e-News for Tax Professionals Issue 2013-3
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sent this bulletin at 01/18/2013 04:27 PM EST
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Issue Number: 2013-3Inside This Issue
1. IRS Provides Penalty Relief to Farmers and Fishermen The Internal Revenue Service announced today that it will issue guidance in the near future to provide relief from the estimated tax penalty for farmers and fishermen unable to file and pay their 2012 taxes by the March 1 deadline due to the delayed start for filing tax returns. The delay stems from this month’s enactment of the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA). The ATRA affected several tax forms that are often filed by farmers and fishermen, including the Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization (Including Information on Listed Property). These forms will require extensive programming and testing of IRS systems, which will delay the IRS’s ability to accept and process these forms. The IRS is providing this relief because delays in the agency’s ability to accept and process these forms may affect the ability of many farmers and fishermen to file and pay their taxes by the March 1 deadline. The relief applies to all farmers and fishermen, not only those who must file late released forms. Normally, farmers and fishermen who choose not to make quarterly estimated tax payments are not subject to a penalty if they file their returns and pay the full amount of tax due by March 1. Under the guidance to be issued, farmers or fishermen who miss the March 1 deadline will not be subject to the penalty if they file and pay by April 15, 2013. A taxpayer qualifies as a farmer or fisherman for tax-year 2012 if at least two-thirds of the taxpayer’s total gross income was from farming or fishing in either 2011 or 2012. Farmers and fishermen requesting this penalty waiver must attach Form 2210-F to their tax return. The form can be submitted electronically or on paper. The taxpayer’s name and identifying number should be entered at the top of the form, the waiver box (Part I, Box A) should be checked, and the rest of the form should be left blank. Forms, instructions, and other tax assistance are available on IRS.gov. 2. Tax-Free Transfers to Charity Renewed for IRA Owners 70½ or Older; Rollovers This Month Can Still Count for 2012 Certain owners of individual retirement arrangements (IRAs) have a limited time to make tax-free transfers to eligible charities and have them count for tax year 2012. 3. IRS Announces Simplified Option for Claiming Home Office Deduction The Internal Revenue Service announced a simplified option that many owners of home-based businesses and some home-based workers may use to figure their deductions for the business use of their homes. 4. Annual Inflation Adjustments for 2013 The Internal Revenue Service announced annual inflation adjustments for tax year 2013, including the tax rate schedules, and other tax changes from the recently passed American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. 5. Fiscal Year 2012 Enforcement and Service Results The Fiscal Year 2012 Enforcement and Service Results detail IRS audit, collection and taxpayer service performance. See the results and accompanying statement. 6. Collection Information Statements Revised Based on suggestions from employees and practitioners, the IRS has revised two collection-related forms: The IRS will continue to accept the January 2008 versions until June 1. Headliner Volume 334 has more information. 7. Notices Concerning Form 1099-K The new Notices Related to Form 1099-K page has information on the reasons for the correspondence and how to respond. 8. Phone Forum: Ethical Standards and Accountability for Practitioners Offering Tax Advice Relating to Employee Benefit Plans Sign up now for this Feb. 13 Phone Forum. Karen Hawkins, the Director of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and Gabriel Minc, a Senior Tax Law Specialist in Employee Plans, will discuss the professional standards of conduct applicable to, and the accountability of, individuals that provide written tax advice relating to employee benefit plans. . If you have a specific matter that you would like to be addressed, please email us at ep.phoneforum@irs.gov by Feb. 8. 9. Phone Forum: Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System Changes Sign up now for this Feb. 21 Phone Forum. Revenue Procedure 2013-12 made various changes to the IRS correction programs that plan sponsors and practitioners can use to fix mistakes in retirement plans. The changes include being able to now correct 403(b) plan document failures and new Voluntary Compliance Program procedures. Janet Mak, Manager of EP Voluntary Compliance, and Paul C. Hogan, EP Voluntary Compliance Program Coordinator will discuss the new revenue procedure.If you have a specific matter that you would like addressed, please email us at ep.phoneforum@irs.gov by Feb. 15. Note: This forum will be held twice on Feb. 21. The first session will be held at 11:00am ET and the second session will be held at 2:00pm ET. Please register only for the session in which you plan to participate. The port cannot be freed up for another participant if you can't attend the session you are registered for. 10. Phone Forum: Overview of the 2012 Cumulative List of Plan Qualification Changes Sign up now for this Feb. 28 Phone Forum. Donald Kieffer, IRS Employee Plans Senior Tax Law Specialist, will discuss the list of plan changes to be used by plan sponsors and practitioners submitting determination letter applications during the period beginning Febr. 1 (Notice 2012-76). If you have a specific matter that you would like to be addressed, please email us at ep.phoneforum@irs.gov by Feb. 21. 11. Technical Guidance Revenue Ruling 2013-3 provides various prescribed rates for federal income tax purposes including the applicable federal interest rates, the adjusted applicable federal interest rates, the adjusted federal long-term rate, the adjusted federal long-term tax-exempt rate. These rates are determined as prescribed by § 1274. The rates are published monthly for purposes of sections 42, 382, 412, 1288, 1274, 7520, 7872, and various other sections of the Internal Revenue Code. Revenue Ruling 2013-3 will be in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2013-8, dated Feb. 19, 2013. Notice 2013-7 extends earlier guidance on the federal tax consequences of payments made to or on behalf of financially distressed homeowners under programs established pursuant to the Treasury Department’s Housing Finance Agency Innovation Fund for the Hardest-Hit Housing Markets and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program. This notice also extends earlier guidance on the information reporting requirements for these payments. Notice 2011-14 and Rev. Proc. 2011-55 amplified and supplemented. Notice 2013-7 will be published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2013-6 on February 4, 2013. Notice 2013-8 provides guidance under the Administrative Taxpayer Relief Act, which retroactively increased monthly transit benefit limit for 2012 from $125 per month to $240 per month. This notice provides a special correction procedure for employers who paid benefits in excess of $125 per month in 2012 and wish to make corrections on their fourth quarter Form 941. 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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