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Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Correspondence Examinations (Audio, Transcript)
Friday, October 23, 2009
IRS News and Information Oct 23, 2009
New Form Aids Processing of Mortgage Applications, Makes Ordering Tax Transcripts Simpler
IR-2009-96, Oct. 21, 2009 — The Internal Revenue Service today issued a new form that will make it simpler for people, especially homeowners trying to modify or refinance their mortgages, to order copies of their tax return transcripts.
IR-2009-95, Oct. 19, 2009 — Prepared Remarks of IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman before the 2009 NACD Corporate Governance Conference in
New Video Series Helps Exempt Organizations Understand Redesigned Form 990 Requirements
IR-2009-92, Oct. 14, 2009 — The Internal Revenue Service has launched a new case study and video program to help exempt organizations and their tax preparers better understand the newly revised Form 990 series which must be filed for the 2008 tax year.
New IRS Retirement Plan Navigator Aims to Help Small Businesses
IR-2009-91, Oct. 13, 2009 — The Internal Revenue Service has created a new Web-based tool to help small business owners determine which tax-favored pension plan best suits their needs and how to keep their plans in compliance.
SSA W-2 News, Issue 2009-04, October 14, 2009
Business Services Online Not Available from October 31 until November 2, 2009
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=213862,00.html?portlet=6 -- Reminder of phishing and identiy theft
Technical Guidance
IRS Announces Pension Plan Limitations for 2010
The Internal Revenue Service today announced cost of living adjustments applicable to dollar limitations for pension plans and other items for Tax Year 2010
Sets forth the cost-of-living adjustments to certain items for 2010 as required under various provisions of the Code.
If You Have Losses, Know Your Disclosure Requirements
The IRS is reminding taxpayers to use Form 8886 to disclose information for each reportable transaction in which they participated. Generally, Form 8886 must be attached to the tax return for each tax year in which there was participation in a reportable transaction.
Events
Free IRS Webinar – e-File improves tax professionals’ business
National Phone Forums (http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=158856,00.html)
Internal Revenue Service Webinar
· The Business Case for e-file: A Panel Discussion with Tax Professionals, Tuesday, October 27, 2009
NSCPA Southwest Tax Conference, December 8~9, 2009
· The Southwest Tax Conference includes individual, small business, large to mid-size companies, regulations, and multi-state items. Hear from tax experts, earn up to 16 hours of CPE all in
I hope you find this information useful. If you would like additional information, you can subscribe to an IRS e-Subscription by going to the Subscription page on IRS.gov.
If you would like to discontinue receiving my local Stakeholder Liaison e-mails, please e-mail me at James.R.Kinsey@irs.gov and request removal of your name.
Friday, October 9, 2009
IRS News Events from Stakeholder Liaison - 9 October 2009.doc
Please share with your members and colleagues. Select the blue links to see the full article
Newsroom October 9, 2009
Oct. 17 is Last Day for Businesses to Request Tax Credit Certification for Some New Hires
IR-2009-89, Oct. 8, 2009 ― Businesses planning to claim the recently-expanded work opportunity tax credit for eligible unemployed veterans and disconnected youth hired before mid-September now have until Oct. 17 to request the certification required for these workers, according to the IRS.
Special Sales Tax Deduction for Car Purchases Available through End of 2009
IR-2009-88, Oct. 7, 2009 — With 2010 models arriving in dealer showrooms, the IRS reminds taxpayers that purchasing a new car, light truck, motor home or motorcycle could qualify them for a special deduction for the state and local sales and excise taxes on their 2009 tax returns.
IR-2009-87, Oct. 1, 2009 — The Oct. 15 deadline is approaching for taxpayers who requested a six-month extension to file their 2008 tax returns.
RIf You Have Losses, Know Your Disclosure Requirements
The IRS is reminding taxpayers to use Form 8886 to disclose information for each reportable transaction in which they participated. Generally, Form 8886 must be attached to the tax return for each tax year in which there was participation in a reportable transaction.
New Questions and Answers Added to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Form 1120 Schedule M-3
Two new questions and answers have been added to explain the purpose of Schedule M-3 Part I lines 12a-12d (new in 2008) listing certain financial accounting total asset and total liability amounts.
Pre-order 2010 IRS Tax Calendar
You can pre-order Pub 1518, 2010 IRS Tax Calendar for Small Businesses and the Self-Employed, on IRS.gov.
| Columbus Day Weekend Power Outage Will impact the Modernized e-File system during the following hours of operation: From 5:00 am – 8:00 am, Eastern on Monday, October 12, 2009. During this period, the MeF system will not be available to accept e-filed transmissions. The outage impacts the Assurance Testing System and production environments. Please note: the routine Sunday maintenance window is still scheduled from 1:00 am – 7:00 am, Eastern on Sunday, October 11, 2009. EMS Annual Columbus Day Power Outage at Martinsburg Sunday, October 11, 2009, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time through Tuesday, October 13, 2009, at 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time. This will affect individual, business, and state returns processed on the EMS located in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Due to the Columbus Day holiday, drains will not occur on Monday for either site (Martinsburg or Memphis). Normal processing will resume Tuesday morning at 5:00 a.m. We apologize for this inconvenience and thank you for your patience. |
SSA W-2 News, Issue 2009-03, October 7, 2009
Business Services Online Not Available on Columbus Day
Technical Guidance
REG - 108045-08 and TD-9466 provide guidance regarding the definition of omission of gross income.
