The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has urged the IRS and Treasury in an August 12 letter to issue guidance on President Trump’s payroll tax deferral memorandum. The executive action signed by the president on August 8 instructs Treasury to defer the collection and payment of payroll taxes from September 1 through years-end for eligible employees.

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has urged the IRS and Treasury in an August 12 letter to issue guidance on President Trump’s payroll tax deferral memorandum. The executive action signed by the president on August 8 instructs Treasury to defer the collection and payment of payroll taxes from September 1 through years-end for eligible employees.

The presidential memorandum to defer payroll taxes has "caused confusion and concern among accountants and businesses," according to the AICPA. Thus, in its letter released on August 13, the AICPA asks IRS Commissioner Charles "Chuck" Rettig and Assistant Treasury Secretary David Kautter to issue guidance on a number of related issues, including the following items:

• Guidance stating that the deferral is voluntary and that an "eligible employee" is responsible for making an affirmative election to defer the payroll taxes;
• Guidance stating that an "eligible employee" is an employee whose wages are less than $4,000 per bi-weekly pay period;
• Guidance stating that the $4,000 limit should apply separately to each employer of an employee; and
• Guidance stating a payment due date(s) for the deferred taxes and a mechanism for employees to pay the deferred taxes.

Payroll Tax Forgiveness

Notably, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin indicated earlier this week that participation in the deferral of payroll taxes is not mandatory. "We cannot force people to participate," Mnuchin said in a televised interview. "But I think many small businesses will do this and pass on the benefits." Additionally, Mnuchin alluded that Trump intends to make the deferral a cut if reelected, essentially forgiving the deferred taxes.

To that end, White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow attempted to clarify Trump’s position that the payroll tax deferral should be forgiven rather than delayed. And when Trump talks about "terminating the payroll tax", he is only referring to those taxes specified within the presidential memorandum, not the entire payroll tax as a whole, according to Kudlow.

"I just want to be clear that the president is saying that he will provide forgiveness; he will terminate the deferral on a forgiveness basis," Kudlow told reporters at the White House on August 13. "That is what he is saying just to be clear…there was some confusion about that."

Additionally, Kudlow told reporters that the payroll tax deferral would apply to the self-employed. Although the applicable presidential memorandum is not currently written as such, Kudlow added that the administration "will make a technical change to it."

The IRS has released final regulations that address the interaction of the $10,000/$5,000 cap on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction and charitable contributions. The regulations include:

• a safe harbor for individuals who have any portion of a charitable deduction disallowed due to the receipt of SALT benefits;
• a safe harbor for business entities to deduct certain payments made to a charitable organization in exchange for SALT benefits; and
• application of the quid pro quo principle under Code Sec. 170 to benefits received or expected to be received by the donor from a third party.

The IRS has released final regulations that address the interaction of the $10,000/$5,000 cap on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction and charitable contributions. The regulations include:

• a safe harbor for individuals who have any portion of a charitable deduction disallowed due to the receipt of SALT benefits;
• a safe harbor for business entities to deduct certain payments made to a charitable organization in exchange for SALT benefits; and
• application of the quid pro quo principle under Code Sec. 170 to benefits received or expected to be received by the donor from a third party.

The final rules generally adopt the proposed regulations issued in December 2019 ( NPRM REG-107431-19) with minor clarifications.

SALT Limit

An individual’s itemized deduction of SALT taxes is limited to $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing separately) for tax years beginning after 2017. Some states and local governments adopted laws that allowed individuals to receive a state tax credit for contributions to certain charitable funds. These laws are aimed at getting around the SALT deduction limit by creating a charitable deduction for federal income tax purposes.

Under previously issued regulations, the receipt of a SALT credit for a charitable contribution is the receipt of a return benefit (quid pro quo benefit). Thus, the taxpayer must reduce any contribution deduction by the amount of any SALT credit received or expected to receive in return. A de minimis exception is available if the SALT credit does not exceed 15 percent of the taxpayer’s charitable payment.

A taxpayer is not required to reduce the charitable contribution deduction because of the receipt of SALT deductions. However, the taxpayer must reduce the charitable deduction if it receives or expects to receive SALT deductions in excess of the taxpayer’s payment or the fair market value of property transferred.

