IRS Practice & Procedure

TOPICS

September 1, 2019

Truncated TINs are permitted under final regulations

As part of its effort to reduce identity theft, the IRS issued final rules permitting employers to provide truncated taxpayer identification numbers on Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, they provide to employees.

September 1, 2019

Congress approves IRS reform legislation

The bill establishes an independent appeals office and requires the IRS to develop a customer service strategy. A controversial provision codifying the Free File program was dropped from the bill.

August 15, 2019

Underpayment penalty relief now automatic for eligible filers

Some taxpayers who paid 2018 underpayment penalties will receive refund checks because the penalties will be automatically waived for those who qualify, the IRS announced.

August 13, 2019

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.

August 6, 2019

IRS changes its third-party contact procedures

The IRS issued updated procedures for third-party contacts to reflect changes enacted in the recent Taxpayer First Act, requiring the IRS to notify taxpayers at least 45 days before it contacts a third party to determine or collect a tax.

August 1, 2019

Taxpayer Bill of Rights violation does not invalidate notice of deficiency

The IRS’s failure to follow principles in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights did not deprive a taxpayer of her right to challenge deficiency determinations in the Tax Court.

August 1, 2019

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.

July 31, 2019

Taxpayers may revoke or make late bonus depreciation elections

The IRS will permit taxpayers to change their bonus depreciation treatment for property acquired after Sept. 27, 2017, and placed in service during a tax year that includes Sept. 28, 2017.

July 29, 2019

IRS alerts virtual currency owners of nonfiling consequences

The IRS has begun sending what it calls “educational letters” to taxpayers it has identified as not reporting virtual currency transactions or reporting them incorrectly.

July 2, 2019

Final rules permit truncated TINs on W-2s

July 2, 2019

Congress approves IRS reform bill, drops Free File language

The bill establishes an independent appeals office and requires the IRS to develop a customer service strategy. A controversial provision codifying the Free File program was dropped from the bill.

July 1, 2019

Sec. 1341: What is the claim-of-right doctrine?

The TCJA’s reduction of corporate tax rates and the increase for QBI deductions is likely to pique interest in the claim-of-right provision.

July 1, 2019

Regulations take precedence over common law mailbox rule

The Ninth Circuit agrees that Treasury regulations provide the exclusive exceptions to the physical-delivery rule, so the common law mailbox rule does not apply.

July 1, 2019

AICPA requests further guidance on QBI deduction

The AICPA asked Treasury and the IRS to issue additional guidance on Sec. 199A beyond the recently finalized regulations and a proposed revenue procedure in the form of a notice on a safe harbor for rental real estate.

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.

June 1, 2019

Power of attorney and extension forms do not change taxpayers’ last known address

Power of attorney and return filing extension forms
do not meet the requirements for notifying the IRS of a taxpayer’s change of address.

June 1, 2019

Final Sec. 6707A regulations on penalty for failing to disclose reportable transactions

The IRS issued final regulations under Sec. 6707A, which imposes a penalty on taxpayers who fail to disclose a reportable transaction on their tax returns.

June 1, 2019

Excise tax refunds for purchases of frequent flyer miles

Banks, hotel groups, large retailers, utilities, and car rental companies may be eligible for refunds of federal excise tax paid when purchasing frequent flyer miles from domestic airlines to use in reward and loyalty programs.

June 1, 2019

IRS proposes rules for reporting life insurance transactions

The IRS proposed regulations under Sec. 6050Y, which governs reporting obligations for reportable policy sales of life insurance contracts and payments of reportable death benefits.