Revenue Procedure 2009-47 provides rules for employees who are reimbursed for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses, or meals and incidental expenses only, while traveling away from home, to substantiate the expenses by per diem allowance in lieu of actual expenses. The revenue procedure also provides an optional method for employees and self-employed individuals who are not reimbursed to use in computing the deductible costs they pay or incur for business meal and incidental expenses, or for incidental expenses only if they pay or incur no meal expenses, while traveling away from home. Use of a method described in this revenue procedure is not mandatory, and a taxpayer may use actual allowable expenses if the taxpayer maintains adequate records or other sufficient evidence for proper substantiation.
REG-160871-04 contains proposed regulations relating to the exception to the general three-year period of limitations on assessment under section 6501(c)(10) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) for listed transactions that a taxpayer failed to disclose as required under section 6011. These regulations will affect taxpayers who fail to disclose listed transactions in accordance with section 6011.
Headliners
Headliner Volume 275 October 5, 2009, Notice CP 207/207L Problem Corrected for Third Quarter Processing
Headliner Volume 276 October 8, 2009, IRS Spotlights Tax Information for Individuals with Disabilities and Tax Benefits for Small Businesses Who Accommodate and Hire Them
Events
National Phone Forums (http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=158856,00.html)
§ First Time Homebuyer Credit To Repay or Not to Repay? – October 21, 2009
Audio reenactments of the national phone forums, IRS Collection Process and Online Fraud and Identity Theft are now on IRS.gov.
I hope you find this information useful. If you would like additional information, you can subscribe to an IRS e-Subscription by going to the Subscription page on IRS.gov.
If you would like to discontinue receiving my local Stakeholder Liaison e-mails, please e-mail me at James.R.Kinsey@irs.gov and request removal of your name.
Monday, September 21, 2009
IRS News and Information September 21, 2009
Newsroom September 21, 2009
ARRA Marketing Products for Partners
The IRS encourages its various partners and stakeholders to reach out to the public to provide information on the law. This page contains IRS marketing products that partners and stakeholders may find useful in their outreach efforts. Flyers in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian, and Vietnamese
IMRS Hot Topics for September 2009
Standards of Conduct for the Tax Return Preparer Community and Increased Taxpayer Compliance - The IRS received over 450 comments regarding Notice 2009-60. The comment period closed on August 31, 2009. Comments Received July 24 - 31, 2009
The IRS encourages its various partners and stakeholders to reach out to the public to provide information on the law. This page contains IRS marketing products that partners and stakeholders may find useful in their outreach efforts. Flyers in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian, and Vietnamese
Pub 1693: SSA/IRS Reporter (Fall 2009 - English
Fall Issue addresses the new ARRA 2009 Energy incentives for business
IR-2009-78, Sept. 9, 2009 — Information on various tax breaks for higher education may be found on a new Web section of IRS.gov.
Summer 2009 Statistics of Income Bulletin Now Available
IR-2009-77, August 25, 2009 — The IRS announced availability of the summer 2009 issue of the Statistics of Income Bulletin, which features sole proprietorship data for tax year 2007.
IRS Features Recovery Tax Credits on YouTube, iTunes
IR-2009-76, Aug. 21, 2009 — The IRS now has channels on Youtube and Itunes featuring products to help taxpayers take full advantage of the 2009 tax provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
IRS Alerts Public to New Identity Theft Scams
IR-2009-71, August 4, 2009 — Summertime brings no relief from phony e-mails that claim to come from the IRS but which really come from scammers trying to steal the identity of the e-mail recipients.
Help your employees plan ahead.
There are lots of benefits for you and your employees in setting up a retirement plan. Get information on common retirement plan options to help you choose a plan right for your business. If you already have a retirement plan, get information on maintaining that plan and correcting common plan errors.
Tax Hints: Volume 2, Issue 2 (09/04/2009)
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Information Center
IRS Headliners
Volume 274: COBRA subsidy recipients who later become eligible for insurance coverage should notify their former employer to avoid a penalty
Technical Guidance
Revenue Procedure 2009-41 provides guidance with regard to eligible entities seeking relief to file late classification elections. Generally, the revenue procedure provides late relief if the request is filed within 3 years and 75 days of the requested effective date of the eligible entity's classification. The revenue procedure also provides guidance for those eligible entities that do not qualify for relief under this revenue procedure.