Payments by Individuals

The final regulations adopt the safe harbor for individuals whose have a portion of a charitable deduction disallowed due to the receipt of a SALT credit. Any disallowed portion of the charitable contribution deduction may be treated as the payment of SALT taxes for the purposes of deducting taxes under Code Sec. 164. The safe harbor is allowed in the tax year the charitable payment is made, but only to the extent that the SALT credit is applied as provided under state or local law to offset the individual’s SALT liability for the current or preceding tax year. Any unused credit may be carried forward as provided under state and local law.

The final regulations are not intended to permit a taxpayer to avoid the SALT deduction cap. Thus, any payment treated as a state or local tax under Code Sec. 164 is subject to the limit. Also, a taxpayer is not permitted to deduct the same under more than one rule, so a taxpayer who relies on this safe harbor to deduction payments as SALT taxes may also not deduct the same payment under any other Code provision.

Payments by Business Entities

The final regulations adopt the safe harbor that business entities may continue to deduct charitable contributions in exchange a SALT credit. A business entity may deduct the payments as an ordinary and necessary business expenses under Code Sec. 162 if made for a business purpose.

If a C corporation or specified passthrough entity makes the charitable payment in exchange for a SALT credit, it may deduct the payment as a business expense to the extent of any SALT credit received or expected to be received. In addition, if the charitable payment bears a direct relationship to the taxpayer’s business, then it may be deducted as a business expense rather than a charitable contribution regardless of whether the taxpayer receives or expects to receive a SALT credit.

The safe harbor for C corporations and specified passthrough entities applies only to payments of cash and cash equivalents. The safe harbor for specified passthrough entities does not apply if the credit received or expected to be received reduces a state or local income tax.

Benefits from Third Party

If a taxpayer receives any goods, services, or other benefits from a charitable organization in consideration for a contribution, then the charitable deduction must be reduced by the value of those benefits. If the contribution exceeds the fair market value of the benefits received, then only the excess is a deductible as a charitable contribution.

The final regulations continue to provide that this quid pro quo principal applies regardless of whether the party providing the goods, services, or other benefits is the charitable organization or not. A taxpayer will be treated as receiving goods and services in consideration for the taxpayer’s charitable contribution if, at the time the taxpayer makes the payment or transfer, the taxpayer receives or expects to receive goods or services in return. The final rules clarify that the quid pro quo principle applies regardless of whether the party providing the quid pro quo is the donee or a third party.

The IRS has issued final regulations regarding the limitation for the business interest expense deduction under Code Sec. 163(j), including recent legislative amendments made for the 2019 and 2020 tax years. Also, a safe harbor has been proposed allowing taxpayers managing or operating residential living facilities to qualify as a real property trade or business for purposes of the limitation. In addition, new proposed regulations are provided for a number of different areas.

The IRS has issued final regulations regarding the limitation for the business interest expense deduction under Code Sec. 163(j), including recent legislative amendments made for the 2019 and 2020 tax years. Also, a safe harbor has been proposed allowing taxpayers managing or operating residential living facilities to qualify as a real property trade or business for purposes of the limitation. In addition, new proposed regulations are provided for a number of different areas.

Section 163(j) Limitation

A taxpayer’s deduction of business interest expenses paid or incurred for the tax year is generally limited to the sum of:

• the taxpayer’s business interest income for the tax year for which the taxpayer is claiming the deduction (not including investment income);
• 30 percent of the taxpayer’s adjusted taxable income (ATI), but not less than zero; and
• the taxpayer’s floor plan financing interest.

The percentage limit is generally increased to 50 percent of ATI for 2019 and 2020. For a partnership, however, the 50 percent limit applies for 2020 only, and a special allocation of excess business interest expense (EBIE) to a partner may apply for the 2019 tax year. A taxpayer may elect not to use the 50 percent ATI limit, and any taxpayer other than a partnership may elect for 2020 to use its ATI from the 2019 tax year to calculate its limitation.

The 163(j) limitation does not apply to certain small businesses whose gross receipts are less than a threshold amount ($26 million for 2020). It also does not apply to electing real property trades or businesses, electing farming businesses, and certain regulated public utilities.

