The IRS is urging employers to take advantage of the newly-extended employee retention credit (ERC), which makes it easier for businesses that have chosen to keep their employees on the payroll despite challenges posed by COVID-19. The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (Division EE of P.L. 116-260), which was enacted December 27, 2020, made a number […]
The IRS has announced that lenders who had filed or furnished Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Information, to a borrower, reporting certain payments on loans subsidized by the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (Administrator) as income of the borrower, must file and furnish corrected Forms 1099-MISC that exclude these subsidized loan payments.
On January 19, 2021, the Department of the Treasury […]
The IRS is providing a safe harbor for eligible educators to deduct certain unreimbursed COVID-19-related expenses. The safe harbor applies to expenses for personal protective equipment, disinfectant, and other supplies used for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 in the classroom, paid or incurred after March 12, 2020. All amounts remain subject to the $250 educator expense deduction limitation.
Deduction […]
With some areas seeing mail delays, the IRS has reminded taxpayers to double-check before filing a tax return to make sure they have all their tax documents, including Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, and Forms 1099. Many of these forms may be available online. However, when other options are not available, taxpayers who have not received a W-2 or […]
The IRS has highlighted how corporations may qualify for the new 100-percent limit for disaster relief contributions, and has offered a temporary waiver of the recordkeeping requirement for corporations otherwise qualifying for the increased limit. The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (P.L. 116-260) temporarily increased the limit, to up to 100 percent of a corporation’s taxable […]
The IRS has announced that tax professionals can use a new online tool to upload authorization forms with either electronic or handwritten signatures. The new Submit Forms 2848 and 8821 Online tool is now available at the IRS.gov/TaxPros page. The new tool is part of the IRS’s efforts to develop remote transaction options that help tax practitioners and their individual […]
The IRS has urged taxpayers to e-file their returns and use direct deposit to ensure filing accurate tax returns and expedite their tax refunds to avoid a variety of pandemic-related issues. The filing season opened on February 12, 2021, and taxpayers have until April 15 to file their 2020 tax return and pay any tax owed.
“The pandemic has created a […]
The recently enacted stimulus law extends a number of provisions for businesses struggling to cope with the pandemic. For instance, the law greatly expanded the effectiveness of the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). Originally, businesses had to choose between taking the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or the ERC. For most employers, the PPP provided more benefit and more businesses qualified […]
The IRS has issued guidance clarifying that taxpayers receiving loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) may deduct their business expenses, even if their PPP loans are forgiven. The IRS previously issued Notice 2020-32 and Rev. Rul. 2020-27, which stated that taxpayers who received PPP loans and had those loans forgiven would not be able to claim business deductions for […]
The IRS has waived the requirement to file Form 1099 series information returns or furnish payee statements for certain COVID-related relief that is excluded from gross income.
Reporting Affected
The IRS waives the requirement to file Form 1099 series information returns, or furnish payee statements, for the following:
forgiveness of covered loans under the original Paycheck Protection Program (PPP);
forgiveness of covered […]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, certain employers and employees who use the automobile lease valuation rule to determine the value of an employee’s personal use of an employer-provided automobile may switch to the vehicle cents-per-mile method.
Background
Under the general rule, an employer who provides an employee a vehicle must adopt one of the following methods to determine the value of an […]
Estimated tax underpayment penalties under Code Sec. 6654 are waived for certain excess business loss-related payments for tax years beginning in 2019. The relief is available to individuals, as well as trusts and estates that are treated as individuals for estimated tax payment penalty purposes.
