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Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of February 4 – 8, 2019.

February 4, 2019: The IRS released final instructions for Form 1065, US Return of Partnership Income, incorporating changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

February 5, 2019: The IRS issued a news release postponing certain tax deadlines for taxpayers affected by the earthquake that occurred in Alaska on November 30, 2018.

February 6, 2019: The IRS released final instructions for Form 1041, US Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts, and supporting schedules, incorporating changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

February 6, 2019: The IRS released final instructions for Form 8991, dealing with the base erosion and anti-abuse tax (BEAT) of section 59A of the Code, enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

February 7, 2019: The IRS issued a news release providing guidance on identifying and avoiding unethical tax return preparers.

February 8, 2019: The IRS released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandums and Chief Counsel Advice).

Special thanks to Le Chen in our DC office for this week’s roundup.

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of January 21 – 25, 2019. Tax news is very limited because of the government shutdown:

January 22, 2019: The IRS issued a news release cancelling a public hearing on proposed regulations relating to user fees for enrolled agents and enrolled retirement plan agents, due to the partial federal government shutdown.

January 22, 2019: The IRS issued final instructions for Form 461, dealing with limitations on business losses under section 461(l) of the Code, enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

January 22, 2019: The IRS issued final instructions for Form 965-A, dealing with individual taxpayers’ transition tax obligations under section 965 of the Code, enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

January 22, 2019: The IRS issued final instructions for Form 965-B, dealing with corporations’ and REITs’ transition tax obligations under section 965 of the Code, enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

January 23, 2019: The IRS issued final instructions for the 2018 version of Form 1065 Schedule D, dealing with reporting of capital gains and losses on partnership returns, to reflect changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

January 25, 2019: The IRS issued a news release reminding taxpayers to seek information regarding their eligibility for the earned income tax credit.

Special thanks to Le Chen in our DC office for this week’s roundup.

We greatly appreciate our readers over the past year and are pleased to share that we were recently recognized by Law360 as the Tax Group of the Year.

In 2018, McDermott’s tax practice made headlines with its various high-profile state and local, US federal and international matters. Through our 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.

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of December 10 –14, 2018:

December 10, 2018: The IRS issued Notice 2018-99, providing interim guidance on sections 274 and 512 of the Code, as amended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, dealing with nondeductibile expenses for employer-provided parking.

December 10, 2018: The IRS issued Notice 2018-100, providing relief to tax-exempt organizations from penalties for underpayments related to nondeductible expenses for employer-provided parking under section 512 of the Code, as amended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

December 12, 2018: The IRS posted a set of FAQs to its website, answering questions regarding return filing and payment obligations under the transition tax of section 965 of the Code.

December 13, 2018: The IRS issued proposed regulations revising withholding requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

December 13, 2018: The IRS issued proposed regulations providing guidance on the Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT) of section 59A of the Code, enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

December 13, 2018: The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2019-10, providing procedures for an insurance company to obtain automatic consent to change its accounting method to comply with section 807(f) of the Code, as amended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

December 14, 2018: The IRS issued Notice 2018-96, providing a phase-out schedule for the qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle credit on vehicles sold by Tesla, Inc.

December 14, 2018: The IRS issued Notice 2019-01, providing initial guidance on issues, arising from the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, related to previously taxed earnings and profits under section 959 of the Code.

December 14, 2018: The IRS issued Notice 2019-02, providing the 2019 optional standard mileage rates for use in computing deductible expenses in operating an automobile, plus related information.

December 14, 2018: The IRS issued Notice 2019-03, providing the monthly update to interest rates used for pension plan funding and distribution purposes.

December 14, 2018: The IRS released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandums and Chief Counsel Advice).

Special thanks to Le Chen in our DC office for this week’s roundup.

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of November 26 – 30, 2018:

November 26, 2018: The IRS issued the proposed regulations under Code Section 163(j) regarding the limitations on business interest expense deductions after the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

November 26, 2018: The IRS released basic questions and answers regarding the limitations on business interest deductions under Code Section 163(j).

November 27, 2018: The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2018-59, which provides a safe harbor that allows taxpayers to treat certain infrastructure trades or businesses as real property trades or businesses solely for purposes of qualifying as an electing real property trade or business under Code Section 163(j)(7)(B).

November 28, 2018: The IRS issued the proposed regulations under Code Section 904, providing guidance on the new foreign tax credits rules as amended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

November 29, 2018: The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2018-60, which provides the procedures to obtain the automatic consent of the Commissioner under Code Section 446 and Treasury Regulation Section 1.446-1(e) to change a method of accounting to comply with Code Section 451(b), as amended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

November 30, 2018: The IRS released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandum and Chief Counsel Advice).

Special thanks to Alex Cheng-Yi Lee in our DC office for this week’s roundup.

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of October 29 – November 2, 2018:

October 30, 2018: The IRS issued a notice of public hearing on November 28, 2018, regarding the proposed regulations the first-year additional depreciation deductions under section 168(k).

October 30, 2018: The IRS Large Business and International Division in an announcement identified five compliance campaigns it approved, which are Individual Foreign Tax Credit Phase II, Offshore Service Providers, FATCA Filing Accuracy, 1120-F Delinquent Returns Campaign and Work Opportunity Tax Credit. We recently blogged about this here.

