Inside This Issue

1. IRS Commissioner thanks tax community for hard work, long hours this filing season
2. Dirty Dozen: IRS warns tax pros, individuals to be cautious of ongoing scams designed to steal valuable information
3. Register today for the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum
4. Treasury, IRS issue new rules on corporate stock repurchase excise tax
5. Treasury, IRS releases corrected census tracts for the qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit 
6. Guidance on clean hydrogen production credit and the election to treat clean hydrogen production facilities as energy property
7. Upcoming webinars for tax practitioners
8. News from the Justice Department’s Tax Division
9. Technical Guidance

1.  IRS Commissioner thanks tax community for hard work, long hours this filing season

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel today thanked the tax community for their continuing efforts to help taxpayers during this filing season. In a news release highlighting IRS resources available as the filing deadline approaches, Werfel highlighted this:

“Delivering tax season is a massive undertaking, and we greatly appreciate people in many different areas working long hours to serve taxpayers as the tax deadline approaches,” Werfel said. “This effort reaches far beyond the IRS and includes hard-working tax professionals, software providers, the payroll community as well as our colleagues in the state tax agencies. Their work helping taxpayers makes a difference.”

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2.  Dirty Dozen: IRS warns tax pros, individuals to be cautious of ongoing scams designed to steal valuable information

The IRS continues to share its Dirty Dozen list of tax scams reminding taxpayers and tax professionals to remain vigilant and protect themselves against fraudsters’ attempts intended to steal valuable information and file false tax returns. The IRS and the Security Summit partners urge tax pros and taxpayers to watch out for:

• Inaccurate or misleading tax advice on social media; 
• “New client” scams;
• Improper art donation deductions, charitable remainder annuity trusts, monetized installment sales; and
• Bogus tax avoidance strategies and offshore schemes.

“It’s crucial for tax professionals and businesses to be wary of creative and evolving cyberattacks designed to access sensitive systems,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. The IRS urges individuals to report unscrupulous promoters and tax preparers.

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3.  Register today for the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum

Tax pros: Register today to attend an upcoming IRS Nationwide Tax Forum. This year the forums will take place in Chicago, Orlando, Baltimore, Dallas and San Diego. Each forum is a three-day event, running Tuesday through Thursday, with more than 40 continuing education seminars, networking opportunities and more.

The IRS encourages attendees to maximize their time at the forums by participating in special pre-forum events on Monday, including the annual filing season program refresher course and a special practice management session during which IRS association partners will provide advice and strategies on how to improve their individual tax businesses.

Visit IRSTaxForum.com for information on the program, accommodations and registration.

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4.  Treasury, IRS issue new rules on corporate stock repurchase excise tax

The Department of Treasury and the IRS this week announced proposed regulations that would offer taxpayers and tax professionals with new guidance concerning the one percent excise tax owed on corporate stock repurchases. The proposed regulations would impact publicly traded domestic corporations that repurchase their stock or whose stock is acquired by certain affiliates. The regulations also would impact certain publicly traded foreign corporations that repurchase their stock or whose stock is acquired by certain affiliates. These regulations follow Notice 2023-2, published on Jan. 17, 2023, which provided initial guidance on the application of the stock repurchase excise tax.

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5.  Treasury, IRS releases corrected census tracts for the qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit

The Treasury Department and the IRS corrected Appendix A and Appendix B of Notice 2024-20 to add supplementary eligible census tracts for the qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit. This correction reflects additional census tracts that were determined to meet the description of eligible census tracts in Notice 2024-20. Additional details about the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit can also be found in the frequently asked questions.

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6.  Guidance on clean hydrogen production credit and the election to treat clean hydrogen production facilities as energy property

The Treasury Department and the IRS issued guidance for the collection of information for taxpayers to request an emissions value from the Department of Energy (DOE) to petition the Secretary of the Treasury for a determination of a provisional emissions rate (PER). The guidance complements proposed rules Treasury and the IRS issued in December on the hydrogen production tax credit, which was established in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Those rules have yet to be finalized.

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7.  Upcoming webinars for tax practitioners

The IRS offers the upcoming live webinars to the tax practitioner community. For more information or to register, visit the Webinars for Tax Practitioners webpage:

• Impacts of Gaming on Tax Exempt Organizations on April 18 at 2 p.m. ET. Earn up to 1 CE credit (Federal Tax). Certificates of completion are being offered.
• Tax Implications of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing for Individuals on May 1, at 1 p.m. ET. Earn up to 2 CE credits (Federal Tax). Certificates of completion are being offered. 

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8.  News from the Justice Department’s Tax Division

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida permanently enjoined Kenia Rodriguez from preparing returns for others and from owning, managing or working at any tax return preparation business in the future. The complaint alleges Rodriguez, through a fictitious entity called Rodriguez Tax Services, claimed extensive fraudulent deductions and credits on customers’ tax returns to purposely underreport their tax liabilities and claim refunds they were not entitled to receive. The complaint also alleged that Rodriguez hid her tax preparation activity by failing to properly identify herself on the tax returns that she prepared.

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9.  Technical Guidance

Announcement 2024-19 addresses the Federal income tax treatment of amounts paid for the purchase of energy efficient property and improvements as part of the Department of Energy’s “Home Energy Rebate Programs” under sections 50121 and 50122 of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Notice 2024-34 sets forth updates on the corporate bond monthly yield curve, the corresponding spot segment rates for March 2024 used under section 417(e)(3)(D), the 24-month average segment rates applicable for April 2024, and the 30-year Treasury rates, as reflected by the application of section 430(h)(2)(C)(iv).