February 2023
FEMA Postponement
2022 Income tax returns postponement due date to file and pay is 10.16.23 for Fema California designated counties. There are other areas of the country that are eligible for postponement, but not identified within the body of the information below.
Due to the plethora of weather events affecting most of California, Fema designated most California counties as declared disaster zones, except Lassen, Modoc and Shasta.
California counties identified by Fema go to link below:
IRS Fema information:
https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4683/designated-areas
https://bit.ly/irs-provides-tax-relief-for-victims-of-severe-winter-storms
California information:
www.ftb.ca.gov/file/when-to-file/help-with-disaster-relief.html
The following deadlines falling on or after March 9, 2023, and before October 16, 2023, are granted additional time to file through October 16, 2023:
- 2022individual income tax returns due on April 18
- Various 2022business returns normally due on March 15 and April 18 (this means that eligible taxpayers will have until October 16 to make 2022 contributions to their IRAs and health savings accounts)
- Quarterly estimated tax payments and payroll and excise tax returnsnormally due between March 9 and October 16
In addition, penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after March 9, 2023, and before March 24, 2023, will be abated as long as the tax deposits are made by March 24, 2023.
If your income tax address for your individual and/or business tax return or if you have an interest in a pass-through entity that is located in a Fema declared zone or Fema California county, then your 2022 Federal government and California income tax returns file and pay tax is automatically postponed to the due date of 10.16.23.
Above also applies to 2023 Federal and California estimated taxes 1 to 3. The due date to pay is 10.16.23.
Regardless of the Fema postponed due date to file and pay, we should work toward filing at an earlier date.
Below, a more detailed explanation and FAQs:
On March 17, 2023, the IRS issued yet another storm-related disaster postponement announcement for California taxpayers.1 This means we now have three different disaster relief notices for storms in California (CA-2023-01, CA-2023-02, and CA-2023-03). Unfortunately, the notices apply to different counties, have different applicable periods, and postpone different filing and payment deadlines. The most recent announcement extends the available October 16 postponement deadline (see “Storm-related disaster extensions extended to October 16, 2023” . The only counties that are not currently included in the filing/payment October 16 postponement relief (for now) are Lassen, Modoc, and Shasta. However, for taxpayers in Imperial, Kern, Plumas, and Sierra counties, the relief only applies to deadlines that fall on or after March 9, 2023. California conforms to this extended relief.
The announcement does provide additional payroll deposit relief for taxpayers listed in the most recent notice. Penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after March 9, 2023, and before March 24, 2023, will be abated as long as the tax deposits were made by March 24, 2023, for taxpayers in all counties except the following: ● Alameda; ● Colusa; ● Contra Costa; ● Lassen; ● Marin; ● Modoc; ● Riverside; ● San Diego; ● Shasta; ● Siskiyou; ● Solano; ● Sutter; ● Tehama; ● Ventura; and ● Yolo.
- Can taxpayers outside the listed counties qualify for relief?
Relief from federal and California tax and payment deadlines is available to taxpayers outside the listed counties if their tax preparer is located in one of the listed counties1 (see upcoming box regarding listed counties). The postponement also applies to partners and S corporation shareholders if the partnership or S corporation is located in a listed county and is unable to provide the records necessary to file the partner’s/shareholder’s return. For taxpayers located outside California whose tax records are in one of the listed counties or California resident taxpayers who must file a tax return in another state, we recommend that you contact the applicable state tax department to determine whether postponement relief is available for the other state’s tax return.
- How does taxpayer request relief outside the listed counties?
Taxpayers located outside the listed counties who want to request an IRS postponement must:2 ● Call the IRS’s Disaster Hotline at (866) 562-5227; ● Explain that the necessary records are located in a covered disaster area; and ● Provide the FEMA Disaster Number or IRS announcement (CA-2023-01, CA-2023-02, or CA-2023-03) of the area where the tax preparer is located.
- Which payment deadlines are extended?
All payments scheduled for or payments due with tax returns that were originally due on or after January 8, 2023, (December 27, 2022, 24 or March 9 for some counties) and before October 16, 2023, are postponed until October 16, 2023. This includes, but is not limited to, the following payments: ● The balance of the 2022 passthrough entity elective tax due on March 15, 2023, for calendar‑year taxpayers and the 2023 prepayment of the passthrough entity elective tax due on June 15; ● The 2023 estimated tax LLC fee due on June 15, 2023; ● Individual and entity estimated tax payments; and ● Any installment payments that would otherwise be due during the postponement period.
