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McDermott Will & Schulte’s real-time tax disputes insights
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IRC 45Q Credit Under IRS Scrutiny: Government Finds Majority of Carbon Oxide Credits Improperly Claimed

by and | May 6, 2020 | ,

In response to a series of questions posed in a November 2019 letter from Senator Menendez (D-NJ), the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) issued a letter on April 15, 2020, analyzing carbon oxide credits under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 45Q. For tax years between 2010 and 2019, TIGTA found that up to 87% of the value of the credits claimed were not in compliance with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitoring, reporting, and verification requirements.

IRC section 45Q provides a credit to taxpayers that capture and sequester carbon oxide. The credit was initially enacted into law in 2008, then substantially revised in 2018. As part of the revisions, the credit was expanded from solely carbon dioxide capture to include a broader set of carbon oxide emissions. This substantially expanded the class of taxpayers eligible to claim the credit. Although Treasury released some guidance in February 2020, there are still many unresolved questions about the expanded carbon oxide credit, and many taxpayers are waiting to move forward with additional projects pending release of that guidance.

The TIGTA analysis covers tax years 2010–2019, so it will primarily include carbon dioxide projects. The letter reports that only 10 out of the 672 taxpayers who claimed the IRC section 45Q credit received over $1 million in credits, and these 10 taxpayers represent 99.86% of the total value of all IRC section 45Q credits, around $1.02 billion. An examination of return data found that 87% of the credits claimed by these 10 taxpayers may have been improper because there was not an approved EPA monitoring, reporting, and verification plan in place when the credits were claimed. TIGTA reported that the IRS had already taken action against 4 of these 10 taxpayers—disallowing approximately 60% of the improperly claimed credits. Additional enforcement activity may target taxpayers who claimed large amounts of carbon sequestration credits.

Practice Point: Taxpayers considering investing in carbon oxide sequestration projects should perform extensive diligence on the project and make sure that they technically meet the requirements. We expect that carbon sequestration projects may come under increased scrutiny and result in more audits going forward. Spending the time and resources to ensure that your project conforms to the rules will save you money if the IRS denies your credits. Additionally, make sure to contemporaneously document your efforts to follow the rules; this may assist in penalty abatement if asserted.



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Fifth Circuit Rules that Law Firm Clients’ Identities Are Not Privileged

by and | Apr 28, 2020 | , , ,

In Taylor Lohmeyer Law Firm P.L.L.C. v. United States, No. 19-50506, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a Texas-based estate and tax-planning law firm (Firm) could not invoke the attorney-client privilege against an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) summons seeking the identity of its clients.

According to an IRS revenue agent’s declaration submitted in support of the summons, the Firm became a target for IRS investigation following an audit of one of its clients, an individual who had used the Firm’s services to establish and operate various foreign accounts and entities, through which the individual had funneled millions of dollars of unreported income. The IRS issued a John Doe summons to the Firm seeking, amongst other things, the identities of other clients for whom it had established foreign accounts or entities.

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IRS Guidance Signals More Stringent Scrutiny on Transfer Pricing Documentation

by and | Apr 17, 2020 | , , ,

On April 14, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued informal guidance in the form of frequently asked questions (the “FAQs”), urging taxpayers to strengthen their transfer pricing documentation required under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 6662(e) and Treasury Regulations § 1.6662-6. IRC section 6662 provides several types of accuracy-related penalties on underpayments of taxes. Pursuant to IRC section 6662(e)(1)(B)(ii), a net adjustment penalty could apply to an intercompany transaction when the net IRC section 482 transfer pricing adjustment exceeds the applicable threshold amount. Taxpayers, however, may avoid a net adjustment penalty by maintaining transfer pricing documentation in accordance with IRC section 6662(e)(3)(B) and Treasury Regulation § 1.6662-6. The IRS indicates that without robust documentation, intercompany transactions may be subject to extensive examination process.

