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Weekly IRS Roundup March 20 – March 24, 2023

By Sarah M. Raben on Mar 27, 2023
Posted In IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Tax Refunds

Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of March 20, 2023 – March 24, 2023.

March 20, 2023: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2023-12, which highlights the following:

Notice 2023-22: This notice advises state and local housing credit agencies that allocate low-income housing tax credits under Section 42, as well as states and other issuers of tax-exempt private activity bonds under Section 141, of the population figures to use in calculating the (1) state housing credit ceiling under Section 42(h), (2) private activity bond volume cap under Section 146 and (3) private activity bond volume limit under Section 142(k).

March 20, 2023: The IRS announced tips to avoid processing delays and refund adjustments as the April 18, filing deadline approaches. The tips include gathering all tax documents, filing electronically, using the correct filing status, double-checking names and social security numbers, answering the digital assets question and reporting all taxable income.

March 20, 2023: The IRS announced a new entry into the annual Dirty Dozen list of tax scams: promoter claims involving the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). Some third parties continue to widely advertise services that target taxpayers who may not be eligible for the ERC. The advertisements, along with the increased prevalence of websites touting how easy it is to qualify for the ERC, suggest that the abusive claims may be legitimate. The annual list of schemes is aimed at raising awareness of aggressive promoters and con artists. These schemes put people at financial risk and increase the chances of identity theft.

March 20, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-35, providing options for taxpayers who cannot pay their tax bill by April 18. The IRS also reminded taxpayers to still file their tax returns even if they cannot pay to avoid a failure-to-file penalty.

March 21, 2023: The IRS announced that it is requesting feedback regarding the tax treatment of a non-fungible token (NFT) as a collectible under the tax law in Notice 2023-27. An NFT is a unique digital identifier that is recorded using distributed ledger technology and may be used to certify the authenticity and ownership of an associated right or asset. The guidance also requests comments on the treatment of NFTs as collectibles and describes how the IRS intends to determine whether an NFT is a collectible until further guidance is issued.

March 21, 2023: The IRS issued proposed regulations that provide guidance on the implementation of the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit, established by the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors Act of 2022 (CHIPS Act). The credit incentivizes the manufacture of semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment within the United States.

March 21, 2023: The IRS cautioned taxpayers to watch out for scammers using email and text messages to [...]

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Weekly IRS Roundup March 13 – March 17, 2023

By Sarah M. Raben on Mar 20, 2023
Posted In IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Tax Refunds

Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of March 13, 2023 – March 17, 2023.

March 13, 2023: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2023-11, which highlights the following:

Notice 2023-21: This notice postpones the beginning of the lookback periods under Section 6511 for certain taxpayers to file a claim for refund. Affected taxpayers include those who had tax returns due from April 15, 2020 to July 15, 2020, or from April 15, 2021 to May 17, 2021, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those due dates were postponed by Notice 2020-23 or Notice 2021-21 to July 15, 2020 or May 17, 2021, respectively.

Treasury Decision 9972: These final regulations amend the rules for filing certain returns and statements electronically to reflect changes made by the Taxpayer First Act of 2019 and to promote electronic filing.

Notice 2023-19: This notice provides guidance on the corporate bond monthly yield curve, corresponding spot segment rates and the 24-month average segment rates for February 2023. The notice also provides guidance as to interest rates on 30-year Treasury securities and 30-year Treasury weighted average rates.

REG 122286-18: These proposed regulations provide rules relating to the use of forfeitures in qualified retirement plans, including a deadline for the use of forfeitures in defined contribution plans, and clarify that forfeitures arising in any defined contribution plan may be used for one or more of the following purposes, as specified in the plan, to (1) pay plan administrative expenses, (2) reduce employer contributions under the plan or (3) increase benefits in other participants’ accounts in accordance with plan terms.

Action on Decision 2023-2: The IRS announced nonacquiescence to the US Tax Court’s decision in Complex Media, Inc. v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2021-14, that the parties’ failure to report transactions fully or consistently should not be a major factor in a decision of whether to allow a taxpayer to disavow the form of its transactions and to the standard the Court applied to allow a petitioner to disavow its form. The IRS also announced nonacquiescence to the court’s determination that the fair market value of a “Deferred Payment Right” for purposes of Section 351(b)(1) is not equal to its issue price.

Treasury Decision 9973: This document contains final regulations that treat members of a consolidated group as a single US shareholder in certain cases for purposes of Section 951(a)(2)(B). The final regulations affect consolidated groups that own stock of foreign corporations.

