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Tax Alerts

Tax Briefing(s)

2018 Year-End Tax Planning Tax Reform 2.0 2018 Post-Filing Season Update Congress Approves Sweeping Tax Overhaul

2019 Luxury Auto Depreciation Caps and Lease Inclusion Amounts Issued
The IRS has issued the luxury car depreciation limits for business vehicles placed in service in 2019, and the lease inclusion amounts for business vehicles first leased in 2019.Luxury Passenger Car D...

2020 Inflation Adjustments for HSAs Released
The IRS has released the 2020 inflation-adjusted amounts for health savings accounts (HSAs) under Code Sec. 223. For calendar year 2020, the annual limitation on deductions under Code Sec. 2...

IRS Unveils New Draft 2020 Form W-4
The IRS on May 31 unveiled a new preliminary draft of the 2020 Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate. Although an earlier version of the Form W-4 had been released last June, Tr...

IRS Discontinues Certain Faxing and Third-Party Mailing Service
The IRS will be ceasing its tax transcript faxing service, and will also amend the Form 4506, Request for Copy or Transcript of Tax Form, series to end third-party mailing of tax returns and transcrip...

New Actuarial Tables Delayed, IRS Tells Wolters Kluwer
The new actuarial tables are delayed, the IRS told Wolters Kluwer on May 30. "We are currently working on new actuarial tables, but we cannot predict when they will be published."Generally, the I...

IRS Updates 2018 Schedule D Instructions to Correct Worksheet Error
The IRS posted updated instructions for 2018 Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses, that include a corrected worksheet. The revised worksheet corrects a rate error that may have calculated ...

IRS Finalizes Rules Increasing Enrolled Agent Application and Renewal Fees
The IRS has finalized regulations that increase both the enrollment and renewal user fee for enrolled agents from $30 to $67. The rules also increase the renewal user fee for enrolled retirement plan ...

Indian Tribal Casino Distributions Taxable to Members
A married couple had unreported taxable income in the form of distributions received from casino revenue. However, the IRS did not obtain written supervisory approval before the first formal communica...

IRS Allowed to Treat Partnership as Aggregate of its Partners
The IRS was allowed to assert its authority under the abuse of entity rule of Reg. §1.701-2(e) to treat a partnership as an aggregate of its partners. Treating the partnership as an agg...

IRS Issues Nonconventional Source Fuel Reference Price for 2018
The IRS has published the reference price under Code Sec. 45K(d)(2)(C). The credit period for the nonconventional source production credit under Code Sec. 45K ended on December 31, 2013...

Comments Sought on Carbon Oxide Sequestration Credit
The Treasury Department and the IRS have requested general comments on issues arising from the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA) ( P.L. 115-123) amendments to the Code Sec. 45Q credit...

IRS Clarifies Treatment of Refunds with New SALT Limits
The IRS has provided four examples of the interaction of the new limit on the deduction on state and local taxes (SALT) under Code Sec. 164(b)(6) with the tax benefit rule for refunds under&...

Plug-In Electric Vehicle Credit to Phase Out for GM Vehicles
The tax credit for new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles sold by General Motors, LLC, will begin to phase out April 1, 2019. The credit begins to phase out in the second calendar quarter...

2019 Foreign Housing Expense Limitations Released
The IRS has provided the adjustments to the limitation on foreign housing expenses for specific locations for tax year 2019. Generally, a qualified individual whose entire tax year is within the appli...

2018 Waivers of 911 Eligibility Requirements Due to Adverse Conditions
The IRS has provided a waiver for any individual who, for the 2018 tax year, failed to meet the eligibility requirements of Code Sec. 911(d)(1) due to war, civil unrest, or similar adverse c...

IRS Revises EIN Application Process
As part of its ongoing security review, the IRS is revising the application process for obtaining an employer identification number (EIN). Starting May 13, 2019, only individuals with social security ...

IRS Issues 2018 Nonconventional Source Fuel Reference Price
The IRS has published the nonconventional source fuel reference price for calendar year 2018. The credit period for the nonconventional source production credit under Code Sec. 45K ended on ...

AL - Expiration of additional coal tax levies discussed
The Alabama Department of Revenue has issued a notice to taxpayers severing coal within the state about the expiration of an additional coal severance tax. The additional excise and privilege tax, whi...

AZ - Credit for contributions to charitable organizations expanded
Arizona expanded its personal income tax credit for contributions to qualifying charitable organizations. A qualifying charitable organization is one that uses at least 50% of its annual revenue on se...

AR - Taxpayer was exempt from collecting, reporting and remitting tax
A nonprofit organization (taxpayer) was exempt from collecting, reporting, and remitting Arkansas gross receipts or sales tax because its sole purpose was raising funds and creating awareness for a be...

CA - Taxpayers who missed April 15 filing deadline qualify for automatic six-month extension
For personal income tax purposes, the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) issued a news release stating that taxpayers who failed to file by the April 15 deadline qualify for an automatic six-month e...

CO - Treatment of enterprise zone investment and job growth incentive tax credits discussed
The Colorado Department of Revenue (department) in a private letter ruling determined that a corporate income taxpayer would be allowed an Enterprise Zone Investment tax credit (EZITC) and a Job Growt...

DC - Children’s hospital property tax exemption extended
The District of Columbia’s Children's Hospital Research and Innovation Campus property tax exemption will remain after the property is subdivided. The exemption continues as it exists before any...

