Beginning in January 2015, the IRS will impose a limit of three electronic direct deposits of tax refunds into a single financial account or prepaid debit card.
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IRS Practice & Procedure
When Do Sec. 6402 Offsets Trigger the Refund Limitation Period?
It is critical to determine the date on which a liability satisfied by credit of an overpayment is considered to have been paid.
9100 Relief: It May Not Be Too Late After All
Treasury regulations offer a form of relief allowing a late election, commonly known as “section 9100 relief.” Two types of relief are offered by Regs. Secs. 301.9100-1 through -3-automatic relief and nonautomatic relief.
Notice CP 89: This Is Not a Bill
The IRS CP 89, Annual Installment Agreement Statement, is not a “bill.” If the taxpayer has entered into an installment agreement to make monthly payments for past due tax liabilities or has paid off the liability in the last 12 months, he or she will receive this notice.
Unused ITINs Will Expire After Five Years Under New IRS Policy
The IRS announced a new: ITINs that are not being used will expire after five years. The policy will go into effect in 2016.
IRS Cannot Enforce Summons
The Tenth Circuit found that the 23-day notice requirement was an administrative step that the IRS had failed to meet, and therefore the court could not enforce summonses against the taxpayer.
Tax Simplification: Key to Fighting Tax Return Identity Theft
Identity theft and tax simplification are high priorities for members of Congress, the IRS, and all taxpayers. Though most people think the issues are unrelated, one potential way to decrease identity theft and preparer fraud is tax simplification.
LLCs Waived Attorney-Client Privilege for Opinion Letters
The Tax Court held that in a son-of-boss tax shelter case, two LLCs waived attorney-client privilege for opinion letters from their attorneys by asserting defenses that turned on the LLCs’ beliefs or state of mind.
Complete Rules for the IRS’s Voluntary Return Preparer Certification Program Are Released
The IRS published guidance introducing its new, voluntary Annual Filing Season Program, which permits tax preparers who are not CPAs, attorneys, or enrolled agents to complete tax education requirements and receive a certificate
IRS Reveals Details of Voluntary Preparer Certification Program
The IRS announced that it will soon introduce a voluntary program for tax return preparers called the Annual Filing Season Program.
Final Rules Involve Disregarded Entities, Indoor Tanning Tax, and FICA and FUTA Exemptions
The IRS finalized rules on the disparate topics of disregarded entities that collect the excise tax on indoor tanning and how certain exceptions from FICA and FUTA taxes work when a disregarded entity is involved.
AICPA Reiterates Its Strong Concerns About IRS Voluntary Certification Program
The AICPA sent a letter to the IRS, expressing its strong concerns that a proposed IRS voluntary certification program for unenrolled tax return preparers “would cause significant legal problems that may ultimately frustrate the IRS’s goals, confuse the public, and lead to litigation.”
Supreme Court Issues Decision on IRS Summons Enforcement
A Supreme Court decision allows individuals to question IRS employees regarding their reasons for issuing a summons if the individual can point to specific facts that plausibly raise an inference of bad faith on the part of the IRS employee.
IRS Adopts “Taxpayer Bill of Rights”
The IRS released a “Taxpayer Bill of Rights” intended to better communicate to taxpayers their existing statutory and administrative protections.
New Rules for Providing Written Tax Advice Are Finalized
The IRS issued final regulations under Circular 230 on the rules for practitioners to provide written tax advice and certain other related provisions.
IRS Advisory Panel Urges Changes to Risk Assessment Protocols
The IRS’s Large Business & International Division is focusing on new ways to identify large businesses for examination. This item summarizes recent IRS Advisory Council recommendations on the factors the IRS should consider when risk assessing large business taxpayers.
Circular 230 Case Processing and the Application of Monetary Penalties
One of the biggest issues practitioners have with the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility is a lack of information on what constitutes a violation of Treasury Circular 230 and how OPR applies sanctions for such violations.
E-File and Digital Signatures: Where Are We Now?
The e-file process can now be completely digital and paperless. This article reviews the new IRS guidance on electronic signatures and suggests process and technology changes to implement.
Bitcoins Are Property, Not Currency, IRS Says
The IRS issued its first guidance on the tax treatment of bicoins.
Regs. Clarify Employment Tax Responsibilities of Designated Payer Agents
Final regulations issued by the IRS contain rules on the liability for employment taxes when an employer designates an agent under a “service agreement” to pay its employees and to satisfy its employment tax obligations instead of following normal IRS procedures to designate an agent.
employee benefits & pensions
Profits interests: The most tax-efficient equity grant to employees
By granting them a profits interest, entities taxed as partnerships can reward employees with equity. Mistakes, however, could cause challenges from taxing authorities.