October 31, 2018: The IRS and the Treasury submitted proposed regulations that would reduce the amount determined under Internal Revenue Code Section 956 with respect to certain domestic corporations.

November 2, 2018: The IRS released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandum and Chief Counsel Advice).

Special thanks to Alex Cheng-Yi Lee in our DC office for this week’s roundup.

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of October 8 – 12, 2018:

October 8, 2018: IRS issued a special update in Questions and Answers about Reporting Related to Section 965 on 2017 Tax Returns, providing that transfer agreements under Prop. Reg. § 1.965-7 filed in accordance with the future guidance after the deadline, October 9, 2018, will nevertheless be considered timely filed.

October 9, 2018: IRS advised small business owners and self-employed individuals to use the resources it has provided, including a fact sheet highlighting the changes by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act affecting them, to understand their tax responsibilities.

October 12, 2018: IRS released proposed regulations scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on October 17, 2018, which clarify how taxpayers may waive penalties for low-dollar mistakes as a result of incorrect information returns or inaccurate payee statements.

October 12, 2018: IRS filed proposed regulations removing Treas. Reg. § 1.451-5, which currently allow taxpayers to defer the inclusion of income from advance payments for goods and long-term contracts. Comments and public hearing requests are due by January 14, 2019.

October 12, 2018: The IRS released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandum and Chief Counsel Advice).

Special thanks to Alex Cheng-Yi Lee in our DC office for this week’s roundup.

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of September 10 – 14, 2018:

September 10, 2018: The IRS announced the following five new Large Business & International compliance campaigns: (1) Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 199 Claims Risk Review; (2) Syndicated Conservation Easement Transactions; (3) Foreign Base Company Sales Income: Manufacturing Branch Rules; (4) Form 1120F Interest Expense/Home Office Expense; and (5) Individuals Employed by Foreign Governments and International Organizations. We discuss these new campaigns in more detail here and have reported about previous LB&I campaigns in the below blog posts.

September 13, 2018: Treasury and the IRS released proposed regulations under Code Section 951A, the new tax on global intangible low-taxed income earned by controlled foreign corporations. The proposed regulations include a number of anti-abuse provisions.

September 13, 2018: The IRS published Revenue Procedure 2018-48, which provides guidance regarding how certain amounts included in income under Code Sections 951(a)(1) and 986(c) are treated for purposes of determining whether a REIT satisfies the Code Section 856(c)(2) gross income test.

September 14, 2018: The IRS issued Notice 2018-73, which provides updated interests rates and guidance regarding the corporate bond monthly yield curve.

September 14, 2018: The IRS released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandum and Chief Counsel Advice).

Special thanks to Kevin Hall in our DC office for this week’s roundup.

Presented below is our summary of significant IRS guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of August 20 – 24, 2018:

August 21, 2018: The IRS and Treasury released Notice 2018-67, which provides guidance regarding separately calculating the unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) of each trade or business conducted by a tax-exempt entity. Section 512(a)(6), enacted as part of tax reform, requires this separate calculation by tax-exempt organizations with more than one unrelated trade or business.

August 21, 2018: The IRS and Treasury released Notice 2018-68, which provides guidance regarding new section 162(m). Section 162(m), enacted as part of tax reform, limits the deduction for compensation paid by a publicly traded corporation to a covered employee. The notice provides guidance regarding the “grandfather” exception for certain compensation arrangements in effect on November 2, 2017. See our commentary for more information.

August 22, 2018: The IRS released Revenue Procedure 2018-44, which provides guidance regarding accounting method changing resulting from the revocation or termination of an entity’s S corporation status. Revenue Procedure 2018-44 adds such accounting method changes to the list of “automatic changes” listed in Revenue Procedure 2018-31.

August 22, 2018: The IRS published a draft Form 8992 for computing global low-taxed intangible income and a draft Form 8993 for computing foreign derived intangible income.

August 23, 2018: The IRS published proposed regulations providing guidance regarding the availability of a charitable deduction when the taxpayer also receives (or expects to receive) a state or local tax credit for the contribution.

August 24, 2018: The IRS made it clear that US citizens and residents that are contractors or employees of contractors supporting US Armed Forces are eligible for the section 911 foreign earned income exclusion.

August 24, 2018: The IRS released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandum and Chief Counsel Advice).

Special thanks to Kevin Hall in our DC office for this week’s roundup.

Presented below is our summary of significant IRS guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of August 13 – 17, 2018:

August 13, 2018: The IRS and Treasury withdrew and re-proposed certain portions of proposed regulations regarding the new partnership audit regime. These proposed regulations make changes to four different regulation packages under the new rules.

August 15, 2018: Revenue Procedure 2018-42 extends the deadline for submitting on-cycle applications for opinion letters or pre-approved defined contribution plans.

August 17, 2018: The IRS published Revenue Ruling 2018-23, announcing the applicable federal rates for September 2018.

August 17, 2018: The IRS released their weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandum and Chief Counsel Advice).

Special thanks to Kevin Hall in our DC office for this week’s roundup.