The FAQs provide guidelines for preparing high-quality documentation that could increase the chance of early deselection of transfer pricing issues, thereby substantially facilitating the examination process. First, industry and company analysis sections of the report should be clear and provide context for related party transactions. For example, the report should explain economic downturns or other unforeseen special business circumstances that affect the transfer pricing results. The analysis should also address any differences in risks or functions between the tested party and the comparable companies. Second, functional analysis narratives should be robust and link facts to analysis, and risk analysis should be consistent with intercompany agreements. Finally, detailed analysis should be provided to support (i) the best method selection (as well as the rejection of specified methods, if applicable); (ii) the profit-level-indicator conclusion; (iii) the satisfaction of the comparability criteria enumerated in the regulations and (iv) proposed adjustments to the application of a specified method, if selected. Taxpayers are encouraged to conduct a “self-assessment” of the potential indicators of transfer pricing non-compliance to strengthen their transfer pricing documentation reports.

The FAQs also identify some of the most helpful features in a transfer pricing report.  These features include (i) a full explanation of the data used in the transfer pricing analysis; (ii) descriptions of the general business risks of the transaction and detailed descriptions of how these risks are allocated among the controlled participants to the transaction based on the intercompany policies/agreements and (iii) detailed explanations of how profits are allocated among all parties, especially where a party is allocated profits that are disproportionate to its relative contributions. High-quality transfer pricing documentation may also include useful features such as reports of a functional and risk analysis for each transaction, an analysis of special business circumstances that may have affected profitability, descriptions of challenges of the analysis and any user-friendly features such as a summary of information.

These guidelines are consistent with  recent IRS efforts to encourage taxpayers to improve the quality of transfer pricing documentation, and suggest that the IRS may apply a higher standard in future examination when reviewing the documentation.

Practice Point: The IRS is signaling that there are some persistent deficiencies in taxpayers’ contemporaneous transfer pricing documentation. It may be a good idea to [...]

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More Guidance on CARES Act Refund Claims

by and | Apr 14, 2020 | , ,

On April 8, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a statement telling taxpayers that guidance would be forthcoming on refund claims related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or the CARES Act. Consistent with that promise, on April 13, 2020, the IRS issued guidance describing temporary procedures permitting the submission via fax of Form 1139, Corporation Application for Tentative Refund, and Form 1045, Application for Tentative Refund. For our prior discussion of CARES Act refund guidance issued by the IRS, see here.

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CARES Act Refund Claim Guidance

by and | Apr 10, 2020 | , ,

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, provides tax relief to taxpayers in certain situations. Some of these provisions may generate refunds for prior years, such as the relaxation of restrictions on the use of net operating losses (NOLs) and interest deductions as well as the retroactive availability of additional depreciation related to qualified improvement property. For our prior discussions of these, and other CARES Act provisions, see here.

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IRS Failed to Prove Supervisory Approval For Penalty Based Upon Redacted Document

by , and | Apr 8, 2020 | , , ,

In a recent order in the The Cannon Corp. v. Commissioner, No. 12466-16, the US Tax Court (Tax Court) held that a redacted email from a revenue agent’s supervisor to the agent regarding a notice of deficiency was not sufficient to satisfy the approval requirement under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 6751(b) for the assertion of accuracy-related penalties.

Under IRC section 6751(b), as interpreted by case law, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is permitted to assert penalties only if the initial determination to assert the penalty is approved in writing by the supervisor of the individual making such a determination. That provision has been litigated recently in several notable cases, for example, Chai v. Commissioner, 851 F.3d 190 (2d Cir. 2017), and Graev v. Commissioner, 149 T.C. 485 (2017). Since Graev, the Tax Court has issued a series of decisions on the requirements of IRC section 6751(b). Our recent article discussing these decisions can be found here.

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IRS Provides Some Relief from Tax Payment (But Not Filing) Deadlines Due to COVID-19

by , and | Mar 19, 2020 | ,

On March 13, 2020, President Trump issued an emergency declaration that directed Secretary Mnuchin to provide appropriate relief from tax payment deadlines to Americans who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this direction, the IRS issued Notice 2020-17. The Notice declares that all taxpayers have been affected by the emergency and gives all taxpayers an extension of time until July 15, 2020, to make certain income tax payments that would otherwise have been due on April 15, 2020 (however, at this time, tax returns must still be filed by the April 15 deadline absent an extension).