March 13, 2023: The IRS announced that Danny Werfel began work as the 50th Commissioner of the IRS. Werfel was confirmed by the US Senate on March 9, 2023, and his term will run through November 12, 2027. You can read more about his confirmation
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Senate Confirms New IRS Commissioner

By Kevin Spencer and Sarah M. Raben on Mar 13, 2023
Posted In Uncategorized

The US Senate has confirmed Daniel Werfel as the next commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The Senate voted 54-42, achieving bipartisan support for the nominee.

Undoubtedly on top of Werfel’s priority list will be how to deploy the agency’s $80 billion in new funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. During his confirmation hearing, Werfel said he did not plan to boost audit rates for taxpayers making less than $400,000 a year but would focus on compliance for the highest income earners. He also mentioned modernizing taxpayer service at the IRS.

Werfel is not new to the commissioner post as he previously served as acting commissioner from May to December 2013 during the Obama administration. He also previously served in the Office of Management and Budget. Werfel’s new appointment will run until November 2027.

Practice Point: We are interested to see how the IRS will be administered under Werfel. The IRS has numerous challenges ahead, but we are hopeful that Werfel, along with the additional funding allotted by US Congress, will usher in a new era for the agency.

Weekly IRS Roundup March 6 – March 10, 2023

By Sarah M. Raben on Mar 13, 2023
Posted In IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Tax Refunds

Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of March 6, 2023 – March 10, 2023.

March 6, 2023: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2023-10, which highlights the following:

Action on Decision 2023-1: The IRS announced that although it disagrees with the holding that Section 4611(b)(1)(A) imposes a tax on exports in violation of the Export Clause of the US Constitution (US Const. art. I, § 9, cl. 5), in the interest of sound tax administration, it will follow the decision in all circuits.

Notice 2023-17: This notice establishes a program to allocate amounts of environmental justice solar and wind capacity limitation (Capacity Limitation) to qualified facilities eligible for the energy investment credit as determined under Section 48. This notice also provides initial program guidance for potential applicants for allocations of calendar year 2023 Capacity Limitation.

Notice 2023-18: This notice establishes the Section 48C(e)(1) program to allocate $10 billion in credits ($4 billion of which may only be allocated to projects located in certain energy communities census tracts) and provides initial guidance. The goal of the program is to expand US manufacturing capacity and quality jobs for clean energy technologies (including production and recycling), reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the US industrial sector and secure domestic supply chains for critical materials (including specified critical minerals) that serve as inputs for clean energy technology production.

Notice 2023-20: This notice provides interim guidance for the determination of adjusted financial statement income as it relates to (1) variable contracts and similar contracts, (2) funds withheld from reinsurance and modified coinsurance agreements and (3) the basis of certain assets held by certain previously tax-exempt entities that received a “fresh start” basis adjustment.

Revenue Ruling 2023-5: This revenue ruling provides the applicable federal rates for federal income tax purposes for March 2023. The short-term federal interest rate is 4.5%, the mid-term rate is 3.7% and the long-term rate is 3.74%.

March 6, 2023: The IRS announced that it will be open for special Saturday hours throughout tax season, during which taxpayers can receive face-to-face help from IRS employees without an appointment. The next Saturday openings will be April 8 and May 13.

March 6, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-28, which offers easy and convenient options for making federal tax payments.

March 7, 2023: The IRS released Notice 2023-23, which provides guidance to financial institutions on reporting required minimum distributions (RMDs) for 2023 after the amendment to Section 401(a)(9) made by the Consolidated Appropriations Act. If an individual retirement account (IRA) owner has an RMD due for 2023, the financial institution that is the trustee, custodian or issuer maintaining the IRA must file a 2022 Form 5498 (IRA Contribution Information) by May 31, 2023, and indicate [...]

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McDermott Named #1 Firm for Tax Thought Leadership

By McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 6, 2023
Posted In Uncategorized

We greatly appreciate our readers over the past year and are pleased to share that we were recently recognized as the #1 firm for tax thought leadership in the 2023 JD Supra Readers’ Choice Awards, which acknowledge top authors and firms for their thought leadership in key topics during all of last year. Partner and blog editor Andrew Roberson was also recognized as a “Top Author” for tax.

Through our various blogs, thought leadership pieces and tax-focused events, we are dedicated to maintaining our position as a leading firm for tax work and keeping clients abreast of significant and relevant topics in the industry.