LawUpdates.com - Tax Law Updates

IRS Reminds Tax Preparers Need to File Due Diligence Checklist with All Earned Income Tax Credit Claims

2012-05-17T21:12:36+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || Form 8867 for Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) || The Internal Revenue Service has issued final regulations requiring paid tax return preparers to file a due diligence checklist, Form 8867, with any federal return claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

IRS Provides Penalty Relief to Farmers Affected by MF Global Bankruptcy

2012-05-16T21:51:21+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || Penalty Relief to Farmers || The Internal Revenue Service has provided penalty relief to farmers who incur estimated tax penalties because they did not timely receive Forms 1099 from MF Global or its court appointed trustee, and were unable to file their 2011 calendar year tax return by March 1, 2012.

IRS Issues Guidelines to Parents and Students on College Tax Benefits

2012-04-12T21:12:54+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || Education Tax Credits and Deductions || The Internal Revenue Service has reminded parents and students rushing to meet this year’s April 17 deadline to be sure and check out several college-related tax benefits before filing their 2011 returns.

Treasury, IRS Issue Proposed Regulations for FATCA Implementation

2012-04-10T06:22:57+00:00

New Proposed Regulations || Regulations Relating to Information Reporting by Foreign Financial Institutions and Withholding on Certain Payments to Foreign F || The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have issued comprehensive proposed regulations implementing the information reporting and withholding tax provisions commonly known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

IRS Issues Guidance to Encourage Small Employers to Check Out Small Business Health Care Tax Credit

2012-04-9T23:23:01+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || Small Business Health Care Tax Credit || With business tax-filing deadlines fast approaching, the Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance to encourage small employers that provide health insurance coverage to their employees to check out the small business health care tax credit and then claim it if they qualify.

IRS Issues Another Guidance on Tax Scams

2012-04-9T20:47:22+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || IRS Warning on Phony Refund Scheme Abusing Popular College Tax Credit || The Internal Revenue Service has issued another tax scam warning, telling senior citizens and other taxpayers to beware of an emerging scheme tempting them to file tax returns claiming fraudulent refunds.

IRS Offers New Penalty Relief and Expanded Installment Agreements to Taxpayers under Fresh Start Initiative

2012-04-9T12:43:15+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || IRS Fresh Start Initiative || The Internal Revenue Service has undertaken a major expansion of its “Fresh Start” initiative to help struggling taxpayers by taking steps to provide new penalty relief to the unemployed and making Installment Agreements available to more people.

IRS Provides Guidance on Changes to Work Opportunity Tax Credit

2012-04-9T11:35:26+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || Section 51 - Work Opportunity Tax Credit; Section 52 – Special Rules || Notice 2012-13 provides guidance on changes to the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) made by section 261 of the Vow to Hire Heroes Act, enacted November 21, 2011.

New Jersey Man Convicted on Tax Charges

2012-03-30T10:23:16+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || U.S. v. James Demuro and Theresa Demuro || Following a jury trial that began on Nov. 9, 2010, a federal jury in Trenton, N.J., convicted James and Theresa Demuro, of Bridgewater, NJ, of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and twenty-one counts of failure to pay over employment taxes, according to reports from the Department…

IRS Gives Extra Time for Overseas Taxpayers Affected by Civil Unrest

2012-03-29T11:17:34+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || Revenue Procedure 2012-21 || Revenue Procedure 2012-21 provides the list of countries for tax year 2011 for which the minimum time requirements are waived, because taxpayers had to leave a foreign country because of war, civil unrest, or similar adverse conditions in that country.

Commentary: TIFD III-E, Inc. v. United States: Second Circuit Rejects Debt Holder as Partner, Enforces § 6662 Penalties

2012-03-21T09:14:07+00:00

Expert Legal Commentary || By H. Jacob Lager || The Second Circuit recently found that partners whose interests are bound by overwhelmingly debt-like features are not partners for tax purposes. In TIFD III-E, Inc. v. United States, 666 F.3d 836 (2d. Cir. 2012), the Second Circuit rejected taxpayer’s argument that I.R.C. § 704(e)(1) broadened existing law to include debt…

President Obama Signs the Payroll Tax Cut

2012-03-2T01:21:49+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 || President Obama has signed the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 -- extending the payroll tax cut and emergency jobless benefits through the end of the year.

