Technical Advice Memorandum
Subscribe to Technical Advice Memorandum's Posts

Weekly IRS Roundup December 30, 2019 – January 3, 2020

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of December 30, 2019 – January 3, 2020.

December 30, 2019:  The IRS issued a news release announcing an agreement with Free File, Inc. that is designed to bring more clarity for taxpayers choosing to use free online software during the 2020 filing season. The IRS hopes for the agreement to make the Free File program more taxpayer-friendly while strengthening consumer protections in several key areas.

December 31, 2019:  The IRS issued a news release regarding a notice that provides the optional 2020 standard mileage rates for taxpayers to use in computing the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving expense purposes. The notice also provides the amount that taxpayers must use in calculating reductions to basis for depreciation taken under the business standard mileage rate, as well as the maximum standard automobile cost that may be used in computing the allowance under a fixed and variable rate (FAVR) plan. The guidance is generally effective for deductible transportation expenses paid or incurred on or after January 1, 2020.

January 2, 2020:  The IRS officially set January 13, 2020, as the publication date in the Federal Register for final regulations on investments in qualified opportunity zones.

January 2, 2020:  The IRS issued its annual revenue procedures listing no-rule areas under the jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsels (Corporate, Financial Institutions and Products, Income Tax and Accounting, Passthroughs and Special Industries, Procedure and Administration, and Tax Exempt and Government Entities). The revenue procedures provide a detailed list of areas in which letter rulings and determination letters will not be issued, under any circumstances. The revenue procedures also provide a detailed list of areas in which letter rulings and determination letters will not ordinarily be issued, but may be issued under unique and compelling circumstances. 

January 2, 2020:  The IRS issued a revenue procedure that provides determination letter procedures for applications, including applicable user fees for requesting determination letters. It provides specific procedures for determination letter requests for recognition of exempt status under section 501 and section 521, as well as for determination letter requests on Form 8940. It provides additional guidance on the exhaustion of administrative remedies for purposes of declaratory judgment under section 7428. The IRS provided a list of significant changes from the prior year’s guidance.

January 2, 2020:  The IRS issued a revenue procedure that provides determination letter procedures on matters under the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division’s Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements Office. Again, the IRS provided a list of significant changes from the prior year’s guidance.

January 2, 2020:  The IRS issued a revenue procedure detailing procedures regarding when and how an Associate office provides technical advice through a technical advice memorandum (TAM). The revenue procedure also provides guidance regarding taxpayers’ rights when a field office requests a TAM regarding a tax matter.

January [...]

Continue Reading




read more

Weekly IRS Roundup November 19 – 23, 2018

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of November 19 – 23, 2018:

November 19, 2018: The IRS in a news release reminds taxpayers that the non-recognition treatment for like-kind exchanges under Code Section 1031 is now limited to certain exchanges of real property.

November 19, 2018: The IRS issued the final regulations under Code Section 267A on allocating costs to certain property produced or acquired for resale by a taxpayer.

November 19, 2018: The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2018-56, expanding the list of changes of methods of accounting for which the taxpayers may obtain automatic consent under the regulations of Code Section 267A.

November 20, 2018: The IRS issued a notice to request comments on Form W-8CE, Notice of Expatriation and Waiver of Treaty Benefits, which the taxpayers use to notify expatriating payers of information necessary to determine the proper tax treatment of their payments.

November 20, 2018: The IRS in IRS Tax Reform Tax Tip 2018-179 advises that certain taxpayers may benefit from converting an S corporation into a C corporation due to the new, 21 percent tax rate.

November 23, 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.




read more

Weekly IRS Roundup November 5 – 9, 2018

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of November 5 – 9, 2018:

November 6, 2018: The IRS added in “Questions and Answers about Reporting Related to Section 965 on 2017 Tax Returns” information concerning the filing of transfer agreements under Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 965(h)(3) and Section 965(i)(2)(c). For our prior coverage related to the election to pay the transition tax under Code Section 965, see here, here and here.

November 7, 2018: The IRS in IRS Tax Tip 2018-173 reminds taxpayers of the blended tax rate as a result of tax reform and provides guidance on the computation of the blended rate.

November 8, 2018: The IRS in a notice announced that the charter for the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council has been renewed for two years beginning October 17, 2018.