- Are withholding taxes and returns postponed?
The postponement does not apply to payroll deposits nor to California real estate or nonresident withholding payments. However, it does apply to IRS Form 8804, Annual Return for Partnership Withholding,6 as well as FTB Form 592, Resident and Nonresident Withholding Statement, and 592-PTE, Pass-Through Entity Annual Withholding Return.
- Does the extension apply to extended returns?
Yes, if a fiscal-year taxpayer had an extended due date that fell within the January 8 through October 15 postponement period, then the original extended due date is automatically extended to October 16, 2023. Taxpayers are not eligible for an additional “automatic” extension beyond the October 16 postponed due date.
All California Counties are listed as affected counties except: Lassen; Modoc; and Shasta.
Jan. 6 2021
On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“CAA”) was signed into law. The CAA contains both the COVID-Related Tax Relief Act of 2020 (COVIDTRA) and the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (TCDTR). In addition to providing for stimulus payments of $600 per taxpayer and qualifying child, the CAA also contains numerous tax provisions and extenders as follows:
Do note that any of the below provisions that are applicable to income tax at the state level, California may not conform.
Individual Provisions
Increased deduction for medical expenses – The CAA permanently decreases the limitation for deducting medical expenses to 7.5% of adjusted gross income (“AGI”). Previous law only allowed for a deduction of medical expenses in excess of 10% of AGI.
Child Tax Credit & Earned Income Credit (“CTC” & “EIC”) – The CAA allows individuals to use their earned income from 2019, if greater, to calculate their CTC & EIC for 2020.
Charitable contributions for taxpayers who do not itemize deductions – The CARES act, passed earlier in 2020, created a new above-the-line deduction for charitable contributions made in 2020 for taxpayers who do not itemize deductions. The maximum allowable deduction is $300 ($600 for a married couple). The CAA extends this rule through 2021.
Income limitations for charitable contributions – Under previous law, charitable contributions to qualified organizations were generally limited to 60% of a taxpayer’s AGI. The CARES act removed the limitation for 2020; the new Act also removes the limitation for 2021.
Education credits – The CAA removes the above the line deduction for tuition and fees in exchange for an expanded application of the Lifetime Learning credit. This applies to tax years 2021 and beyond.
Exclusion from income for forgiveness of qualified principal residence indebtedness – Forgiveness of debt is generally included in taxable income. An exception applied for forgiveness of debt that was used to acquire a personal residence. The maximum which could be excluded was $2 million for a married couple. This provision was set to expire in 2020. The CAA extends this exclusion through 2025, but at a reduced amount of $750,000.
Mortgage insurance premiums – The CAA extends the deduction for qualified mortgage insurance premiums through 2021.
Retirement plan distributions – The CAA allows for distributions from retirement plans of up to $100,000 without being subject to the 10% penalty that applies to early retirement distributions. The distribution, however, will be subject to income tax over a 3-year period. This extends the relief provided in the CARES Act & expands the eligibility to all taxpayers.
Payroll Provisions
FSA Plans – Employers may choose to allow a carryover of unused funds from 2020 to 2021 and from 2021 to 2022 or to extend the grace period for spending unused FSA funds to 12 months after the plan year.
Extension of Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) credits for paid sick and family leave – The FFCRA, passed earlier in 2020, provided employers a payroll tax credit for paid sick and family leave due to COVID-19. The Act extends this credit through March 31, 2021.
Employer tax credit for paid family and medical leave – Earlier tax law allowed businesses to claim a general business credit for paid family and medical leave up to 12 weeks per year. The provision was set to expire at the end of 2020; the Act extends this credit through 2025.
Work opportunity credit – The work opportunity credit is available to employers for hiring individuals from certain targeted groups. The credit was set to expire at the end of 2020. The CAA extends the credit through 2025.
Expansion of Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”) – The CARES Act provided a 50% credit for companies who continued to pay their employees during a COVID-19 imposed lockdown. The CAA expands eligibility for the ERC, increases the credit to 70%, and extends the credit through June 30, 2021.