Revenue Procedure 2009-39 discusses changes in accounting periods and in methods of accounting. It will be published in IRB 2009-38 dated Sept. 21, 2009.
Notice 2009-69 clarifies section D of Notice 2009-28 (2009-24 I.R.B.1082, published on June 15, 2009), which provided guidance to employers seeking to claim the Work Opportunity Tax Credit on two targeted groups added by new §51(d)(14). Notice 2009-69 explains that not readily employable by reason of lacking a sufficient number of basic skills" includes individuals who have worked occasionally since high school graduation / receipt of GED certificate. Notice 2009-69 also provides extended transition relief for filing of Form 8850.
Events
National Phone Forums (http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=158856,00.html)
§ When Businesses Should File Form 8300 for Cash Transactions - Webinar (9/16/2009)
§ American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) - Tuesday, October 6, 2009, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Employment Tax
IRS on the Hill
Senate Indian Affairs: On Friday, September 18th, Tax Exempt Government Entities Commissioner Sarah Hall Ingram testified before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs at a hearing on examining the federal tax treatment of health care benefits provided by tribal governments to their citizens.
Senator Tom Udall chaired the hearing on behalf of Chairman Byron Dorgan. In his opening statement, Senator Udall explained that tribal health programs are being reviewed by the IRS in order to determine if they should be treated as taxable income. He explained that tribal governments are providing relief to its communities because of the failures of the Indian health care system and indicated that the Federal government should not penalize tribal governments for filling a void that the Federal government has failed to provide.
In her testimony, TEGE Commissioner Sarah Hall Ingram noted that the tax rules that apply to health care provided by tribal governments are the same rules that have existed for decades and that apply to such care and benefits provided by non-tribal governments, including federal, state, and local authorities. TEGE Commissioner Ingram further added that there are no special tax rules that apply uniquely to tribal government health care programs.
Hearing Update
Senate Finance: On Tuesday, September 15th, the Senate Committee on Finance held a hearing entitled, "Unemployment Insurance Benefits: Where Do We Go From Here?" Witnesses included: (1) Ms. Beth Shulman, JD, Chair, Board of Directors, National Employment Law; (2) Mr. Doug Holmes, President, Strategic Services on Unemployment & Workers' Compensation, and the National Foundation for Unemployment Compensation & Workers' Compensation; (3) Mr. Karen A. Campbell, Macroeconomic Policy Analyst, Center for Data Analysis, The Heritage Foundation; (4) Mr. Thomas S. Whitaker, JD, President, National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA), Deputy Chairman, North Carolina Employment Security Commission; and (5) Mr. Gary Burtless, Senior Fellow in Economic Studies (and Whitehead Chair in Economics), The Brookings Institution.
In his opening statement, Chairman Max Baucus stressed the importance of job creation in a job market where 3 million job openings exist for the current 15 million unemployed and the need for unemployment insurance help sustain small businesses, the housing market and the U.S. economy. Chairman Baucus stated that he expected the House to send over an unemployment insurance benefits bill at the end of the month and anticipated that the Finance Committee would be reporting out a bill shortly.
Committee members asked questions related to one witness' assertion that unemployment insurance benefits dis-incentivized unemployed workers and the current state of the job market where job vacancies out-number jobless workers by five to one. Many of the witnesses supported extending unemployment insurance benefits into 2010.
Nomination Update
On Wednesday, September 16th, the White House announced the nomination of Michael Mundaca as the Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy.
Legislative Update
On Thursday, September 17th, Rep. Charles Rangel introduced H.R. 3590, "Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009," which would modify the first-time homebuyer's credit in the case of members of the Armed Forces and certain other Federal employees. Also included in the bill is a provision that would increase penalties for failure to file a partnership or S corporation return. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
On Wednesday, September 16th, Sen. Max Baucus unveiled the Chairman's Mark of the "America's Healthy Future Act of 2009," which includes an excise tax on high cost insurance; a deduction for health insurance cost of self-employed individuals; a requirement for employer health insurance reporting on the Form W-2; modifications to Health Savings Accounts; limitations on flexible spending arrangements under cafeteria plans; and additional requirements for 501(c)(3) hospitals, which would require the IRS to review information about a hospital's community benefit activities at least once every three years. Attached is an Overview of the tax-related provisions in the Chairman's Mark.
On Wednesday, September 16th, the House Committee on the Judiciary ordered reported H.R. 3290, "September 11 Family Humanitarian Relief and Patriotism Act of 2009." Contained in the bill is a provision that would provide an adjustment of status for aliens with no federal tax liability.
I hope you find this information useful. If you would like additional information, you can subscribe to an IRS e-Subscription by going to the Subscription page on IRS.gov.
If you would like to discontinue receiving my local Stakeholder Liaison e-mails, please e-mail me at James R.Kinsey@irs.gov and request removal of your name.