The IRS issued its annual notice specifying the special per-diem rates, including the transportation industry meal and incidental expenses rates, the rate for the incidental-expenses-only deduction, and the rates and list of high-cost localities for purposes of the high-low substantiation method.
Individuals
Safe harbor allows QBI deduction for rental real estate businesses
The IRS issued a revenue procedure describing the requirements taxpayers have to meet to be a rental real estate business that qualifies for the safe harbor to be treated as a trade or business in order to qualify for the Sec. 199A qualified business income deduction.
Final regs. loosen 401(k) hardship distribution requirements
The IRS issued final regulations governing hardship distributions from Sec. 401(k) plans, eliminating the requirements that participants obtain a loan from the plan if available and that suspend participants’ ability to make contributions to the plans for six months after taking a hardship distribution.
IRS offers expatriate tax relief
The IRS announced procedures to allow certain individuals who have renounced their US citizenship to get into compliance with their U.S. tax obligations and obtain relief for back taxes.
HRAs can be integrated with individual health plans
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.
Taxpayer can deduct settlement payment to ex-husband
The Eleventh Circuit holds a taxpayer is entitled to a deduction under Sec. 1341 for a payment made
to reimburse her ex-spouse for a portion of a settlement in an excess-compensation lawsuit.
Limiting business interest expense
Under new Sec. 163(j), business interest expense deductions are limited, and a business interest expense that is disallowed in the current year is
carried forward to the succeeding tax year.
Current developments in individual taxation
This article is a semiannual review of recent developments in individual federal taxation, covering cases, rulings, and guidance on a variety of topics.
The solar energy credit: Where to draw the line?
To determine the IRS’s likely treatment, an analysis is necessary of two Code sections that address energy credits: Sec. 25D and Sec. 48.
Proposed regs. govern maximum automobile values
The IRS issued proposed rules that provide maximum automobile values for the cents-per-mile and fleet-average valuation rules used to determine the amount to include in an employee’s gross income for personal use of an employer-provided vehicle.
A cautionary tale of opportunity zone deferrals
This article provides an overview of the rules for determining the 180-day period to qualify for the full benefits of a qualified opportunity zone investment.
Alimony tax gap swells to $3.2 billion, TIGTA finds
Discrepancies between the amount of alimony deducted by payers and reported as income by its recipients increased by 38% in six years, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported.
Deducting losses after an S corporation terminates
A special relief provision allows unused losses caused by a lack of basis to be deducted by an S corporation shareholder under certain conditions for one year (or more) during the S corporation’s post-termination transition period.
IRS provides clarity in second round of opportunity zone regulations
Several tax benefits can accrue to taxpayers that make investments in certain low-income communities through qualified opportunity funds. A second round of proposed regulations addresses many outstanding questions about this new vehicle for taxpayer-friendly investing in distressed communities.
IRS issues second set of proposed regulations on opportunity zones
This item discusses the clarifications and questions that were answered with the issuance of a second set of proposed regulations on May 1, 2019.
Constructing the effective tax rate reconciliation and income tax provision disclosure
A lesson helps students develop the skills necessary to spot book-tax differences that affect corporations’ effective tax rates.
Sec. 199A dividends paid by a RIC with interest in REITs and PTPs
The proposed regulations provided much-anticipated rules for RICs with REIT income for purposes of Sec. 199A.
2020 Form W-4 has been revised
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.
IRS intends to amend maximum vehicle value regulations
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.
Guidance adds preventive care items to high-deductible health plans
The IRS added 14 types of preventive care items that qualify to be provided under a high-deductible health plan to treat chronic medical conditions.
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.
