e-News for Tax Professionals Issue 2021-09

Useful Links:

IRS.gov

Tax Professionals Home

All Forms and Instructions

Stakeholders Partners'
Headliners

Training and
Communication Tools

e-Services

Taxpayer Advocate Service

Disaster Relief

Internal Revenue Bulletins

IRS Social Media

Upcoming Events

Seminars, Workshops, Conferences, and Other Practitioner Activities By State:

Nationwide Webinars

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas

Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina

North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Back to top

Issue Number:  2021-09

Inside This Issue

1. 2021 Virtual IRS Nationwide Tax Forum registration is now open
2. Filing Season Data Table
3. Recovery Rebate Credit eligibility
4. Remind clients with businesses about reporting large cash transactions
5. A Closer Look: Free File can help people with no filing requirement find overlooked tax credits
6. IRS takes steps to help marijuana businesses stay in compliance with taxes
7. News from the Justice Department’s Tax Division
8. Technical Guidance

IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig released a YouTube video regarding open registration for the 2021 Virtual IRS Nationwide Tax Forum. The 2021 Virtual Tax Forum, beginning July 20, will include live webinars every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The 2021 Virtual Tax Forum is a great opportunity to:

• Learn and earn CE credits from the comfort and safety of your home
• Hear the latest updates on tax law, cybersecurity, ethics and other topics
• Get reliable information directly from the IRS
• Visit industry-leading vendors at our Virtual Expo
• Share your experiences and discuss innovative ideas with the IRS through focus groups

Register now at www.irstaxforum.com.

Back to top

The IRS has posted weekly filing season statistics to IRS.gov. Traditionally, the IRS has done a calendar-year to calendar-year comparison of filings. However, due to the unusual circumstances of this year’s filing season and the pandemic, the IRS is also providing a look at numbers comparing filing season stats based on the number of days IRS processing systems have been open – not just based on the calendar.

Regardless of which set of numbers are used, this year’s filing season is on track and progressing smoothly thanks to the work of IRS employees, tax professionals, tax filing industry partners and members of the Free File Alliance.

Back to top

Do you have clients who did not receive an Economic Impact Payment or received less than the full amount? If so, they may be eligible to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit. Individuals who were eligible but did not receive the first or second Economic Impact Payment, or received less than the full amounts, may be eligible to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 federal tax return, even if they do not usually file a tax return.

For more information about the Recovery Rebate Credit, see Frequently Asked Questions at IRS.gov.

Back to top

The IRS recently reminded businesses of their responsibility to file Form 8300, Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000, and encourages e-filing to help them file accurate, complete forms. A fact sheet helps businesses understand how to report large cash transactions.

Back to top

In this issue of “A Closer Look,” Dietra Grant, Director of Customer Account Services, discusses the benefits of using Free File options to get tax breaks. “So many people were adversely affected last year in the job market, and their income may be substantially different in 2020 than it was in 2019. Don’t leave money on the table, use Free File online to help,” said Grant.

Back to top

The Commissioner of the IRS’s Small Business/Self-Employed division, Eric Hylton, gives candid insights on a variety of cannabis industry issues from the federal perspective at an informational webinar hosted by the Payments Banking and Compliance Conference. The overarching theme to his comments was that states are already legalizing marijuana regardless of federal policy, creating complications that need to be addressed.

For more information, visit the marijuana industry page on IRS.gov.

Back to top

A North Carolina return preparer pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States. According to court documents, Hildares Kinkesha Parker-Greene managed a tax return preparation business located in Kinston, N.C., from at least January 2016 through March 2016. Parker-Greene conspired with another return preparer to fraudulently inflate clients’ tax refunds by claiming false wages, federal income tax withholdings and dependents causing clients to receive refunds to which they were not entitled.

Additionally, between 2017 and 2018, Parker-Greene operated a tax preparation business out of her home and continued to prepare false returns for clients. In total, the false returns prepared by Parker-Greene and her co-conspirator sought to defraud the IRS of more than $550,000. Parker-Greene faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison. She also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

Back to top

Revenue Ruling 2021-06 provides the rates for interest determined under Section 6621 of the code for the calendar quarter beginning April 1, 2021, will be 3 percent for overpayments (2 percent in the case of a corporation), 3 percent for underpayments and 5 percent for large corporate underpayments. The rate of interest paid on the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000 will be 0.5 percent.

Notice 2021-18 provides for adjustments to the limitation on housing expenses for purposed of Section 911 of the Internal Revenue Code. These adjustments are made on the basis of geographic differences in housing costs relative to housing costs in the United States. Further, if the limitation on housing expenses is higher for taxable year 2021 than the adjusted limitations on housing expenses provided in Notice 2020-13, qualified taxpayers may apply the adjusted limitations for taxable year 2021 to their 2020 taxable year.

Notice 2021-20 provides guidance on the employee retention credit provided under Section 2301 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, as amended by Section 206 of the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, for qualified wages paid after March 12, 2020, and before Jan. 1, 2021. This notice is to provide employers with information about how to determine their eligibility to receive the employee retention credit, largely incorporating the concepts set forth in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) posted on the IRS website and answering additional questions related to changes made by the Relief Act not addressed in the FAQs.

IR-2021-48 provides guidance for employers claiming the Employee Retention Credit for 2020, including eligibility rules for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) borrowers.

Back to top