Extension of deferred payroll taxes – President Trump signed an executive memorandum in August 2020 allowing employers to defer the employee’s share of social security taxes between September 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. The taxes were required to be repaid through a reduction in the employee’s pay between January 1, 2021 and April 30, 2021. The CAA extends the required repayment period to December 31, 2021.
Employer payment of student loans – The CAA extends the current CARES act provision which allows employers to repay education loans incurred by their employees, which was set to expire at the end of 2020. The CAA extends the provision to 2025. The maximum annual payment is $5,250.
Business Tax Provisions
Deductions for expenses paid using PPP loan proceeds – The CAA clarifies the original intention of the PPP loan program and allows for full deduction of any expense paid for using PPP loan proceeds.
Bringing back the business lunch – The CAA temporarily allows for a full 100% deduction for meals provided by restaurants that are paid or incurred in 2021 or 2022.
Qualified disaster relief contributions – The CAA creates a new category of “qualified disaster relief contributions” for qualifying contributions made to organizations for disaster relief efforts. Contributions must be made between January 1, 2020 and 60 days after passage of the Act. Corporations could receive a deduction of up to 100% of taxable income.
Accelerated depreciation of residential rental property for electing real property trade or business – Real property trades or businesses subject to the interest expense limitations of 163(j) may choose to make an election. Under the election, the interest limitations will not apply; however, the taxpayer must use ADS depreciation rules resulting in a longer useful life and lower depreciation expense each year. Under prior law, residential rental property placed in service prior to January 1, 2018 was subject to a 40-year ADS useful life. The CAA changes this to a 30-year ADS useful life if the taxpayer was not subject to ADS prior to January 1, 2018.
December 27, 2020
On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“CAA”) was signed into law. The CAA contains both the COVID-Related Tax Relief Act of 2020 (COVIDTRA) and the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (TCDTR). In addition to providing for stimulus payments of $600 per taxpayer and qualifying child, the CAA also contains numerous tax provisions and extenders as follows:
Do note that any of the below provisions that are applicable to income tax at the state level, California may not conform.
Individual Provisions
Increased deduction for medical expenses – The CAA permanently decreases the limitation for deducting medical expenses to 7.5% of adjusted gross income (“AGI”). Previous law only allowed for a deduction of medical expenses in excess of 10% of AGI.
Child Tax Credit & Earned Income Credit (“CTC” & “EIC”) – The CAA allows individuals to use their earned income from 2019, if greater, to calculate their CTC & EIC for 2020.
Charitable contributions for taxpayers who do not itemize deductions – The CARES act, passed earlier in 2020, created a new above-the-line deduction for charitable contributions made in 2020 for taxpayers who do not itemize deductions. The maximum allowable deduction is $300 ($600 for a married couple). The CAA extends this rule through 2021.
Income limitations for charitable contributions – Under previous law, charitable contributions to qualified organizations were generally limited to 60% of a taxpayer’s AGI. The CARES act removed the limitation for 2020; the new Act also removes the limitation for 2021.
Education credits – The CAA removes the above the line deduction for tuition and fees in exchange for an expanded application of the Lifetime Learning credit. This applies to tax years 2021 and beyond.
Exclusion from income for forgiveness of qualified principal residence indebtedness – Forgiveness of debt is generally included in taxable income. An exception applied for forgiveness of debt that was used to acquire a personal residence. The maximum which could be excluded was $2 million for a married couple. This provision was set to expire in 2020. The CAA extends this exclusion through 2025, but at a reduced amount of $750,000.
Mortgage insurance premiums – The CAA extends the deduction for qualified mortgage insurance premiums through 2021.
Retirement plan distributions – The CAA allows for distributions from retirement plans of up to $100,000 without being subject to the 10% penalty that applies to early retirement distributions. The distribution, however, will be subject to income tax over a 3-year period. This extends the relief provided in the CARES Act & expands the eligibility to all taxpayers.
Payroll Provisions
FSA Plans – Employers may choose to allow a carryover of unused funds from 2020 to 2021 and from 2021 to 2022 or to extend the grace period for spending unused FSA funds to 12 months after the plan year.
Extension of Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) credits for paid sick and family leave – The FFCRA, passed earlier in 2020, provided employers a payroll tax credit for paid sick and family leave due to COVID-19. The Act extends this credit through March 31, 2021.
