e-News for Tax Professionals Issue 2012-34
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sent this bulletin at 08/24/2012 04:55 PM EDT
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Issue Number: 2012-34Inside This Issue
1. Labor Day Power Outage to Affect IRS Services A planned power outage around the Labor Day weekend will affect a number of IRS systems and limit the availability of several services between Thursday, Aug. 30 and Tuesday, Sept. 4. The systems will be unavailable due to maintenance and upgrading of an electrical system. The IRS appreciates the patience of tax professionals while this critical maintenance is performed. Listed below are some systems that will be affected. If you need to contact the IRS or use these online services, please do so before or after the outage period. • All toll-free services, including the e-help desk and Practitioner Priority Service, will have limited availability Aug. 30 and Aug. 31 until 4p.m. EDT. These services will be completely unavailable for the remainder of the outage period. • E-Services, including Disclosure Authorization, Transcript Delivery and TIN Matching, will be unavailable beginning Aug. 31 at 1 p.m. EDT. • Modernized e-file and the legacy e-file systems will be unavailable, respectively, beginning Aug. 31 at 3 p.m. EDT and Aug. 29 at 11a.m. EDT. Contact your software provider if you have questions concerning filing and refund processing times during the outage. • Taxpayer Assistance Centers will keep their regular business hours but will have limited access to taxpayer account information. They can only accept non-cash payments during the outage period. 2. Enrolled Agent Numbers are Growing The IRS has recorded a spike in the number of tax professionals scheduling and taking the Special Enrollment Exam (SEE) in recent months. There were 6,463 SEE tests administered between May and July, a 73 percent increase from 2011, while 6,030 future SEE appointments were scheduled between May and July, a 47 percent increase from same time last year. Remember, certain preparers must take either the Registered Tax Return Preparer test or the SEE before the end of 2013. Why wait? Check out www.irs.gov/taxpros/tests to see which one works for you and schedule an appointment today. If you’re ready to schedule your RTRP test today use your online PTIN Account at www.irs.gov/ptin. 3. Webinar: Payment Alternatives – When You Owe the IRS In this Sept. 12 webinar you will learn about payment options when you or your clients owe the IRS. Topics to be covered include: • Why borrowing may be cheaper than owing the IRS 4. Get Answers to Questions about Third-Party Authorizations Join the Aug. 29 IRS Live broadcast and learn which form is correct for different situations: • Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative 5. Sign up for a Small and Medium-Sized 501(c)(3) Organization Workshop Near You One-day workshops for small and medium-sized 501(c)(3) organizations are presented by experienced IRS Exempt Organizations specialists who will explain what 501(c)(3) entities must do to keep their tax-exempt status and comply with tax obligations. The workshops, which are being held nationwide, are designed for administrators or volunteers who are responsible for tax compliance and for organization representatives. All full-day workshops are approved by the IRS for six continuing education (CE) credit for Enrolled Agents and Registered Tax Return Preparers. 6. Tax Relief for Victims of Freedom Wildfire in Oklahoma Victims of the Freedom Wildfire that began on Aug. 3, 2012 in parts of Oklahoma may qualify for tax relief from the Internal Revenue Service. The President has declared Creek County a federal disaster area. Individuals who reside or have a business in this county may qualify for tax relief. The declaration permits the IRS to postpone certain deadlines for taxpayers who reside or have a business in the disaster area. For instance, certain deadlines falling on or after Aug. 3, and on or before Oct. 2, have been postponed to Oct. 2, 2012. This includes the quarterly estimated tax payment due on Sept. 17, 2012. In addition, the IRS is waiving the failure-to-deposit penalties for employment and excise tax deposits due on or after Aug. 3, and on or before Aug. 20, as long as the deposits are made by Aug. 20, 2012. If an affected taxpayer receives a penalty notice from the IRS, the taxpayer should call the telephone number on the notice to have the IRS abate any interest and any late filing or late payment penalties that would otherwise apply. Penalties or interest will be abated only for taxpayers who have an original or extended filing, payment or deposit due date, including an extended filing or payment due date, that falls within the postponement