Internal Revenue Service – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

An open meeting of the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) will be conducted at the Internal Revenue Service Building in Washington, DC. The ETAAC will discuss recommendations for electronic tax administration which will be published in their Annual Report to Congress by June 30, 2015. The IRS will respond to these recommendations.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning Form 8932, Credit for Employer Differential Wage Payments.

This document contains final regulations that provide guidance under sections 2010 and 2505 of the Internal Revenue Code on the estate and gift tax applicable exclusion amount, in general, as well as on the applicable requirements for electing portability of a deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE) amount to the surviving spouse and on the applicable rules for the surviving spouse's use of this DSUE amount. The statutory provisions underlying the portability rules were enacted as part of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, and these provisions were made permanent by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. The portability rules affect the estates of married decedents dying on or after January 1, 2011, and the surviving spouses of those decedents.

This document cancels a public hearing on proposed regulations that provide the method to be used to adjust the applicable Federal rates (AFRs) under section 1288 of the Internal Revenue Code (adjusted AFRs) for tax-exempt obligations and the method to be used to determine the long-term tax-exempt and the adjusted Federal long-term rate under section 382.

This document contains final and temporary regulations that prevent a corporate partner from avoiding corporate-level gain through transactions with a partnership involving equity interests of the partner. These regulations affect partnerships and their partners. The text of these temporary regulations serves as the text of proposed regulations (REG-149518-03) published in the Proposed Rules section in this issue of the Federal Register.

In the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register, the IRS and the Treasury Department are issuing temporary regulations that prevent a corporate partner from using a partnership to avoid corporate level gain required to be recognized. These regulations affect partnerships and their partners. The text of the temporary regulations in this issue of the Federal Register also serves as the text of these proposed regulations.

This document contains amendments to temporary regulations relating to information reporting by brokers for transfers of debt instruments. The amendments change the applicability date of the temporary regulations for reporting certain information on a transfer statement from June 30, 2015, to January 1, 2016. The amendments to the temporary regulations will provide guidance to brokers and their customers.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Joint Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Taxpayer Communications Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Notices and Correspondence Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Taxpayer Assistance Center Improvements Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments tax treatment of salvage and reinsurance.

The Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT) will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, June 17, 2015.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning Notice 2015-XX, Procedures for Requesting a Waiver of the Electronic Filing Requirements for Form 8955-SSA and Form 5500-EZ.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). The IRS is soliciting comments concerning information collection requirements related to amortization of intangible property.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning qualified electing fund elections.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning Form 3949-A, Information Referral.

This document contains a notice that the IRS has made available the 2016 Grant Application Package and Guidelines (Publication 3319) for organizations interested in applying for a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) matching grant for the 2016 grant year, which runs from January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2016. The application period runs through June 15, 2015. The IRS will award a total of up to $6,000,000 (unless otherwise provided by specific Congressional appropriation) to qualifying organizations, subject to the limitations of Internal Revenue Code section 7526. For fiscal year 2015, Congress appropriated a total of $10,000,000 in federal funds for LITC grants. A qualifying organization may receive a matching grant of up to $100,000 per year for up to a three-year project period. Qualifying organizations that provide representation to low income taxpayers involved in a tax controversy with the IRS or educate individuals for whom English is a second language (ESL) of their taxpayer rights and responsibilities under the Internal Revenue Code are eligible for a grant. Beginning in grant year 2016, the LITC Program will award grants only to qualifying organizations that provide both services. An LITC must provide services for free or for no more than a nominal fee. Examples of qualifying organizations include: (1) A clinical program at an accredited law, business or accounting school whose students represent low income taxpayers in tax controversies with the IRS, and (2) an organization exempt from tax under I.R.C. Sec. 501(a) whose employees and volunteers represent low income taxpayers in tax controversies with the IRS. In determining whether to award a grant, the IRS will consider a variety of factors, including: (1) The number of taxpayers who will be assisted by the organization, including the number of ESL taxpayers in that geographic area; (2) the existence of other LITCs assisting the same population of low income and ESL taxpayers; (3) the quality of the program offered by the organization, including the qualifications of its administrators and qualified representatives, and its record, if any, in providing assistance to low income taxpayers; and (4) alternative funding sources available to the organization, including amounts received from other grants and contributions, and the endowment and resources of the institution sponsoring the organization.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Toll-Free Phone Line Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Taxpayer Assistance Center Improvements Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Notices and Correspondence Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Joint Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

In the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register, the IRS is issuing final and temporary regulations that amend the treatment of nonperiodic payments made or received pursuant to certain notional principal contracts. These regulations provide that, subject to certain exceptions, a notional principal contract with a nonperiodic payment, regardless of whether it is significant, must be treated as two separate transactions consisting of one or more loans and an on-market, level payment swap. The regulations provide an exception from the definition of United States property. These regulations affect parties making and receiving payments under notional principal contracts, including United States shareholders of controlled foreign corporations and tax-exempt organizations. The text of the temporary regulations also serves as the text of these proposed regulations. This document withdraws the notice of proposed rulemaking (REG-107548-11; RIN 1545-BK10) published in the Federal Register on May 11, 2012 (77 FR 27669).

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning, Request for Prompt Assessment Under Internal Revenue Code Section 6501(d).