Employer tax credit for paid family and medical leave – Earlier tax law allowed businesses to claim a general business credit for paid family and medical leave up to 12 weeks per year. The provision was set to expire at the end of 2020; the Act extends this credit through 2025.
Work opportunity credit – The work opportunity credit is available to employers for hiring individuals from certain targeted groups. The credit was set to expire at the end of 2020. The CAA extends the credit through 2025.
Expansion of Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”) – The CARES Act provided a 50% credit for companies who continued to pay their employees during a COVID-19 imposed lockdown. The CAA expands eligibility for the ERC, increases the credit to 70%, and extends the credit through June 30, 2021.
Extension of deferred payroll taxes – President Trump signed an executive memorandum in August 2020 allowing employers to defer the employee’s share of social security taxes between September 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. The taxes were required to be repaid through a reduction in the employee’s pay between January 1, 2021 and April 30, 2021. The CAA extends the required repayment period to December 31, 2021.
Employer payment of student loans – The CAA extends the current CARES act provision which allows employers to repay education loans incurred by their employees, which was set to expire at the end of 2020. The CAA extends the provision to 2025. The maximum annual payment is $5,250.
Business Tax Provisions
Deductions for expenses paid using PPP loan proceeds – The CAA clarifies the original intention of the PPP loan program and allows for full deduction of any expense paid for using PPP loan proceeds.
Bringing back the business lunch – The CAA temporarily allows for a full 100% deduction for meals provided by restaurants that are paid or incurred in 2021 or 2022.
Qualified disaster relief contributions – The CAA creates a new category of “qualified disaster relief contributions” for qualifying contributions made to organizations for disaster relief efforts. Contributions must be made between January 1, 2020 and 60 days after passage of the Act. Corporations could receive a deduction of up to 100% of taxable income.
Accelerated depreciation of residential rental property for electing real property trade or business – Real property trades or businesses subject to the interest expense limitations of 163(j) may choose to make an election. Under the election, the interest limitations will not apply; however, the taxpayer must use ADS depreciation rules resulting in a longer useful life and lower depreciation expense each year. Under prior law, residential rental property placed in service prior to January 1, 2018 was subject to a 40-year ADS useful life. The CAA changes this to a 30-year ADS useful life if the taxpayer was not subject to ADS prior to January 1, 2018.
Rental Real Estate as Qualified Business Income Deduction effective to December 31, 2025
If you operate a rental real estate business, you may qualify to claim the business income deduction under Section 199A in one of two ways- details in our article detail.
Rental Real Estate as Qualified Business Income Deduction
If you operate a rental real estate business, you may qualify to claim the business income deduction under Section 199A in one of two ways.
Qualified Business Income Deduction (QBID)
Congress enacted Section 199A to provide a deduction to non-corporate taxpayers of up to 20 percent of the taxpayer's qualified business income from each of the taxpayer's qualified trades or businesses, including those operated through a partnership, S corporation, or sole proprietorship. Individuals, estates and trusts can also deduct 20 percent of aggregate qualified real estate investment trust (REIT) dividends and qualified publicly traded partnership income. The deduction is effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2026.
The QBI deduction is calculated as the lesser of:
i) combined qualified business income (up to 20% of qualified business income, plus 20% of REIT dividends and publicly traded partnership income); or
ii) 20% of the excess (if any) of taxable income over net capital gain.
In order to qualify for the deduction, the business must be a qualified trade or business which is defined as any trade or business other than a specified service trade or business (SSTB) or the trade or business of performing services as an employee.
Rentals meet the definition of a qualified trade or business in one of two ways:
1) rentals to a commonly owned business; or
2) under a safe harbor for certain rental real estate activities.
Rentals to a commonly owned business
A rental activity is treated as a qualified trade or business if it rents or licenses tangible or intangible property to a commonly owned trade or business. A business and a rental activity are commonly owned if the same person or group of persons directly or indirectly owns at least 50 percent of each of them. Businesses can meet this common-ownership test even if they are not otherwise eligible for aggregation.
Safe Harbor for Rental Real Estate Enterprise
Under a safe harbor, a rental real estate enterprise is treated as a trade or business for purposes of Section 199A only if:
a) separate books and records are maintained to reflect income and expenses for each rental real estate enterprise;
b) at least 250 hours of rental services are performed per year; and
c) for tax years beginning after 2019, the taxpayer maintains sufficient contemporaneous records.
