IRS Practice & Procedure

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August 1, 2018

Basis issues in cryptocurrency

For investors, cryptocurrency will be regarded as a capital asset, so a key component of correctly determining the tax treatment of a cryptocurrency investment will be establishing its basis.

August 1, 2018

AICPA recommends simplified adjustment procedure in centralized partnership audits

The IRS should provide a simplified adjustment procedure for partnership audits, the AICPA recommended in a letter to the IRS Chief Counsel’s Office.

August 1, 2018

Failure to update penalty regulation costs IRS

The failure to update the regulations to reflect a statutory increase in the FBAR penalty amount prevents the IRS from assessing the full statutory amount of the penalty.

August 1, 2018

IRS updates charitable contribution procedures

The IRS issued new procedures for contributions to charitable organizations, including rules for when donors can rely on the information about an organization’s tax-exempt status on the IRS database Tax Exempt Organization Search.

August 1, 2018

New guidance needed on virtual currency taxation

The comments were prompted by new questions that have emerged about how the tax rules apply to virtual currency transactions since the AICPA first submitted comments.

July 25, 2018

Stock-based compensation cost-sharing regs. valid

The Ninth Circuit reversed a Tax Court decision invalidating a cost-sharing regulation that requires allocation of stock-based compensation costs between related parties.

July 12, 2018

AICPA: 2019 Form W-4 needs to be simplified

The AICPA’s Tax Executive Committee sent a letter to the IRS, urging the Service to simplify the proposed draft 2019 Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate.

July 10, 2018

Tax practitioners are warned to safeguard client data

The IRS warned that it is increasingly difficult for it to recognize fraudulent tax returns as cybercriminals succeed in getting more and more accurate information.

July 1, 2018

IRS warns small businesses about tax return identity theft

The IRS urged small businesses to be wary of a growing amount of identity theft attempts aimed at employers and small businesses in general, and partnerships and trusts and estates.

July 1, 2018

IRS issues final regs. on electing out of centralized partnership audit regime

The regulations’ definition of an ‘eligible partner’ is key to determining whether a partnership can elect
out of the centralized partnership audit regime.

July 1, 2018

Special limitation period does not apply in foreign tax imbroglio

Taxpayers failed to convince a court that their tax overpayment was attributable to foreign taxes for
which a credit was allowed.

July 1, 2018

A review of adequate disclosure rules

Practitioners can protect themselves from significant
penalties by following the IRS’s ‘adequate disclosure’
procedures.

July 1, 2018

Tax-day computer crash prompts IRS to extend deadlines

After the IRS’s Modernized e-File and Direct Pay systems were not in operation for most of the tax-deadline day, the IRS extended the filing and payment deadline for 2017 individual tax returns.

July 1, 2018

Agreement between Treasury and OMB subjects tax rules to review

The Treasury Department and the White House’s Office of Management and Budget have agreed to change the procedures under which Treasury regulations are reviewed.

July 1, 2018

Managing client expectations for IRS refunds

This column discusses reasons for delayed refunds and actions practitioners can take when a client is experiencing a delay.

July 1, 2018

Sec. 6676 erroneous claim for refund penalty

The Sec. 6676 penalty is equal to 20% of the amount by which the claim for refund or credit exceeds the amount allowable for the tax year at issue.

July 1, 2018

First-time abatement: Procedure and case law updates

An automated process for first-time abatements could ensure consistent application of relief for taxpayers.

June 27, 2018

Form 1040 to be shorter but with more schedules

The IRS is working on a draft version of the 2018 Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, that reduces the size of the form to two half-pages in length and eliminates more than 50 lines.

June 15, 2018

AICPA advocates for IRS tax guidance priorities

The AICPA sent a letter to the IRS with recommendations for items of tax guidance that should be priorities for the Service to issue from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019.

June 8, 2018

Draft 2019 Form W-4 and instructions posted

The IRS released a draft Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, and its instructions, for individual taxpayers to use to determine their income tax withholding for 2019.