Rules Delayed
Certain business losses were limited in tax years beginning in 2017 through 2025 by the […]
The IRS has extended the time period during which employers must withhold and pay the employee portion of Social Security tax that employers elected to defer on wages paid from September 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. Specifically:
the end date of the period for withholding and paying the deferred tax is postponed from April 30, 2021, to December 31, […]
The IRS has issued guidance that provides partnerships with relief from certain penalties for the inclusion of incorrect information in reporting their partners’ beginning capital account balances on the 2020 Schedules K-1 (Forms 1065 and 8865). The IRS has also provided relief from accuracy-related penalties for any tax year for the portion of an imputed underpayment attributable to the inclusion […]
Final regulations provide guidance related to the limitation on the deduction for employee compensation in excess of $1 million. Specifically, the regulations address:
what constitutes a publicly held corporation for purposes of Code Sec. 162(m)(2);
the definition of a covered employee for purposes of Code Sec. 162(m)(3);
the definition of compensation for purposes of Code Sec. 162(m)(4);
the application of […]
The IRS has issued final regulations providing additional guidance on the limitation on the deduction for business interest under Code Sec. 163(j). The regulations finalize various portions of the proposed regulations issued in 2020 with few modifications. They address the application of the limit in the context of calculating adjusted taxable income (ATI) with respect to depreciation, amortization, and depletion. […]
The IRS has released final regulations that address the changes made to Code Sec. 162(f) by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) ( P.L. 115-97), concerning the deduction of certain fines, penalties, and other amounts. The final regulations also provide guidance relating to the information reporting requirements for fines and penalties under Code Sec. 6050X.
The final regulations adopt proposed […]
The IRS has provided a safe harbor allowing a trade or business that manages or operates a qualified residential living facility to be treated as a “real property trade or business” solely for purposes of qualifying to make the Code Sec. 163(j)(7)(B) election. This guidance formalizes the proposed safe harbor issued in Notice 2020-59, I.R.B. 2020-34, 782. Taxpayers may apply […]
The IRS has released final regulations addressing the post-2017 simplified accounting rules for small businesses. The final regulations adopt and modify proposed regulations released in August 2020.
Implementation of the Rules
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ( P.L. 115-97) put in place a single $25 million gross receipts test for determining whether certain taxpayers qualify as small taxpayers that can use […]
Final regulations clarify the definition of “real property” that qualifies for a like-kind exchange, including incidental personal property. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA, P.L. 115-97), like-kind exchanges occurring after 2017 are limited to real property used in a trade or business or for investment.
The final regulations largely adopt regulations that were proposed in June ( NPRM REG-117589-18). However, they also:
add […]
The IRS has released rulings concerning deductions for eligible Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan expenses. The rulings:
deny a deduction if the taxpayer has not yet applied for PPP loan forgiveness, but expects the loan to be forgiven; and
provide a safe harbor for deducting expenses if PPP loan forgiveness is denied or the taxpayer does not apply for forgiveness.
Background
In […]
The IRS has issued final regulations under Code Sec. 274 relating to the elimination of the employer deduction of for transportation and commuting fringe benefits by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ( P.L. 115-97), effective for amounts paid or incurred after December 31, 2017. The final regulations address the disallowance of a deduction for the expense of any qualified transportation fringe (QTF) […]
As part of a series of reminders, the IRS has urged taxpayers get ready for the upcoming tax filing season. A special page ( https://www.irs.gov/individuals/steps-to-take-now-to-get-a-jump-on-next-years-taxes), updated and available on the IRS website, outlines steps taxpayers can take now to make tax filing easier in 2021.
Taxpayers receiving substantial amounts of non-wage income like self-employment income, investment income, taxable Social Security benefits and, […]
This year marks the 5th Annual National Tax Security Awareness Week-a collaboration by the IRS, state tax agencies and the tax industry. The IRS and the Security Summit partners have issued warnings to all taxpayers and tax professionals to beware of scams and identity theft schemes by criminals taking advantage of the combination of holiday shopping, the approaching tax season […]
NPRM REG-123652-18
The IRS has issued proposed regulations for the centralized partnership audit regime that:
clarify that a partnership with a QSub partner is not eligible to elect out of the centralized audit regime;
add three new types of “special enforcement matters” and modify existing rules;
modify existing guidance and regulations on push out elections and imputed adjustments; and
clarify rules […]
