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Weekly IRS Roundup February 27 – March 3, 2023

By Sarah M. Raben on Mar 6, 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 February 27, 2023 – March 3, 2023.

February 27, 2023: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2023-9, which highlights the following:

Revenue Ruling 2023-4: This revenue ruling establishes the interest rates on tax overpayments and underpayments for the second quarter of 2023. As of April 1, 2023, the rates will be as follows:
- Overpayments: 7%
- Overpayments for corporations: 6%
- Corporate overpayments for portion exceeding $10,000: 4.5%
- Underpayments: 7%
- Large corporate underpayments: 9%

Announcement 2023-6: This announcement notifies the public that the IRS intends to issue opinion letters by February 28, 2023, for pre-approved defined benefit plans that were updated for changes in plan qualification requirements and filed with the IRS during the third six-year remedial amendment cycle. This announcement also notifies the public of the date by which an adopting employer intending to maintain a pre-approved defined benefit plan for the third six-year cycle must adopt a newly approved plan and announces the beginning and ending dates of the period during which, an adopting employer may file for an individual determination letter.

February 27, 2023: The IRS released Notice 2023-21, which provides relief under Section 7508A(a) for certain persons affected by COVID-19 by disregarding the period beginning on April 15, 2020, and ending on July 15, 2020, in determining the beginning of the lookback period. Under the relief, if a taxpayer files a claim for credit or refund on or before June 22, 2023, the lookback period extends three years back from the date of the claim, disregarding the period from April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020. As a result, the limit to the amount of the credit or refund would include the taxpayer’s withheld income taxes deemed paid on April 15, 2020. Relief is automatic.

February 27, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-24, highlighting Tax Pro Account, which lets tax professionals submit an authorization request to a taxpayer’s IRS Online Account, including both power of attorney and tax information authorization requests. Taxpayers can then review, approve and sign the request electronically.

February 28, 2023: The IRS reminded farmers and fishers who did not pay all their 2022 estimated taxes by January 17 that they must file their 2022 tax return and pay the entire tax due by March 1. Disaster-area taxpayers, including farmers and fishers, have more time to file and pay.

February 28, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-25, providing guidance on what to do when a W-2 or Form 1099 is missing or incorrect.

March 1, 2023: The IRS reminded taxpayers of their reporting and potential tax obligations on income from the gig economy and service industry, transactions from digital assets and foreign sources or holding certain foreign assets. The gig [...]

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Weekly IRS Roundup February 20 – February 24, 2023

By Sarah M. Raben on Feb 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 February 20, 2023 – February 24, 2023.

February 21, 2023: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2023-8, which highlights the following:

Notice 2023-16: This notice modifies the definition of certain vehicle classifications by changing the standard by which vans, sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and other vehicles are defined for purposes of the clean vehicle credit under Section 30D.

February 21, 2023: The IRS and the US Department of the Treasury (Treasury) announced final regulations on e-file for businesses. Treasury Decision 9972 affects filers of partnership returns, corporate income tax returns, unrelated business income tax returns, withholding tax returns, certain information returns, registration statements, disclosure statements, notifications, actuarial reports and certain excise tax returns. Specifically, the final regulations:

Reduce the 250-return threshold enacted in prior regulations to generally require electronic filing by filers of 10 or more returns in a calendar year
Require filers to aggregate almost all information return types covered by the regulation to determine whether a filer meets the 10-return threshold and is required to e-file their information returns
Eliminate the e-filing exception for income tax returns of corporations that report total assets under $10 million at the end of their taxable year
Require partnerships with more than 100 partners to e-file information returns. They must also file at least 10 returns of any type during the calendar year to e-file their partnership return.

February 21, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-22, providing additional information on the Credit for Other Dependents, which is available to taxpayers who do not qualify for the Child Tax Credit. Taxpayers can claim this credit in addition to the Child and Dependent Care Credit and the Earned Income Credit.

February 22, 2023: The IRS released Notice 2023-19, which provides guidance on the corporate bond monthly yield curve and 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.

February 22, 2023: The IRS reminded taxpayers to gather the necessary information and visit IRS.gov for updated resources that will help with filing their 2022 tax return. The announcement is part of a series called the Tax Time Guide, a resource to help taxpayers file an accurate return.

February 22, 2023: The IRS released Notice 2023-18, which provides initial guidance on establishing a qualifying advanced energy project credit allocation program under Section 48C(e). 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 [...]

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Weekly IRS Roundup February 13 – February 17, 2023

By Sarah M. Raben on Feb 21, 2023
Posted In IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Tax Refunds

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of February 13, 2023 – February 17, 2023.

February 13, 2023: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2023-7, which highlights the following:

Revenue Procedure 2023-9: This procedure provides new rules and conditions for implementing the optional safe harbor method of accounting for real estate developers to determine when common improvement costs may be included in the basis of individual units of real property in a real property development project held for sale to determine the gain or loss from sales of those units (the Alternative Cost Method).

February 13, 2023: The IRS announced that interest rates will remain the same for the second quarter of 2023. As of April 1, 2023, the rates will be as follows:

Overpayments: 7%
Overpayments for corporations: 6%
Corporate overpayments for portion exceeding $10,000: 4.5%
Underpayments: 7%
Large corporate underpayments: 9%

Revenue Ruling 2023-4 contains the complete explanation of the calculations.

