e-News for Tax Professionals Issue 2020-31
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sent this bulletin at 07/31/2020 04:37 PM EDT
 |
|||
|
|||
Useful Links:Stakeholders Partners' Training and Upcoming EventsSeminars, Workshops, Conferences, and Other Practitioner Activities By State:Alabama Kentucky North Dakota |
Issue Number: 2020-31Inside This Issue
1. IRS Nationwide Tax Forums: Key enforcement issues coming up Aug. 4 The IRS Nationwide Tax Forums continue next week with six seminars on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. On Tuesday, speakers from the IRS Large Business & International Division and the Small Business Self-Employed Division will explain where the IRS is focusing its enforcement resources. On Wednesday, the National Society of Accountants will present on the taxability of “other income,” and on Thursday, the National Society of Tax Professionals will tell attendees what they need to know about the recently enacted Disaster Act and Secure Act. Following is the schedule for Aug. 4-6. Times are all Eastern: • Tuesday, 11 a.m. – IRS Key Enforcement Issues Visit www.IRSTaxForum.com to learn more. 2. Working Virtually: Use multi-factor authentication to protect accounts With heightened threats during COVID-19, the Internal Revenue Service and its Security Summit partners this week presented the second in a series of cybersecurity tips for tax professionals. The focus this week is on the importance of selecting multi-factor authentication options whenever possible to prevent identity thieves from gaining access to client accounts. 3. Disaster relief: Michigan and Utah Parts of Michigan have been declared a major disaster area because of severe storms and flooding starting on May 16. Tax deadlines occurring on or after that date are generally postponed to Oct. 15. Parts of Utah have been declared a major disaster area because of an earthquake and aftershocks starting on March 18. Tax deadlines occurring on or after that date are generally postponed to July 31. 4. Partnerships: TCJA made changes to the holding period for carried interest The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) added section 1061 to the Internal Revenue Code. This section requires partnership interest derived from the performance of investment services (carried interest) to be held for more than three years to be treated as long-term capital gains. The three-year holding period is required for sales of assets held (directly or indirectly) by the partnership. The three-year holding period also applies to the sale of the partnership interest itself. For more information, see the proposed regulations and a comparison of changes to rules for carried interest under TCJA, on the application of Section 1061. Updates on this and other TCJA provisions can be found on the Tax Reform page of IRS.gov. 5. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Library The IRS Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Library provides a comprehensive list of documents and information on IRS.gov. The library has links to records routinely used by tax professionals such as: • Active enrolled agents listing, Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) listing, and external customer data store (ECDS) extracts • Published tax guidance including final, temporary, and proposed regulations, as well as IRS publications and notices • Chief Counsel notices and the Internal Revenue Manual Visit the IRS FOIA Library, available 24 hours per day, seven days per week. 6. News from the Justice Department’s Tax Division A Queens, N.Y., return preparer pleaded guilty this week to conspiracy to defraud the United States by filing false returns. According to court documents and statements made in court, Richard Barker owned and operated a tax return preparation business under the names Tax Depot Inc. and KPS Kampant, Parkinson, Sinclair & Co. Inc. From 2011 through 2017, Barker conspired with other individuals to file returns falsely reporting significant tax withholdings in an effort to inflate refunds from the IRS. Barker also admitted that he filed returns for himself, a co-conspirator, and others, claiming more than $530,000 in fraudulent refunds from the IRS. 7. Technical Guidance The Internal Revenue Service this week issued: • Proposed regulations updating various tax accounting regulations to adopt the simplified tax accounting rules for small businesses under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) • A temporary regulation and a proposed regulation to reconcile advance payments of refundable employment tax credits and recapture the benefit of these credits when necessary, and • Final regulations and other guidance regarding the provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that limits the deduction for business interest expense, including basic statutory amendments made by the CARES Act. The IRS also issued the following notices: • Notice 2020-58 provides temporary relief from certain requirements under § 47 of the Internal Revenue Code in response to the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. • Notice 2020-59 contains a proposed revenue procedure with a safe harbor for 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 as an electing real property trade or business under section 163(j)(7)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Thank you for subscribing to e-News for Tax Professionals an IRS e-mail service. If you have a specific concern about your client's tax situation, call the IRS Practitioner Priority Service 1-866-860-4259. This message was distributed automatically from the mailing list e-News for Tax Professionals. Please Do Not Reply To This Message To subscribe to or unsubscribe from another list, please go to the e-News Subscriptions page on the IRS Web site. |
||