For years 2021 and 2022 only, Meals and entertainment 100% deductible under certain conditions. California does not conform and will limit deduction to 50%.
2021 and 2022 Meals and entertainment deductibility:
Type of Expense | 2017 (old rules) | 2018 (new rules) | 2019 and yrs after |
Entertaining clients (concert tickets, golf games, etc.) | 50% deductible | 0% deductible | 0% deductible |
Business meals with clients | 50% deductible | 50% deductible | 50% deductible |
Office snacks and meals | 100% deductible | 50% deductible | 50% deductible |
Company-wide party | 100% deductible | 100% deductible | 100% deductible |
Meals & entertainment (included in compensation) | 100% deductible | 100% deductible | 100% deductible |
Fully deductible meals and entertainment
Here are some common examples of 100% deductible meals and entertainment expenses:
- A company-wide holiday party
- Food and drinks provided free of charge for the public
- Food included as taxable compensation to employees and included on the W-2
50% deductible expenses
Here are some of the most common 50% deductible expenses (for 2021 and 2022, they are 100% deductible if purchased from a restaurant):
- A meal with a client where work is discussed (that isn’t lavish)
- Employee meals at a conference, above and beyond the ticket price
- Employee meals while traveling (here’s how the IRS defines “travel”)
- Treating a few employees to a meal (but if it’s at least half of all employees, it’s 100 percent deductible)
- Food for a board meeting
- Dinner provided for employees working late
So what’s nondeductible?
Most work-related meal purchases you can think of are either 100 or 50 percent deductible. But there are a few exceptions. For example, if you pay for your clients’ night out but you don’t actually go with them, it’s nondeductible. The same applies to a client meal at a restaurant where you invite friends or spouses—the cost of your friends is nondeductible (but you can write off half the client bill).
And of course, with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, client entertainment is also nondeductible—no more golf games or courtside tickets.
The IRS has provided guidance on two exceptions to the 10 percent additional tax under Code Sec. 72(t)(1) for emergency personal expense distributions and domestic abuse victim distributions. These exceptions were added by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, P.L. 117-328, and became effective January 1, 2024. The Treasury Department and the IRS anticipate issuing regulations under Code Sec. 72(t) and request comments to be submitted on or before October 7, 2024.
The IRS has provided guidance on two exceptions to the 10 percent additional tax under Code Sec. 72(t)(1) for emergency personal expense distributions and domestic abuse victim distributions. These exceptions were added by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, P.L. 117-328, and became effective January 1, 2024. The Treasury Department and the IRS anticipate issuing regulations under Code Sec. 72(t) and request comments to be submitted on or before October 7, 2024.
Distributions for Emergency Personal Expenses
Code Sec. 72(t)(2)(I) provides an exception to the 10 percent additional tax for a distribution from an applicable eligible retirement plan to an individual for emergency personal expenses. The term "emergency personal expense distribution" means any distribution made from an applicable eligible retirement plan to an individual for purposes of meeting unforeseeable or immediate financial needs relating to necessary personal or family emergency expenses. The IRS specifically noted that emergency expenses could be related to: medical care; accident or loss of property due to casualty; imminent foreclosure or eviction from a primary residence; the need to pay for burial or funeral expenses; auto repairs; or any other necessary emergency personal expenses.
The IRS provides that a plan administrator or IRA custodian may rely on a written certification from the employee or IRA owner that they are eligible for an emergency personal expense distribution. Furthermore, the IRS provides that an emergency personal expense distribution is not treated as a rollover distribution and thus is not subject to mandatory 20% withholding. However, the distribution is subject to withholding, the IRS said. If the emergency personal expense distribution is repaid, it is treated as if the individual received the distribution and transferred it to an eligible retirement plan within 60 days of distribution.
If an otherwise eligible retirement plan does not offer emergency personal expense distributions, the IRS indicated that an individual may still take an otherwise permissible distribution and treat it as such on their federal income tax return. The individual claims on Form 5329 that the distribution is an emergency personal expense distribution, in accordance with the form’s instructions. The individual has the option to repay the distribution to an IRA within 3 years.
