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Trump Signs Bipartisan Year-End Government Spending, Tax Package
On December 20, President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan, year-end government spending and tax package, just hours before federal funding was set to expire. Trump's signature on the over 2,000-pag...

Individual Mandate Ruled Unconstitutional
The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) ( P.L. 111-148) individual mandate is unconstitutional because it can no longer be ...

Qualified Opportunity Zone Investment Regulations Finalized
Proposed qualified opportunity zone regulations issued on October 29, 2018 ( REG-115420-18) and May 1, 2019 ( REG-120186-18) under Code Sec. 1400Z-2 have been finalized with modifi...

Final Regulations on Property Transfers by U.S. Persons to Partnerships with Related Foreign Partners
The IRS has issued final regulations that provide guidance on transfers of appreciated property by U.S. persons to partnerships with foreign partners related to the transferor. Specifically, the regul...

New IRS Annual Report Highlights Accomplishments
The IRS has released Publication 5382, "Internal Revenue Service Progress Update / Fiscal Year 2019—Putting Taxpayers First." This new annual report describes accomplishments acro...

National Taxpayer Advocate Releases Annual Report to Congress
Bridget Roberts, the Acting National Taxpayer Advocate, released her 2019 Annual Report to Congress. The report discusses the key challenges facing the IRS regarding the implementation of the Taxpayer...

Applicability Dates Revised for Proposed Section 382(h) Built-in Gain and Loss Regulations
The IRS has modified the applicability dates for proposed regulations under Code Sec. 382 that were issued with NPRM REG-125710-18, September 10, 2019 (2019 proposed regulations). The I...

Final Regulations Address Withholding on U.S. Source Income
The Treasury and IRS have issued final regulations on the due diligence and reporting rules for persons making certain U.S. source payments to foreign persons. Guidance is also provided on reporting b...

Phase-In Period for Dividend Equivalent Payment Regulations Extended Further
Taxpayers have been provided with additional guidance for complying with the Code Sec. 871(m) regulations on dividend equivalent payments for 2021, 2022, and 2023. The Treasury Department an...

FAQ: What is the self-rental rule?
Under Code Sec. 469, passive losses can only be used to offset passive income. Taxpayers who have losses from a passive activity cannot use losses from a passive activity to offset nonpassive inc...

How do I? Prove business expenses
Everyone in business must keep records. Among other things, good records will help a business prepare the business tax returns, and will support items reported on tax returns. Taxpayers also must keep...

FAQ…do I need a receipt for every gift to charity
The IRS requires that taxpayers substantiate their donations to charity. Whatever the donation is, whether money or a household item or clothing, the substantiation rules must be followed. The rules a...

IRS provides repair regulations relief for small businesses
In Rev. Proc. 2015-20, the IRS substantially simplified the requirements for small businesses to adopt the tangible property regulations (the "repair regulations") for 2014. The relief allows small bu...

FAQs: How are qualified longevity annuity contracts reported?
The required minimum distribution (RMD) rules require participants to start taking distributions when they turn age 70½. Treasury and the IRS have developed a new concept to enable retirees to ...

Employers prepare for employer mandate and Code Sec. 6056 reporting
As January 1, 2015 draws closer, many employers are gearing up for the “employer mandate” under the Affordable Care Act. For 2015, there is special transition relief for mid-size employers...

IRS final rules encourage longevity annuity purchases
Life expectancies for many Americans have increased to such an extent that most taxpayers who retire at age 65 expect to live for another 20 years or more. Several years ago, a number of insurance com...

How do I? As an employer, report health insurance coverage?
One of the most complex, if not the most complex, provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the employer shared responsibility requirement (the so-called "employer mandate") and ...

FAQ: What is an information document request (IDR)?
When an IRS is conducting a detailed audit of a taxpayer, it may want to see documents and records retained by the taxpayer. The examiner will ask the taxpayer what type of documents are maintained, a...

Final employer mandate regulations include transition relief for mid-size employers
Mid-size employers may be eligible for recently announced transition relief from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's employer shared responsibility requirements. Final regulations issued ...

Treasury set to develop new retirement savings vehicle: myRAs
In his January 2014 State of the Union address, President Obama instructed the Treasury Department to develop a new savings vehicle called "myRA." The new savings arrangements share many similarities ...

Keeping good records for the upcoming tax-filing season and beyond
Good recordkeeping is essential for individuals and businesses before, during, and after the upcoming tax filing season....

FAQ: What are the tax rates on capital gains and dividends?
Despite the passage of the American Tax Relief Act of 2012 - which its supporters argued would bring greater certainty to tax planning - many taxpayers have questions about the tax rates on qualified ...

FAQ: To what extent are business meals deductible?
A business can deduct only ordinary and necessary expenses. Further, the amount allowable as a deduction for business meal and entertainment expenses, whether incurred in-town or out-of-town is genera...

How do I? Deduct employee compensation given as year-end bonuses
Whether or not the IRS will allow a deduction for year-end bonuses for services performed during that year depends not only on the timing of the payment, but also the events surrounding the payment. I...

Coming soon: greater tax-wise retirement options
Retired employees often start taking benefits by age 65 and, under the minimum distribution rules, must begin taking distributions from their retirement plans when they reach age 70 ½. Accordin...

How do I… Guard against taxpayer identity theft?
The number of tax return-related identity theft incidents has almost doubled in the past three years to well over half a million reported during 2011, according to a recent report by the Treasury Insp...

Sweeping new IRS "repair regulations" impact most businesses
The IRS has released much-anticipated temporary and proposed regulations on the capitalization of costs incurred for tangible property. They impact how virtually any business writes off costs that rep...

The tricky distinction between employees and independent contractors
In light of the IRS’s new Voluntary Worker Classification Settlement Program (VCSP), which it announced this fall, the distinction between independent contractors and employees has become a &ldq...

FAQ: Are Social Security survivor benefits received by children taxable income?
When an individual dies, certain family members may be eligible for Social Security benefits. In certain cases, the recipient of Social Security survivor benefits may incur a tax liability....

Common IRA contribution and distribution mistakes
Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) -- both traditional and Roth IRAs -- are among the most popular retirement savings vehicles today. Protecting the value of your IRA (and other retirement accounts...

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