Inside This Issue
- IRS releases Strategic Operating Plan update
- National Small Business Week: IRS cautions business owners to secure their data; safeguard their companies, staff and clients
- Nationwide Tax Forum: Practice management aims to help tax businesses
- IRS accepting applications for TCE, VITA grants
- Safeguard information in case of natural disasters
- IRS offers help with the pre-filing registration process for elective payment and transfer of clean energy and CHIPS credits
- Treasury, IRS shares additional guidance on the new sustainable aviation fuel credit
- Guidance on qualifying advanced energy project credit
- Upcoming webinars for tax practitioners
- News from the Justice Department’s Tax Division
- Technical Guidance
1. IRS releases Strategic Operating Plan update
The IRS released an update to the Strategic Operating Plan, outlining the future plans for its transformation work. The annual update highlights actions the agency has accomplished since the Inflation Reduction Act’s passage in August 2022. In addition, the IRS released an accompanying 52-page document that summarizes the current work underway and outlines the agency's historic plans to make fundamental changes with IRA funding.
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2. National Small Business Week: IRS cautions business owners to secure their data; safeguard their companies, staff and clients
For National Small Business Week, the IRS advises entrepreneurs to create data security safeguards aimed at protecting their financial, personal and employee information from scams and cybercriminals hunting for easy targets. Small business owners are strongly encouraged to learn as much as possible about cybersecurity best practices, even when day-to-day information technology protection is outsourced. The IRS recommends business owners implement the best practices published by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
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3. Nationwide Tax Forum: Practice management aims to help tax businesses
Tax pros: This summer the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum is offering two special practice management sessions to help attendees grow and improve their tax business. Each session – one in English and one in Spanish – will be delivered by IRS association partners and provide attendees with practical advice on how to grow and improve their tax business, attract and manage customers, increase productivity and create a more satisfying work-life balance.
The English session will feature panelists from the National Association of Enrolled Agents, the National Association of Tax Professionals, the National Society of Accountants, the Nationals Society of Tax Professionals and Padgett Business Services. The Spanish session will feature panelists from the Hispanic Tax Alliance and other Latino professional groups.
This year the forum is coming to Chicago, Orlando, Baltimore, Dallas and San Diego. To register, visit IRS Nationwide Tax Forum.
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4. IRS accepting applications for TCE, VITA grants
The IRS is now accepting applications for Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) grants, enabling qualified organizations to apply for yearly funding to provide free federal tax return preparation assistance for up to three years. Grants.gov is accepting applications through May 31. For more information visit the IRS VITA and TCE grants webpage on IRS.gov.
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5. Safeguard information in case of natural disasters
The month of May kicks off disaster preparation season with National Wildfire Awareness Month and National Hurricane Preparedness Week, May 5-11. Check out this news release for tips that may help you and your clients protect personal financial and tax information in preparedness planning. Also visit Ready.gov and FEMA.gov for additional disaster information.
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6. IRS offers help with the pre-filing registration process for elective payment and transfer of clean energy and CHIPS credits
The IRS is offering virtual office hours (through Microsoft Teams) to help entities with the pre-filing registration process on the new IRA/CHIPS Pre-filing Registration Tool. Pre-filing registration is a required step for applicable entities and eligible taxpayers to take advantage of elective payment or transfer of credits available in the Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS Act. Representatives from the IRS will be available to answer your pre-filing registration questions. Registration is required and can be completed by clicking on the links below:
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7. Treasury, IRS shares additional guidance on the new sustainable aviation fuel credit
The Department of Treasury and the IRS issued additional guidance on the new Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Credit created by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). The SAF credit applies to a qualified fuel mixture containing sustainable aviation fuel for certain sales or uses after Dec. 31, 2022, and before Jan. 1, 2025. Notice 2024-37 provides additional safe harbors using the 40BSAF-GREET 2024 model. The Treasury Department and the IRS developed this guidance in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Federal Aviation Administration of the Department of Transportation.
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8. Guidance on qualifying advanced energy project credit
The Department of Treasury and the IRS issued additional guidance for owners of clean energy manufacturing and recycling projects, greenhouse gas emission reduction projects and critical material projects. Notice 2024-36 announces the second round of credit allocations for the program to allocate the remaining $6 billion credits. The notice also modifies appendices A, B and C of Notice 2023-44. The Department of Treasury and the IRS are partnering with the Department of Energy (DOE) to recommend projects. Taxpayers can submit a concept paper and start the process of requesting section 48C credit allocation through the DOE portal, which opens on May 28.
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9. Upcoming webinars for tax practitioners
The IRS offers the upcoming live webinar to the tax practitioner community:
- Tax Implications of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing for Business Entities on May 15, at 1 p.m. ET. Earn up to 2 CE credits (Federal Tax). Certificates of completion are being offered.
For more information or to register, visit the Webinars for Tax Practitioners webpage.
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10. News from the Justice Department’s Tax Division
Kymberly Starr, a former Maryland tax preparation business owner, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for preparing false tax returns. The complaint alleges Starr inflated her clients’ tax refunds, claimed fraudulent tax deductions and fictitious business profits and losses from 2013 through 2018. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Starr is ordered to serve one year of supervised release and pay approximately $539,043 in restitution. IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
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11. Technical Guidance
Notice 2024-36 announces the 2024 allocation round of the section 48C qualifying advanced energy project credit to allocate approximately $6 billion of section 48C credits, with approximately $2.4 billion in section 48C credits to be allocated to projects located in section 48C(e) energy communities census tracts.
Notice 2024-37 provides safe harbors for the new 40BSAF-GREET 2024 model as a qualifying method to qualify for and calculate the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) credit.
Notice 2024-38 accompanies Rev. Proc. 2024-24, which provides procedures for requesting private letter rulings from the IRS regarding certain matters pertaining to section 355 transactions.
Revenue Procedure 2024-23 is the annual procedure that provides the List of Automatic Changes to which the automatic method of accounting change procedures apply under the method of accounting change guidance.
Revenue Procedure 2024-24 provides updated procedures for taxpayers requesting private letter rulings from the IRS regarding certain matters pertaining to section 355 transactions, including representations, information and analysis to be submitted with those requests.