Distributions to Domestic Abuse Victims
Code Sec. 72(t)(2)(K) provides an exception to the 10 percent additional tax for an eligible distribution to a domestic abuse victim (domestic abuse victim distribution). The guidance defines a"domesticabusevictimdistribution" as any distribution from an applicable eligible retirement plan to a domestic abuse victim if made during the 1-year period beginning on any date on which the individual is a victim of domestic abuse by a spouse or domestic partner. "Domesticabuse" is defined as physical, psychological, sexual, emotional, or economic abuse, including efforts to control, isolate, humiliate, or intimidate the victim, or to undermine the victim’s ability to reason independently, including by means of abuse of the victim’s child or another family member living in the household.
As with distributions for emergency personal expenses, a retirement plan may rely on an employee’s written certification that they qualify for a domestic abuse victim distribution. Similarly, if an otherwise eligible retirement plan does not offer domestic abuse victim distributions, the IRS indicated that an individual may still take an otherwise permissible distribution and treat it as such on their federal income tax return. The individual claims on Form 5329 that the distribution is a domestic abuse victim distribution, in accordance with the form’s instructions. The individual has the option to repay the distribution to an IRA within 3 years.
Request for Comments
The Treasury Department and the IRS invite comments on the guidance, and specifically on whether the Secretary should adopt regulations providing exceptions to the rule that a plan administrator may rely on an employee’s certification relating to emergency personal expense distributions and procedures to address cases of employee misrepresentation. Comments should be submitted in writing on or before October 7, 2024, and should include a reference to Notice 2024-55.
On June 17, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service announced a new regulatory initiative focused on closing tax loopholes and stopping abusive partnership transactions used by wealthy taxpayers to avoid paying taxes.
On June 17, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service announced a new regulatory initiative focused on closing tax loopholes and stopping abusive partnership transactions used by wealthy taxpayers to avoid paying taxes.
Specifically targeted by this new tax compliance effort are partnership basis shifting transactions. In these transactions, a single business that operates through many different legal entities (related parties) enters into a set of transactions that manipulate partnership tax rules to maximize tax deductions and minimize tax liability. These basis shifting transactions allow closely related parties to avoid taxes.
The use of these abusive transactions grew during a period of severe underfunding for the IRS. As such, the audit rates for these increasingly complex structures fell significantly. It is estimated that these abusive transactions, which cut across a wide variety of industries and individuals, could potentially cost taxpayers more than $50 billion over a 10-year period, according to an IRS News Release.
"Using Inflation Reduction Act funding, we are working to reverse more than a decade of declining audits among the highest income taxpayers, as well as complex partnerships and corporations," IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said during a press call discussing the new effort on June 14, 2024.
"This announcement signals the IRS is accelerating our work in the partnership arena, which has been overlooked for more than a decade and allowed tax abuse to go on for far too long," said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. "We are building teams and adding expertise inside the agency so we can reverse long-term compliance declines that have allowed high-income taxpayers and corporations to hide behind complexity to avoid paying taxes. Billions are at stake here".
This multi-stage regulatory effort announced by the Treasury and IRS includes the following guidance designed to stop the use of basis shifting transactions that use related-party partnerships to avoid taxes:
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proposed regulations under existing regulatory authority to stop related parties in complex partnership structures from shifting the tax basis of their assets amongst each other to take abusive deductions or reduce gains when the asset is sold;
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proposed regulation to require taxpayers and their material advisers to report if they and their clients are participating in abusive partnership basis shifting transactions; and
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a Revenue Rulingproviding that certain related-party partnership transactions involving basis shifting lack economic substance.
"Treasury and the IRS are focused on addressing high-end tax abuse from all angles, and the proposed rules released today will increase tax fairness and reduce the deficit," said U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen.
In the June 14, 2024, press call, Commissioner Danny Werfel also noted that there will be an increase in audits of large partnerships with average assets over $10 billion dollars and larger organizational changes taking place to support compliance efforts, including the creation of a new associate office that will focus exclusively on partnerships, S corporations, trusts, and estates.
By Catherine S. Agdeppa, Content Management Analyst
A savings account with the tax benefits of a health savings account or an educations savings account but without the singular restricted focus could be something that gains traction as Congress addresses the tax provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that expire in 2025.
A savings account with the tax benefits of a health savings account or an educations savings account but without the singular restricted focus could be something that gains traction as Congress addresses the tax provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that expire in 2025.
