The 2015 tax filing season “will be one of the most complicated filing seasons we’ve ever had,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in a keynote address Tuesday to hundreds of attendees at the AICPA National Tax Conference in Washington.
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Proposed Rules Would Change Partners’ Treatment of Unrealized Receivables and Inventory Items
The IRS issued proposed regulations under Sec. 751 that would amend the rules governing how a partner measures its interest in a partnership’s unrealized receivables and inventory items and the tax consequences of a distribution to a partner reducing that interest.
2015 Inflation-Adjusted Items and Tax Tables Issued
The IRS issued the annual inflation adjustments for 2015 for more than 40 tax provisions as well as the 2015 tax rate tables for individuals and estates and trusts.
Defined Contribution Plans Can Offer Deferred Annuities to Older Participants
Qualified defined contribution plans will be allowed to provide lifetime income to plan participants by offering funds including deferred annuities among their assets, even if some of the funds are available only to older plan participants.
Pension Plan Limitations Are Increased for Inflation
Taxpayers will be allowed to contribute more money to their retirement savings in 2015 under new pension plan limits announced by the IRS.
Social Security Administration Announces 2015 Wage Base
The Social Security Administration announced that the wage base above which OASDI taxes are not due will increase from $117,000 to $118,500 in 2015.
Proposed Regs. Would Eliminate 36-Month Testing Period from COD Reporting Requirements
Because the IRS believes that requiring the filing of Form 1099-C at the expiration of a 36-month nonpayment of debt testing period “creates confusion for taxpayers” and does not increase tax compliance, the Service proposes to eliminate the rule.
Changes Made to IRS Streamlined Offshore Compliance Procedures
The IRS updated its streamlined offshore compliance program to provide procedures taxpayers residing both inside and outside the United States should use to participate in the program.
Certain FATCA Deadlines Are Postponed
The IRS announced its intention to modify the effective dates of the FATCA standards of knowledge that apply to a withholding certificate or documentary evidence to document a payee and other rules.
AICPA Asks for Raise in Repair Regulations’ De Minimis Safe Harbor Threshold
The AICPA raised concerns about the low amount of the de minimis safe harbor threshold in the tangible property regulations and about the retrospective application of the new rules.
Notice Defines Terms for Economic Substance Doctrine
The IRS provided guidance defining "transaction" for purposes of applying the codified economic substance doctrine and "similar rule of law" for purposes of the accuracy-related penalty.
Final Regs. Allow Deduction for Local Lodging Expenses
Regulations finalize rules the IRS put into effect in 2012 allowing employees to deduct certain expenses paid or incurred for local lodging as business expenses.
Vision, Dental, and Long-Term-Care Benefits Qualify as Limited Excepted Benefits Under New IRS Rules
Dental, vision, and long-term-care benefits will qualify as excepted benefits under final regulations issued by the IRS.
IRS Signals PPACA Compliance Issues for 2015
This month, the IRS made several updates to the Internal Revenue Manual that provide insight on the notices and enforcement methods the Service will use next tax season to ensure taxpayers comply with the health care law.
AICPA Identifies Problems with IRS’s Electronic Signature Rules
The AICPA raised concerns about the IRS’s recently issued guidance on electronic signatures, especially the standards that apply when a taxpayer does not appear in person before the tax return preparer to present a valid form of identification.
Doctors Lack Standing to Challenge Delay of Employer Mandate
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a suit objecting to the IRS’s decision to delay imposing the Sec. 4980H employer mandate penalty until 2015.
Details of Proposed Anti-Inversion Rules Are Revealed
The IRS followed up on the Treasury Department’s announcement that it is cracking down on corporate tax inversions by providing more detail on how the crackdown will work.
Treasury Moves to Curb Tax Inversions
The Treasury Department announced that it will take steps to curb corporate tax inversions, a growing tax minimization strategy that has been the subject of many headlines recently.
Dispositions of Property Get Automatic Accounting Method Change Procedures
The IRS issued procedures for taxpayers to obtain automatic consent to accounting method changes involving dispositions of tangible depreciable property.
Changes Proposed to Allocation Rules for Rollovers
The IRS provided rules on how to allocate pre- and after-tax amounts distributed from IRAs, including Roth IRAs, to multiple destinations.
TAX PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
2025 tax software survey
AICPA members in tax practice assess how their return preparation software performed during tax season and offer insights into their procedures.