November 9, 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.




read more

Weekly IRS Roundup September 17 – 21, 2018

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of September 17 – 21, 2018:

September 17, 2018: The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released a report reviewing whether the IRS complied with legal and internal guidelines governing the seizure of property for unpaid taxes.

September 17, 2018: TIGTA released a second report compiling statistical information reported by the IRS in order to provide information about how the IRS uses its compliance resources and the resulting tax collections.

September 18, 2018: The IRS published Revenue Ruling 2018-17, which provides the applicable federal interest rate for October 2018 and other interest rates.

September 19, 2018: The IRS published Revenue Procedure 2018-49, which allows taxpayers that early adopted a method of revenue recognition to change such method to one described in Section 16.11 of Revenue Procedure 2018-31. This is a very important method change that affects many taxpayers who have to comply with ASC 606.

September 20, 2018: The IRS announced in Notice 2018-72 that it intends to amend the section 871(m) regulations to delay the effective date of certain provisions.

September 21, 2018: Treasury and the IRS published proposed regulations that would remove from the section 385 regulations minimum documentation requirements that must be satisfied for certain related-party debt to be respected as such for tax purposes. We previously commented on this here.

September 21, 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.




read more

Weekly IRS Roundup August 6 – 10, 2018

Presented below is our summary of significant IRS guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of August 6 – 10, 2018:

August 6, 2018: The IRS and Treasury issued final regulations, which provide guidance regarding the new partnership audit rules. The regulations describe the procedure for designating a partnership representative and the partnership representative’s authority. They also address the time, form and manner of an election to apply the new audit regime to prior partnership tax years.

August 6, 2018: The IRS published Revenue Procedure 2018-40, which describes procedures for small businesses to obtain automatic consent for changing an accounting method to a new method established under the TCJA (P.L. 115-97).

August 7, 2018: The IRS published an updated subject matter directory, available here.

August 8, 2018: The IRS published proposed regulations under new section 199A, which provides a 20 percent deduction for qualifying income earned by certain non-corporate taxpayers during tax years beginning after December 31, 2018. The proposed regulations address which taxpayers are eligible for the deduction and provide guidance regarding the computation of the deduction.

August 8, 2018: The IRS released Notice 2018-64, which includes a proposed revenue procedure that would provide guidance regarding calculating W-2 wages for purposes of the section 199A deduction.

August 10, 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.




read more

Weekly IRS Roundup: June 18 – 22

Presented below is our weekly roundup for June 18-22, 2018 on significant IRS guidance and relevant tax matters.

June 18, 2018: The IRS issued Internal Revenue Bulletin No. 2018-25 including: Rev. Rul. 2018-17 (withholding and reporting payments from IRAs to state unclaimed property funds under Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 3405); and REG-102951-16 (proposing amendments to rules for determining whether information returns must be filed electronically).

June 18, 2018: In IR-2018-139 the IRS stated that people with disabilities can now put more money into their tax-favored ABLE accounts and may, for the first time, qualify for the Saver’s Credit for low- and moderate-income workers.

June 19, 2018: The IRS published Rev. Rul. 2018-19 listing the applicable federal interest rates for July 2018.

June 19, 2018: The IRS proposed regulation REG-131186-17 to reinstate T.D. 9787, including allocations of excess nonrecourse liabilities of a partnership among other changes and removing T.D. 9788.

June 19, 2018: The IRS released a Practice Unit on “Interest Capitalization for Self-Constructed Assets,” which identifies taxpayers subject to Code Section 263A(f) and covers the steps involved in determining how much interest must be capitalized to the basis of designated property.

June 20, 2018: IRS published Rev. Proc. 2018-35 modifying Rev. Proc. 2018-31, to not apply Section 263A to replanting costs for lost or damaged citrus plants pursuant to Code Section 263A(d)(2)(C).

June 21, 2018: The IRS published Notice 2018-48 listing the population census tracts designations by the Treasury for qualified opportunity zones relevant to new Code Section 1400Z-2.

June 22, 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 Christy Vouri-Misso and Greg Berson in our DC office for this week’s round-up.




read more

Yeehaw! McDermott’s Tax Weekly Round Up

Here’s what happened in the world of IRS guidance for the week June 11 – 15, 2018.