The concept was promoted by multiple witnesses testifying during a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing on the subject of child savings accounts and other tax advantaged accounts that would benefit children. It also is the subject of a recently released report from The Tax Foundation.
Rather than push new limited-use savings accounts, "policymakers may want to consider enacting a more comprehensive savings program such as a universalsavingsaccount," Veronique de Rugy, a research fellow at George Mason University, testified before the committee during the May 21, 2024, hearing. "Universalsavingsaccounts will allow workers to save in one simple account from which they would withdraw without penalty for any expected or unexpected events throughout their lifetime."
She noted that, like other more focused savings accounts, like health savings accounts, it would have "the benefit of sheltering some income from the punishing double taxation that our code imposes."
De Rugy added that universal savings accounts "have a benefit that they do not discourage savings for those who are concerned that the conditions for withdrawals would stop them from addressing an emergency in their family."
Adam Michel, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, who also promoted the idea of universal savings accounts. He said these accounts "would allow families to save for their kids or any of life’s other priorities. The flexibility of these accounts make them best suited for lower and middle income Americans."
He also noted that they are promoting savings in countries that have implemented them, including Canada and United Kingdom.
"For example, almost 60 percent of Canadians own tax-free savingsaccounts," Michel said. "And more than half of those account holders earned the equivalent of about $37,000 a year. These accounts have helped increase savings and support the rest of the Canadian savings ecosystem."
De Rugy noted that in countries that have implemented it, they function like a Roth account in that money that has already been taxed can be put into it and not penalized or taxed upon withdrawal.
Michel also noted that the if the tax benefits extend to corporations as they do with deposits to employee health savings accounts, "to the extent that you lower the corporate income tax, you’re going to encourage a different additional investment into savings by those entities."
Simulating The Universal Savings Account Impact
The Tax Foundation in its report simulated how a universal savings account could work, based on how they are implemented in Canada. The simulation assumed the accounts could go active in 2025 for adults aged 18 years or older.
On a post-tax basis, individuals would be allowed to contribute up to $9,100 on a post-tax basis annually, with that cap indexed for inflation. Any unused "contribution room" would be allowed to be carried forward. Earnings would be allowed to grow tax-free and withdrawals would be allowed for any purpose without penalty or further taxation. Any withdrawal would be added back to that year’s contribution room and that would be eligible for carryover as well.
"The fiscal cost of this USA policy would be offset by ending the tax advantage of contributions to HSAs beginning in 2025," the report states. "As such, future contributions to HSAs would be given normal tax treatment, i.e. included in taxable income and subject to payroll tax with subsequent returns on contributions also included in taxable income."
In this scenario, the Tax Foundation report estimates that "this policy change would on net raise tax revenue by about $110 billion over the 10-year budget window."
As for the impact on taxpayers, the "after-tax income would fall by about 0.1 percent in 2025 and by a smaller amount in 2034, reflecting the net tax increase in those years," the report states. "Over the long run, and accounting for economic impacts, taxpayers across every quintile would see a small increase in after-tax income on average, but the top 5 percent of earners would continue to see a small decrease in after-tax income on average."
By Gregory Twachtman, Washington News Editor
The Internal Revenue Service’s use of artificial intelligence in selecting tax returns for National Research Program audits that areused to estimate the tax gap needs more documentation and transparency, the U.S. Government Accountability Office stated.
The Internal Revenue Service’s use of artificial intelligence in selecting tax returns for National Research Program audits that areused to estimate the tax gap needs more documentation and transparency, the U.S. Government Accountability Office stated.
In a report issued June 5, 2024, the federal government watchdog noted that while the agency uses AI to improve the efficiency and selection of audit cases to help identify noncompliance, "IRS has not completed its documentation of several elements of its AI sample selection models, such as key components and technical specifications."
GAO noted that the IRS began using AI in a pilot in tax year 2019 for sampling tax returns for NRP audits. The current plan is to use AI to create a sample size of 4,000 returns to measure compliance and help inform tax gap estimates, although GAO expressed concerns about the accuracy of the estimates with that sample size.
"For example, NRP historically included more than 2,500 returns that claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit, but the redesigned sample has included less than 500 of these returns annually," the report stated.