period. The IRS automatically identifies taxpayers located in the covered disaster area and applies automatic filing and payment relief. But affected taxpayers who reside or have a business located outside the covered disaster area must call the IRS disaster hotline at 1-866-562-5227 to request this tax relief. Covered Disaster Area The county listed above constitutes a covered disaster area for purposes of Treas. Reg. § 301.7508A-1(d)(2) and is entitled to the relief detailed below. Affected Taxpayers Taxpayers considered to be affected taxpayers eligible for the postponement of time to file returns, pay taxes and perform other time-sensitive acts are those taxpayers listed in Treas. Reg. § 301.7508A-1(d)(1), and include individuals who live, and businesses whose principal place of business is located, in the covered disaster area. Taxpayers not in the covered disaster area, but whose records necessary to meet a deadline listed in Treas. Reg. § 301.7508A-1(c) are in the covered disaster area, are also entitled to relief. In addition, all relief workers affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization assisting in the relief activities in the covered disaster area and any individual visiting the covered disaster area who was killed or injured as a result of the disaster are entitled to relief. Grant of Relief Under section 7508A, the IRS gives affected taxpayers until Oct. 2 to file most tax returns (including individual, corporate, and estate and trust income tax returns; partnership returns, S corporation returns, and trust returns; estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax returns; and employment and certain excise tax returns), or to make tax payments, including estimated tax payments, that have either an original or extended due date occurring on or after Aug. 3 and on or before Oct. 2. The IRS also gives affected taxpayers until Oct. 2 to perform other time-sensitive actions described in Treas. Reg. § 301.7508A-1(c)(1) and Rev. Proc. 2007-56, 2007-34 I.R.B. 388 (Aug. 20, 2007), that are due to be performed on or after Aug. 3 and on or before Oct. 2. This relief also includes the filing of Form 5500 series returns, in the manner described in section 8 of Rev. Proc. 2007-56. The relief described in section 17 of Rev. Proc. 2007-56, pertaining to like-kind exchanges of property, also applies to certain taxpayers who are not otherwise affected taxpayers and may include acts required to be performed before or after the period above. The postponement of time to file and pay does not apply to information returns in the W-2, 1098, 1099 series, or to Forms 1042-S or 8027. Penalties for failure to timely file information returns can be waived under existing procedures for reasonable cause. Likewise, the postponement does not apply to employment and excise tax deposits. The IRS, however, will abate penalties for failure to make timely employment and excise tax deposits due on or after Aug. 3 and on or before Aug. 20 provided the taxpayer makes these deposits by Aug. 20. Casualty Losses Affected taxpayers in a federally declared disaster area have the option of claiming disaster-related casualty losses on their federal income tax return for either this year or last year. Claiming the loss on an original or amended return for last year will get the taxpayer an earlier refund, but waiting to claim the loss on this year’s return could result in a greater tax saving, depending on other income factors. Individuals may deduct personal property losses that are not covered by insurance or other reimbursements. For details, see Form 4684 and its instructions. Affected taxpayers claiming the disaster loss on last year’s return should put the Disaster Designation “OKLAHOMA/FREEDOM WILDFIRE” at the top of the form so that the IRS can expedite the processing of the refund. Other Relief The IRS will waive the usual fees and expedite requests for copies of previously filed tax returns for affected taxpayers. Taxpayers should put the assigned Disaster Designation in red ink at the top of Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return, or Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return, as appropriate, and submit it to the IRS. Affected taxpayers who are contacted by the IRS on a collection or examination matter should explain how the disaster impacts them so that the IRS can provide appropriate consideration to their case. Taxpayers may download forms and publications from the official IRS website, IRS.gov, or order them by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676). The IRS toll-free number for general tax questions is 1-800-829-1040. Related Information 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. |
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