June 11, 2018: The IRS issued Notice 2018-55 describing potential proposed regulations that would offer relief to some private colleges and universities by providing a stepped-up basis rule that could reduce the amount of gain subject to a new 1.4 percent excise tax on their endowments.

June 12, 2018: The IRS issued proposed regulations, under Code section 148 applicable to tax-exempt and other tax-advantaged bonds, aimed to restrict arbitrage investments and providing an exception to the definition of investment-type property for capital projects that further the public purpose for which the bonds were issued.

June 12, 2018: Pursuant to its continuing effort to reduce paperwork, the IRS requested comments on a number of published guidance, including: Rev. Proc. 2003-33 (extension of time to file a section 338 election to treat stock purchases as asset acquisitions); TD 8379 and TD 9407 (regulations regarding the manner and method of reporting and paying the excise tax on the receipt of greenmail); TD 8791 (relating to charitable remainder trusts and to special valuation rules for transfers of interests in trusts); and, TD 8571 (relating to the reporting of certain information relating to payments of mortgage interest). All comments are due by August 13, 2018.

June 15, 2018: The IRS announced the corporate bond monthly yield curve, the 24-month average segments rats, the 30-year Treasury securities interest rate, the 30-year Treasury weighted average rate, and the minimum present-value segment rates in Notice 2018-56.

June 15, 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 Christy Vouri and Greg Berson in our DC office for this week’s round-up.




read more

A 360-Degree View: July and August 2017

Wrapping up July—and Looking Forward to August

Tax Controversy Activities in August:

August 7, 2017: Elizabeth Erickson and Kristen Hazel will be representing McDermott Will & Emery at the 2017 US Captive Awards in Burlington, Vermont. McDermott has been shortlisted in the Law Firm category.

August 8, 2017: Tom Jones is presenting an update on Captive Insurance Tax in Burlington, Vermont, at the Vermont Captive Insurance Association Annual Conference “Mission: Possible”— the largest captive insurance conference in the US by number of paid attendees.

August 18, 2017: Todd Welty is speaking at the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants Advanced Estate Planning Conference about:

  • Current developments in federal transfer taxes
  • Current state of federal tax reform
  • Proposed changes to state death tax laws and the impact of those changes on estate
  • Gift and trust planning
  • Consistent basis regulations
  • The state of valuation discounts
  • Recent rulings on defined value clauses and charitable gifts

August 23, 2017: Tom Jones is presenting an update on Annual Federal & State Tax at the North Carolina Captive Insurance Association Annual Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Wrapping up July:

Our July 2017 blog posts are available on taxcontroversy360.com, or read each article by clicking on the titles below. To receive the latest on state and local tax news and commentary directly in your inbox as they are posted, click here to subscribe to our email list.

July 14, 2017: Tracking Tax Guidance and Court Cases

July 17, 2017: New IRS CbC Resource

July 18, 2017: Courts Rejects Challenge to OVDP Transition Rules

July 19, 2017: Tax Court Rejects IRS Reliance on “Cursory” Analysis in Revenue Ruling

July 21, 2017: John Doe Intervenes in Virtual Currency Summons Enforcement Case

July 24, 2017: BEWARE: Whistleblowers Can “Out” You to the IRS!

July 26, 2017: Virtual IRS Appeals – A New Frontier?

July 27, 2017: IRS Rules (Again) That Taxpayers Are Not Entitled to Claimed Refined Coal Credits

July 28, 2017: Tax Court Hands Eaton a Complete Victory on the Cancellation of its Advance Pricing Agreements

July 31, 2017: Senate Attempts to Repeal Chevron Deference




read more

IRS Rules (Again) That Taxpayers Are Not Entitled to Claimed Refined Coal Credits

In a highly-anticipated Technical Advice Memorandum (TAM) dated March 23, 2017 and released on July 21, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruled that two taxpayers who had invested in a Limited Liability Company that owned and operated a refined coal facility (the LLC) were not entitled to refined coal production credits they had claimed because their investment in the LLC was structured “solely to facilitate the prohibited purchase of refined coal tax credits.” This analysis marks a departure from the position staked out by the IRS in a number of recent refined coal credit cases, which focused on whether taxpayers claiming refined coal credits were partners in a partnership that owned and operated a refined coal facility.

(more…)




read more

STAY CONNECTED

TOPICS

ARCHIVES

jd supra readers choice top firm 2023 badge