The IRS is changing the addresses to be used to file estate and gift tax returns, as documented in the instructions for Form 706 and Form 709.

An exception to the general rule that small businesses are exempt from the §163(j) limits on the deduction for business interest applies to any entity that is a “tax shelter.”  The most likely problem to arise that many may not initially notice is that the organization might meet the definition of a syndicate.

On January 11, 2019, Tax Notes Today published a story that featured comments from Tony Nitti, CPA that discussed the potential issues that may arise with the interest deduction limitation under §163(j) and the syndicate rules.

In News Release IR-2019-01 the IRS announced that it will begin processing tax returns this year on January 28, 2019 and, despite the partial government shutdown, will issue refunds that may be due on returns filed this year.

The release notes:

As in past years, the IRS will begin accepting and processing individual tax returns once the filing season begins. For taxpayers who usually file early in the year and have all of the needed documentation, there is no need to wait to file. They should file when they are ready to submit a complete and accurate tax return.

In Notice 2019-8 the IRS has set the maximum values for 2018 for employer provided vehicles under which the cents per mile method (Reg. §1.61-21(e)) or fleet-average valuation rule (Reg. §1.61-21(d)) may apply.

The IRS is making a significant increase in this number.  The agency explains its reasoning as follows:

Consistent with the substantial increase in the dollar limitations on depreciation deductions under section 280F(a), as modified by section 13202(a)(1) of the Act, the IRS and the Treasury Department intend to amend Treas. Reg. § 1.61-21(d) and (e) to incorporate a higher base value of $50,000 as the maximum value for use of the vehicle cents-per-mile and fleet-average valuation rules effective for the 2018 calendar year. Further, the IRS and the Treasury Department intend that the regulations will be modified to provide that this $50,000 base value will be adjusted annually using section 280F(d)(7) for 2019 and subsequent years.

The IRS has issued the final version of regulations for the new centralized partnership audit regime (CPAR) that will apply to tax returns for partnership tax years beginning after December 31, 2017. This set of final regulations completes the regulations on CPAR. Separate sets of final regulations that deal with the election out of the CPAR regime and the partnership representative had previously been released.

The proposed regulations can be downloaded from the IRS website via the following link:

TD 9844 - Final CPAR Regulations

The IRS has updated its annual disclosure revenue procedure (Revenue Procedure 2019-9).  Proper disclosure can prevent imposition of various penalties imposed on taxpayers (IRC §§6662(b)(2), (h), (i) and (j)) and on tax preparers (IRC §6694).

Proposed regulations dealing with the sale of a partnership have been issued by the IRS (REG-113604-18) to implement changes made by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Specifically, TCJA made the following changes to deal with foreign holders of partnership interests:

• Requiring foreign partners to treat the sale of a partnership interest as “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business if a sale of the partnership’s assets would have created such effectively connected income (overturning the result in Grecian Mining v. Commissioner, 149 TC No. 3); and

• Requiring the buyer of a partnership interest to withhold 10% of the purchase price unless the buyer certifies the buyer is not a foreign person.

• These proposed regulations deal only with the first category of transactions--rules on withholding are not in this of regulations, though the preamble notes that Treasury and the IRS “intend to issue guidance under section 1446(f) expeditiously.”