Treasury, IRS extend filing and payment deadline to May 17, 2021

2021-03-18 The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service announced March 18 that the federal income tax filing due date for individuals for the 2020 tax year will be automatically extended from April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021. The IRS will be providing formal guidance in the coming days. IR-2021-59, March 17, 2021. Individual taxpayers do not need to file any forms or call the IRS to qualify for this…

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The IRS eliminated Taxpayer Assistance Center walk-in service

2021-02-12 Appointments are required for non-cash payments, dropping off current year Form 1040 series tax returns, or obtaining forms. Taxpayers who do not have a pre-scheduled appointment are advised that service is by appointment, and to call the toll-free number, 844-545-5640. Taxpayers wil also be told of alternative services available for their issue. Information regarding appointment times was updated to state that time will be provided to clean workstations between…

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Parking lot tax refunds available to nonprofits

2021-01-15 The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019 retroactively repealed Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 512(a)(7), implemented by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), Pub. L 115-97, which increased unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) by amounts paid or incurred for qualified transportation fringes. Congress had previously enacted this provision for amounts paid or incurred after December 31, 2017. To claim a refund or credit…

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Relief for Automobile Lease Valuation Rule Users

2021-01-13 Notice 2021-7 (Jan. 4, 2021) Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, certain employers and employees who use the automobile lease valuation rule to determine the value of an employee’s personal use of an employer-provided automobile may switch to the vehicle cents-per-mile method. If an employer provides an employee with an automobile that is available to the employee for personal use, the value of the personal use must be included in…

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Change by Congress allows employers to obtain both a PPP loan and an Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC)

2021-01-06 Under the original CARES Act an employer could not receive both a PPP loan and an Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC, up to $5,000 per employee). Congress changed that so that you can obtain both. Up to $10,000 wages (including certain health plan costs) for each employee can be counted to determine the amount of the ERTC credit. This credit can apply to  wages paid after March 12, 2020.…

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Temporary Exception to Early Withdrawal Penalty on Retirement Plans

2020-12-19 The CARES Act added a new, temporary exception to the early distribution penalty onretirement plans that is very narrowly construed to COVID illness and business disruptions. The previously existing exceptions to early distribution penalties for IRA’s and/or other qualified retirement plans were not affected and are still available under existing law.

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Mailing of IRS notices delayed due to ongoing pandemic

2020-12-16 https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/mailing-of-irs-notices-delayed-due-to-ongoing-pandemic Due to the volume of notices that needed to be printed and mailed after the IRS restarted issuing notices and due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic, the IRS continues to experience delays mailing backlogged notices to taxpayers. This delay impacts some, but not all, IRS notices dated from November 9 – November 23rd. The impacted notices are those requesting payment for tax owed or notifying taxpayers…

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IRM Interim Guidance: extends deviation of Enforcement, Exam Deviation Procedures

2020-12-11 The December 9, 2020, memorandum extends the approval period to deviate from IDR enforcement procedures and applies to the IDR enforcement process for taxpayers who are unable, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to respond timely to an IDR. Notwithstanding this deviation, managers retain the discretion to continue with the IDR enforcement process when in their judgment the interests of tax administration warrant, for example cases with short statues or…

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