February 13, 2023: The IRS announced a new pilot phase for the Compliance Assurance Process (CAP) program called “Bridge Plus.” CAP is a cooperative pre-filing program for large corporate taxpayers. Taxpayers will be required to provide book-to-tax reconciliations, credit utilization and other supporting documentation shortly after their audited financial statement is finalized. An IRS team will then risk-assess the documents to determine if the taxpayer is suitable for the “Bridge Plus” phase.

February 13, 2023: The US Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the IRS announced guidance to establish a program that would provide solar and wind power to certain low-income areas under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Notice 2023-17 establishes the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program and provides initial guidance for potential applicants for allocations of calendar year 2023 capacity limitation.

February 13, 2023: The IRS and the Treasury announced guidance on the Qualifying Advanced Energy Product Credit. Notice 2023-18 establishes the Section 48C(e) program to allocate $10 billion in credits ($4 billion of which may only be allocated to projects located in certain energy communities census tracts). The notice also provides initial program 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.

February 13, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-18, reminding people that the Earned Income Tax Credit is a major tax benefit for millions of low- and moderate-income workers. Taxpayers can check their eligibility and how much they qualify for here.

February 14, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-19, providing resources and suggestions for choosing [...]

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Weekly IRS Roundup February 6 – February 10, 2023

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

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of February 6, 2023 – February 10, 2023.

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

Notice 2023-12: This notice provides updates on the corporate bond monthly yield curve and corresponding spot segment rates and the 24-month average segment rates for January 2023. The notice also provides guidance as to interest rates on 30-year Treasury securities and 30-year Treasury weighted average rates.

Notice 2023-13: This notice sets forth a proposed revenue procedure establishing the Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement (SITCA) program. SITCA is a voluntary tip reporting program between the IRS and employers in the service industry that is designed to enhance tax compliance through the use of agreements instead of traditional audit techniques.

Revenue Procedure 2023-14: This guidance provides the tables of limitations on depreciation deductions for owners of passenger automobiles placed in during calendar year 2023 and the table dollar amounts that must be used to determine income inclusions by lessees of passenger automobiles with a lease term beginning in calendar year 2023.

Revenue Ruling 2023-3: This revenue ruling provides the applicable federal rates for federal income tax purposes for February 2023. The short-term federal interest rate is 4.47%, the mid-term is 3.82% and the long-term rate is 3.86%.

February 6, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-14, highlighting the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, which include the Right to be Informed. Taxpayers have the right to know what they need to do to comply with the tax laws.

February 6, 2023: The IRS and the US Department of the Treasury (Treasury) announced a new program for service industry tip reporting. The proposed SITCA program is designed to take advantage of advancements in point-of-sale, time and attendance systems, and electronic payment settlement methods to improve tip reporting compliance. The proposed program would also decrease taxpayer and IRS administrative burdens and provide more transparency and certainty to taxpayers.

February 6, 2023: The IRS announced special Saturday hours for the next four months at Taxpayer Assistance Centers across the country. The Saturday hours will take place on February 11, March 11, April 8 and May 13 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

February 7, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-15, providing information to help business travelers properly claim travel business deductions.

February 8, 2023: The IRS released Announcement 2023-6, which notifies the public that it intends to issue opinion letters by February 28, 2023, for preapproved defined benefit plans that were updated for changes in plan qualification requirements and filed with the IRS during the third six-year remedial amendment cycle. This announcement also notifies the public of the date by which an adopting employer [...]

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Weekly IRS Roundup January 30 – February 3, 2023

By Sarah M. Raben on Feb 6, 2023
Posted In IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Tax Refunds

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of January 30, 2023 – February 3, 2023.

January 30, 2023: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2023-5, which highlights the following:

Announcement 2023-5: This announcement provides notice that there were no articles submitted for this week’s publication.

January 30, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-10, reminding employers and businesses that the due date to file 2022 Form W-2, Form W-3 and Form 1099-NEC is January 31, 2023.

January 31, 2023: The IRS offered a checklist of reminders for people as they navigate tax season and prepare to file their 2022 tax returns. The list includes gathering all tax paperwork, remembering all types of income and choosing a tax professional carefully.

January 31, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-11, urging people to bookmark IRS.gov tools to help reduce the stress of filing season. The Let Us Help You page has information and resources on a wide range of topics for both individual taxpayers and businesses.

February 1, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-12, highlighting IRS Free File for first-time filers. The program provides free tax preparation, free electronic filing and free direct deposit for eligible taxpayers.

February 2, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-13, urging taxpayers to have their tax refund direct deposited. The IRS says that direct deposit is fast, secure, easy and provides options for splitting a refund.

February 2, 2023: The IRS issued proposed regulations, which would rescind the moral objection to the coverage of contraceptive services under the Affordable Care Act. The proposed rules also would establish a new individual contraceptive arrangement that individuals enrolled in plans or coverage provided by objecting entities may use to obtain contraceptive services at no cost directly from a provider or facility that furnishes contraceptive services. Comments should be received by April 3, 2023.

February 3, 2023: The IRS announced that it has released new guidance related to new, previously owned and qualified commercial clean vehicle credits and updated related FAQs in Fact Sheet 2023-4. Notice 2023-16 modifies the definition of certain vehicle classifications for the clean vehicle credits.

February 3, 2023: The IRS released a statement regarding the taxability of state payments made in 2022. The IRS is working with state tax officials to provide additional information and hopes to provide additional clarity by next week. The IRS recommends waiting until additional guidance is available if taxpayers are uncertain about the taxability of their state payments. The IRS does not recommend calling the IRS or amending a previously filed 2022 return.

February 3, 2023: The IRS released a report entitled, IRS Progress Update for Fiscal Year 2022. The publication [...]

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