California Federal Court Blocks Bogus Tax Credit Scheme

2012-02-22T17:27:00+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || U.S. v. Lamar Ellis || A federal court in Los Angeles has permanently barred Lamar Ellis of Brea, Calif., from promoting a scheme involving sales of bogus federal tax credits.

House Releases Conference Report of Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2012

2012-02-21T21:12:54+00:00

New Proposed Legislation || The Middle Class Tax Relief & Job Creation Act of 2012 || The U.S. House of Representatives has released the Conference Report to accompany the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, H.R. 3630, legislation that extends the payroll tax cut through the end of the year.

Swiss Bankers Indicted for Conspiring to Hide More Than $1.2B in U.S. Taxpayer Accounts from IRS

2012-02-21T20:00:27+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || USA v. Berlinka et al. || Three Swiss bankers, Michael Berlinka, Urs Frei, and Roger Keller, have been indicted for conspiring with U.S. taxpayers and others to hide more than $1.2 billion in assets from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

More Innocent Spouses Qualify for Relief Under New IRS Guidelines

2012-02-17T19:49:25+00:00

New Proposed Regulations || Notice 2012-8 || The Internal Revenue Service has released new proposed guidelines designed to provide relief to more innocent spouses requesting equitable relief from income tax liability.

IRS Releases Guidance on Foreign Financial Asset Reporting

2012-02-17T18:37:08+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || IR-2011-117, Form 8938, Statement of Foreign Financial Assets, 26 CFR Part 1 , TD 9567, RIN 1545-BK17 || The Internal Revenue Service has released a new information reporting form that taxpayers will use starting this coming tax filing season to report specified foreign financial assets for tax year 2011.

IRS Issues Guidance on Saver’s Credit

2012-01-23T18:34:00+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || IRS Guidance on Saver’s Credit || Low- and moderate-income workers can take steps now to save for retirement and earn a special tax credit in 2011 and the years ahead, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

National Taxpayer Advocate Delivers Annual Report to Congress; Recommendations Focus on IRS Funding and Taxpayer Rights

2012-01-19T18:03:11+00:00

New Proposed Legislation || National Taxpayer Advocate’s Annual Report || National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson today released her annual report to Congress, identifying the combination of the IRS’s expanding workload and declining resources as the most serious problem facing taxpayers. The result, the report says, is inadequate taxpayer service, erosion of taxpayer rights, and reduced tax compliance.

Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program Reopens

2012-01-19T01:16:27+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || Third Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program – 2012 || The Internal Revenue Service has reopened the offshore voluntary disclosure program to help people hiding offshore accounts get current with their taxes, and announced the collection of more than $4.4 billion so far from the two previous international programs.

IRS e-file Launches in Opening of 2012 Electronic Tax Return Filing Season

2012-01-18T19:20:33+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || IRS e-file – 2012 Electronic Tax Return Filing Season || The Internal Revenue Service opened the 2012 electronic tax return filing season yesterday with a reminder to taxpayers that e-file remains the best way to get fast refunds and ensure accurate tax returns.

New Jersey Tax Division: Website’s Charge for Sales Leads Is Subject to Tax as Information Service

2012-01-11T01:10:38+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || Sales Lead Provided to Automobile Dealership Via Website || In a technical advisory memorandum, the New Jersey Division of Taxation (“Division”) has held that a website’s charge for sales leads is subject to tax as an information service.

HSBC India Client Indicted for Tax Evasion and Failing to Report Foreign Bank Accounts

2012-01-3T19:27:52+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || U.S. v. Desai || A federal grand jury in San Jose, California has indicted Ashvin Desai of San Jose on three counts of tax evasion, two counts of willfully aiding the preparation of materially false tax returns and three counts of failing to file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs), according to…

TIGTA Proposes Improvements to Offshore Accounts Voluntary Disclosure Program

2012-01-3T18:52:22+00:00

New Proposed Regulations || The 2009 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative Increased Taxpayer Compliance, but Some Improvements Are Needed || Voluntary disclosure practices that allow taxpayers to voluntarily disclose the existence of offshore accounts or assets to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are generally effective, according to a new report publicly released by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

Payroll Tax Cut Temporarily Extended into 2012

2011-12-23T20:20:42+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations, and Rulings || Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 || Nearly 160 million workers will benefit from the extension of the reduced payroll tax rate that has been in effect for 2011.