We outline the specifics.

Access the full article.



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The Tax Impact of Recent Federal Actions Relating to COVID-19

by | Mar 18, 2020 | ,

On March 13, 2020, President Trump signed a Proclamation on Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the “Stafford Act”).

By invoking the Stafford Act, the President provides the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and US Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) significant authority to offer tax relief to those in federally designated disaster areas. While it is not uncommon for a state or locality to be designated as an emergency or disaster area, the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak has required a national response. The President’s declaration has led the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to declare an emergency in every state, territory and certain tribal lands. A list of each declaration is available on FEMA’s website and will be updated as more specific forms of relief are authorized.

Access the full article.



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Weekly IRS Roundup November 4 – 8, 2019

by | Nov 11, 2019 | , , ,

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

November 4, 2019: The IRS posted a new Large Business and International active compliance campaign on Section 965 transition tax as enacted under the 2017 TCJA. The IRS stated that the goal of the campaign is to promote compliance with Section 965. The treatment stream will include conducting examinations as well as providing technical assistance to teams on Section 965, with a focus on identifying and addressing taxpayer populations with potential material compliance risk. The IRS anticipates that returns selected as part of the Section 965 campaign will also be risked and, if appropriate, examined for other material issues, especially issues related to TCJA planning.  For our coverage of this campaign, see here.

November 6, 2019: The IRS issued a Revenue Procedure and a News Release announcing the tax year 2020 annual inflation adjustments for more than 60 tax provisions, including the tax rate schedules and other tax changes. The tax year 2020 adjustments are generally used on tax returns filed in 2021.

November 8, 2019: The IRS published Proposed Regulations providing guidance relating to the life expectancy and distribution period tables that are used to calculate required minimum distributions from qualified retirement plans, individual retirement accounts and annuities, and certain other tax-favored employer-provided retirement arrangements. The life expectancy tables and applicable distribution period tables were developed based on mortality rates for 2021 and would provide longer life expectancies than the tables in the existing regulations. Public comments regarding the contemplated rules must be received by January 7, 2020.

November 8, 2019: The IRS released a Revenue Procedure providing the list of automatic changes to which the automatic change procedures in Revenue Procedure 2015-13, as clarified and modified by other listed guidance. The revenue procedure is effective for a Form 3115 filed on or after November 8, 2019, for a year of change ending on or after March 31, 2019. It supersedes the previous list in Rev. Proc. 2018-31.

November 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 Robbie Alipour and Jenni Saperstein in our Chicago office for this week’s roundup.



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IRS Issues Transition Tax Compliance Campaign

by , and | Nov 6, 2019 | , , , ,

On November 4, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced a new Large Business and International (LB&I) compliance campaign regarding Section’s 965 transition tax under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). This is one of several dozen compliance campaigns that LB&I has announced since the initial 13 campaigns were identified in 2017, and is part of LB&I’s larger goals of improving return selection, identifying issues representing a risk of noncompliance and making the greatest use of limited resources. We have written at length regarding the IRS’s campaigns. Click here for prior coverage of the IRS’s campaigns. This announcement comes just over a month after the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) issued a report questioning the effectiveness and efficiency of campaign issue selection. We wrote about the TIGTA report here. The IRS is presumably heeding TIGTA’s recommendation and is focused on Section 965 because of the substantial dollars associated with compliance. A list of all campaigns can be found here (the newest campaign is found under the tab “IRC 965”).

Section 965 was part of tax reform in the TCJA. It generally imposes a transition tax on a US shareholder’s pro rata share of accumulated earnings and profits of certain foreign corporations, as if those earnings had been repatriated to the US. The new campaign will focus examinations on US-based multinational companies’ 2017 and 2018 returns to ensure compliance with the transition tax in Section 965. The campaign will also provide technical assistance to IRS teams working on Section 965 issues, with a focus on identifying and addressing taxpayer populations with potential material compliance risk.

Practice Point: Multinational taxpayers should be mindful of this new campaign and aware of any compliance issues they may face. Taxpayers should be aware that returns selected for the transition tax campaign will also be examined for other material issues, especially those related to TCJA planning.



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