FL - Guidance provided on 2019 back-to-school sales tax holiday
The Florida sales tax holiday begins on Friday, August 2, 2019, and ends on Tuesday, August 6, 2019.Application of HolidayDuring the holiday, sales tax and local option tax, also known as "discre...

GA - Updated guidance on nonprofit health organizations LOAs issued
The Georgia DOR has updated guidance on sales and use tax exemptions for nonprofit volunteer health clinics and nonprofit health centers. The updated guidance on letters of authorization (LOAs) was is...

ID - New office location announced
The Idaho State Tax Commission has announced that the Boise office is moving to the west side of the city. The new office at 11321 W. Chinden Blvd., Bldg. 2, Boise (former HP Campus) will be open to t...

IL - Requirements about application process to obtain sales tax exemption certificates for building materials discussed
The Illinois Department of Revenue (department) has issued a publication discussing the requirements about the application process to obtain sales tax exemption certificates for building materials. Co...

IN - LLC’s claim for exemption on purchase of truck denied because purchaser was a different entity
A limited liability company’s (taxpayer’s) claim for the public transport exemption from Indiana sales tax paid on the purchase of a truck was denied because the truck was purchased by the...

KS - Appraised values of property reduced
The Kansas Board of Tax Appeals’ (BOTA) reduced the property tax appraisal values of the taxpayer's senior assisted living and skilled nursing facility because the property’s significant p...

KY - Taxpayers may submit new market tax credit application by July 15, 2019
Taxpayers may submit their application for claiming Kentucky new markets tax credits (total amount, $5 million), against corporate income tax, personal income taxes, limited liability entity tax, and ...

LA - Sound recording investment credit amended, sunset date extended
The Louisiana sound recording investor credit against corporate and personal income taxes is amended to:authorize an increase in the base investment credit for resident copyright recordings;change eli...

ME - Maine enacts partnership audit procedures
Maine has enacted partnership audit procedures for corporate and personal income tax purposes to bring the state into conformity with federal partnership audit requirements. The law applies to partner...

MD - Nexus properly established as subsidiary lacked economic substance
An intellectual holding company and wholly-owned subsidiary of a multi-national producer and marketer of processed foods was confirmed to have sufficient contacts with Maryland to establish the requir...

MA - Refund of roll-back taxes upheld
For Massachusetts property tax purposes the Appeals Court affirmed the Appellate Tax Board’s (Board) decision awarding the full amount of the assessed roll-back taxes to the taxpayers because th...

MI - Availability of tax foreclosure payment plans extended
County treasurers may enter into Michigan property tax foreclosure avoidance agreements with owners of residential property until June 30, 2026 (previously June 30, 2019). The term of the agreement is...

MN - Cross-motions for summary judgment denied as records provided by parties were insufficient
The Minnesota Tax Court (court) denied a corporate income taxpayer’s and the Commissioner of Revenue’s (commissioner’s) motions for summary judgments because although both the partie...

MO - Benefits paid under pension plans not deductible because they were from privately funded sources
Benefits rolled over from a government defined benefit plan into an individual retirement arrangement (IRA) are not "retirement benefits received from sources other than privately-funded sources"...

NJ - Notice of deficiency properly issued as taxpayer failed to report all wages
A taxpayer, resident of New Jersey during the 2003 and 2004 tax years, was properly issued a notice of deficiency as she failed to report her complete wages, as reported by her employer, for the tax y...

NC - A closer look at the U.S. Supreme court's trust taxation decision
The U.S. Supreme Court reached a unanimous, but narrow, decision about the limits on a state's power to tax trust income. North Carolina law allows it to tax trust income that "is for the benefit...

ND - “claimant agency” definition for the purpose income tax refund setoff amended
North Dakota amends its law, relating to corporate and personal income tax refund set off for debts owed to the state, to include state institutions of higher education and the North Dakota student lo...

OH - Rule regarding cash discounts updated
The Ohio Department of Taxation has promulgated a rule to clarify the exclusion of cash discounts from a taxpayer's gross receipts for purposes of the commercial activity tax (CAT). The revised rule i...

OK - Fab lab exemption created
An Oklahoma sales tax exemption is enacted for sales of personal property to nonprofits associated with the MIT Fab Foundation.Qualifications for ExemptionThe exemption applies to an entity that:is ta...

PA - Opportunity zone program conformity enacted, tax credits amended
Pennsylvania has enacted legislation:conforming the personal income tax to the federal Opportunity Zones Program (IRC Sec. 1400z-2);excluding Olympic prize winnings and medals from income tax;creating...

RI - Protest denied because taxpayer failed to refute assessment
A taxpayer was properly subject to minimum Rhode Island corporate income tax and late fee penalty for the calendar years 2000 through 2013 because the Division of Taxation established that the taxpaye...

WA - Rule issued on senior citizen center exemption
A Washington property tax rule provides guidance on the exemption for real and personal property owned by a senior citizen organization that is used for the operation of a multipurpose senior citizen ...

WV - Cap on amount of tax that may be refunded for fuels lost through evaporation increased
The cap on the amount of West Virginia motor fuel tax paid that may be refunded to a dealer for invoiced gallons of gasoline or special fuel actually lost due to evaporation is increased from 0.5% to ...

WI - Guidance on long-term capital gains for investments in businesses discussed
For corporate and personal income tax purposes, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (department) has published a fact sheet regarding the deferral and exclusion of long-term capital gains for investme...

WY - Local rate change announced
Beginning October 1, 2019, Carbon County, Wyoming will impose a specific purpose county option tax at a rate of 1%, for a total sales tax rate of 6%. The notice can be viewed on the department’s...

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