicle-value rule

The IRS revised its maximum-vehicle-value rule for personal use of an employer-provided vehicle for 2019 for both the cents-per-mile rule and the fleet-average-valuation rule.

May 8, 2019

Proposed rules would govern withholding on transfers of partnership interests

The IRS issued proposed regulations on the operation of new Sec. 1446(f), which requires withholding on the transfer of a partnership interest described in Sec. 864(c)(8) (gain or loss of foreign persons from the sale or exchange of certain partnership interests).

April 17, 2019

More proposed regs. on qualified opportunity funds issued

The regulations define the term “substantially all,” the definition of which was reserved in the earlier proposed regulations issued in October 2018.

April 17, 2019

Can a state tax a trust based on the beneficiary’s residency?

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that will decide whether states can tax trusts based solely on the fact that a trust beneficiary lives in the state.