IRS told GAO that it "is exploring ways to combine operational audit data with NRP audit data when developing its taxgapestimates. IRS officials also told us that if IRS can reliably combine these data for taxgap analysis, IRS might be better positioned to identify emerging trends in noncompliance and reduce the uncertainty of the estimates due to the small sample size."
The report also highlighted the fact that the agency "has multiple documents that collectively provide technical details and justifications for the design of the AI models. However, no set of documents contains complete information and IRS analyst could use to run or update the models, and several key documents are in draft form."
"Completing documentation would help IRS retain organizational knowledge, ensure the models are implemented consistently, and make the process more transparent to future users," the report stated.
By Gregory Twachtman, Washington News Editor
The IRS has released additional Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness guidance.
The IRS has released additional Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness guidance. The guidance addresses (1) timing issues; (2) partner and consolidated group member basis adjustments; and (3) filing of amended partnership returns and information statements.
Timing of Tax-exempt Income
A taxpayer that received a PPP loan may treat tax-exempt income resulting from the partial or complete forgiveness of the PPP loan as received or accrued as follows:
- As the taxpayer pays or incurs eligible expenses. Under the safe harbor that allows certain taxpayers who relied on prior guidance and did not deduct certain PPP-related expenses on a tax return filed before the COVID Tax Relief Act was enacted, to deduct the expenses in the next tax year. A taxpayer that has elected to use the safe harbor will be treated as paying or incurring the eligible expenses during the taxpayer’s immediately subsequent tax year following the taxpayer’s 2020 tax year in which the expenses were actually paid or incurred, as described in Rev. Proc. 2021-20;
- When the taxpayer files an application for forgiveness of the PPP loan; or;
- When the PPP loan forgiveness is granted.
The timing treatment also applies to the extent tax-exempt income resulting from the partial or complete forgiveness of a PPP loan is treated as gross receipts under a federal tax provision.
If a taxpayer received PPP loan forgiveness of less than the amount that the taxpayer previously treated as tax-exempt income, the taxpayer must file an amended return, information return, or administrative adjustment request as applicable.
Partnership Allocations and Basis Adjustments
If covered partnerships meet certain requirements, the IRS will treat the covered taxpayer’s allocation of amounts treated as tax exempt income and allocation of deductions as determined in accordance with Code Sec. 704(b). A partner's basis in its interest is increased by the partner’s distributive share of tax exempt income and is decreased by the partner’s distributive share of deductions. If certain conditions are met, the treatment generally applies in connection with:
- deductions and amounts treated as tax exempt income arising in connection with the forgiveness of a PPP loan;
- deductions and amounts treated as tax exempt income arising in connection with payments made by the SBA on behalf of the taxpayer with respect to a covered loan under § 1112(c) of the CARES Act; and
- the allocation of deductions and amounts treated as tax exempt income arising in connection with the taxpayer receiving a Supplemental Targeted EIDL Advance or a Restaurant Revitalization Grant.
Consolidated Group Members
For consolidated group members, the IRS will treat any amount excluded from gross income under § 7A(i) of the Small Business Act, § 276(b) of the COVID Tax Relief Act, or § 278(a)(1) of the COVID Tax Relief Act, as applicable, as tax exempt income for purposes of Reg. §1.1502-32(b)(2)(ii) investment adjustments. For the treatment to apply, the consolidated group must attach a signed statement to its consolidated tax return.
Amended Returns
Eligible partnerships subject to the centralized partnership audit regime (BBA partnerships) that filed a Form 1065 and furnished all required Schedules K-1 for tax years ending after March 27, 2020 and before Rev. Proc. 2021-50 was issued may file amended partnership returns and furnish amended Schedules K-1 on or before December 31, 2021. The amended returns must take into account tax changes under Rev. Proc. 2021-48 or Rev. Proc. 2021-49, but eligible BBA partnerships may make any additional changes on their amended returns.
The amended return applies to any partnership tax year ending after March 27, 2020 and before the issuance of Rev. Proc. 2021-48 and Rev. Proc. 2021-49. The BBA partnership must clearly indicate the application of this revenue procedure on the amended return and write "FILED PURSUANT TO REV PROC 2021-50" at the top of the amended return and attach a statement with each amended Schedule K-1 furnished to its partners with the same notation.
Special rules apply to pass-through partners. A partnership under examination that wishes to use this amended return procedure must notify the revenue agent coordinating the partnership’s examination.