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Do you provide company owned autos to your employees? Whether as "perks" or as necessary tools to get the work done, employee personal use of the vehicle has tax implications for them and for you.


As 2021 comes to an end, it is time to gather the data needed for year-end business reporting requirements.  We have attached information relating to the reporting requirements for Form 1099.  


The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) under IRC Sec. 3134 was enacted by Section 9651 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) that provides a credit for qualified wages. The IRS has issued further guidance on the ERC, amplifying guidance provided in Notices 2021-20 and 2021-23. Changes include, among other things, (1) making the credit available to eligible employers that pay qualified wages after 6/30/21 and before 1/1/22, (2) expanding the definition of eligible employer to include "recovery startup businesses," (3) modifying the definition of qualified wages for "severely financial distressed employers," and (4) providing that the ERC does not apply to qualified wages taken into account as payroll costs in connection with a shuttered venue grant. Also, guidance is provided on several miscellaneous issues with respect to the ERC for both 2020 and 2021. News Release IR-2021-165 and Notice 2021-49.


WASHINGTON—The Internal Revenue Service will be resuming issuing collections notices to taxpayers that were previously suspending during the COVID-19 pandemic, although a date on when they will begin to be sent out has not been set.


The Internal Revenue Service will use 2018 as the benchmark year for determining audit rates as it plans to increase enforcement for those individuals and businesses making more than $400,000 per year.


The Supreme Court has held that the exception to the notice requirement in Code Sec. 7609(c)(2)(D)(i) does not apply where a delinquent taxpayer has a legal interest in accounts or records summoned by the IRS under Code Sec. 7602(a). The IRS had entered official assessments against an individual for unpaid taxes and penalties, following which a revenue officer had issued summonses to three banks seeking financial records of several third parties, including the taxpayers. Subsequently, the taxpayers moved to quash the summonses. The District Court concluded that, under Code Sec. 7609(c)(2)(D)(i), no notice was required and that taxpayers, therefore, could not bring a motion to quash. 


An IRS notice provides interim guidance describing rules that the IRS intends to include in proposed regulations regarding the domestic content bonus credit requirements for:


A married couple’s petition for redetermination of an income tax deficiency was untimely where they electronically filed their petition from the central time zone but after the due date in the eastern time zone, where the Tax Court is located. Accordingly, the taxpayers’ case was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.


Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Daniel Werfel said changes are coming to address racial disparities among those who get audited annually.


The American Institute of CPAs expressed support for legislation pending in the Senate that would redefine when electronic payments to the Internal Revenue Service are considered timely.


WASHINGTON—The Inflation Reduction Act Strategic Operating Plan was designed to be a living document, an Internal Revenue Service official said.

The plan, which outlines how the IRS plans to spend the additional nearly $80 billion in supplemental funds allocated to it in the Inflation Reduction Act, was written to be a "living document. It’s not meant to be something static that stays on the shelf and never gets updated, and just becomes an historic relic," Bridget Roberts, head of the IRS Transformation and Strategy Office, said May 5, 2023, at the ABA May Tax Meeting.


The IRS Independent Office of Appeals, in coordination with the National Taxpayer Advocate, has invited public feedback on how it can improve conference options for taxpayers and representatives who are not located near an Appeals office, encourage participation of taxpayers with limited English proficiency and ensure accessibility by persons with disabilities. Taxpayers can send their comments to ap.taxpayer.experience@irs.gov by July 10, 2023.


Shortly after resuming operations post-government shutdown, the IRS told taxpayers that the start of the 2014 filing season will be delayed by one to two weeks. The delay will largely impact taxpayers who want to file their 2013 returns early in the filing season. At the same time, the White House clarified on social media that no penalty under the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) individual mandate would be imposed during the enrollment period for obtaining coverage through an ACA Marketplace.


Despite the 16-day government shutdown in October, a number of important developments took place impacting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, especially for individuals and businesses. The Small Business Health Option Program (SHOP) was temporarily delayed, Congress took a closer look at income verification for the Code Sec. 36B premium assistance tax credit, and held a hearing on the Affordable Care Act's employer mandate. Individuals trying to enroll in coverage through HealthCare.gov also experienced some technical problems in October.


The arrival of year end presents special opportunities for most taxpayers to take steps in lowering their tax liability. The tax law imposes tax liability based upon a "tax year." For most individuals and small business, their tax year is the same as the calendar year. As 2013 year end gets closer, most taxpayers have a more accurate picture of what their tax liability will be in 2013 than at any other time during the current year. However, if you don't like what you see, you have until year end to make improvements before your tax liability for 2013 is permanently set in stone.


Code Sec. 179 allows taxpayers to expense the cost of qualified property instead of capitalizing the cost and recovering it over a period of years. The provision is designed to help small business. For the period 2010-2013, taxpayers can write off up to $500,000 of the costs of qualified property placed in service during the year. The $500,000 cap is reduced dollar-for-dollar to the extent that the cost of qualified property placed in service during the year exceeds $2 million. The amount claimed cannot exceed the income from the taxpayer's trade or business for the year. Any amount disallowed can be carried over to a future year.


A child with earned income above a certain level is generally required to file a separate tax return as a single taxpayer. However, a child with a certain amount of unearned income (from investments, including dividends, interest, and capital gains) may find that this income becomes subject to tax at his or her parent's highest marginal tax rate. This is referred to as the "kiddie tax," and it is designed to prevent parents from transferring income-producing investments to their children, who would generally be taxed at a lower rate.


Despite the passage of the American Tax Relief Act of 2012 - which its supporters argued would bring greater certainty to tax planning - many taxpayers have questions about the tax rates on qualified dividends and capital gains.


- CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS and CONSULTANTS -