Final Regulations

The final regulations generally adopt proposed rules that were issued in December 2018, with some modifications. Taxpayer may continue to rely on some of the rules in the proposed regulations. One significant change is that the final regulations provide any that any depreciation, amortization, or depletion that is capitalized into inventory under Code Sec. 263A before 2022 will be added back to tentative taxable income in calculating ATI.

This is change from the proposed rules which effectively resulted in taxpayers with inventory to effectively use earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) instead of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) before 2022 in calculating ATI. Also, the final rules eliminate the “lesser of” standard with respect to sales and disposition of stock, and require taxpayers to back out depreciation deductions that were allowed or allowable during the EBITDA period.

The IRS had adopted the broad definition of business interest in the proposed rules, including the definition of substitute interest and the embedded loan rule with some modifications. However, the final regs exclude commitment fees, debt issuance costs, guaranteed payments (except used as capital), and hedging rules. The IRS has also modified the anti-avoidance rule for time value of money.

Qualified Residential Living Facilities

The IRS has proposed a safe harbor for a trade or business that manages or operates a qualified residential living facility to be treated as a real property trade or business solely for purposes of qualifying as an electing real property trade or business. A facility is qualified if it:

• consists of multiple rental dwelling units within one or more structures that generally serve as primary residences on a permanent or semi-permanent basis to individual customers or patients;
• provides supplemental assistive, nursing, or other routine medical services; and
• has an average period of customer or patient use of the individual rental dwelling units that is 90 days or more.

The safe harbor is proposed to apply to tax years beginning after December 31, 2017.

Proposed Regulations

In addition to the final regulations, the IRS has issued new proposed regulations that provide rules regarding:

• different computational methods a taxpayer can choose in determining certain adjustments to tentative taxable income;
• the treatment of EBIE allocated to a partner in 2019, and the election to use ATI from 2019 for the 2020 tax year under Code Sec. 163(j)(10);
• interest expense associated with debt proceeds of partnerships and S corporations (passthrough entities);
• application of the limitation for a partnership’s self-charged lending transactions, partnerships engaged in trades or businesses that are not passive activities, publicly traded partnerships, certain section 734(b) adjustments, and tiered partnership structures;
• application to U.S. shareholders of controlled foreign corporations (CFCs) and to foreign persons with effectively connected income in the United States; and
• application to corporate look-through provisions.

Finally, the IRS has also released FAQs that provide a general overview of the aggregation rules that apply for purposes of the gross receipts test, and that apply to determine whether a taxpayer is a small business that is exempt from the business interest expense deduction limitation.

The IRS has issued proposed regulations that implement the "carried interest" rules under Code Sec. 1061 adopted by Congress as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 ( P.L. 115-97). Some key aspects of the lengthy proposed regulations include the definition of important terms, how the rules work in the context of tiered passthrough structures, the definition of "substantial" services provided by the carried interest holder, and the level of activity required for a business to meet the definition of an "applicable trade or business."

The IRS has issued proposed regulations that implement the "carried interest" rules under Code Sec. 1061 adopted by Congress as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 ( P.L. 115-97). Some key aspects of the lengthy proposed regulations include the definition of important terms, how the rules work in the context of tiered passthrough structures, the definition of "substantial" services provided by the carried interest holder, and the level of activity required for a business to meet the definition of an "applicable trade or business."

In general, a "carried interest" is an interest in a partnership in the investment management business that consists of the right to receive future partnership profits. Carried interests are given to a partner in exchange for performing asset management services for businesses such as private equity funds, venture capital funds, and hedge funds.

Prior to Code Sec. 1061, taxpayers tended to treat carried interests as interests in partnership profits subject to long-term capital gain rates. Code Sec. 1061, however, reflects that a carried interest may in fact be compensation for services and therefore properly subject to ordinary income rates. As a result, Code Sec. 1061 applies a longer, three-year holding period to certain net long-term capital gain with respect to any "applicable partnership interest" (API)—essentially, any carried interest. The effect of this is to recharacterize as short-term capital gain certain net long-term capital gain of a partner who holds one or more APIs.

The proposed regulations define the amount of otherwise long-term capital gain that fails to meet the three-year holding period as the "recharacterization amount," and refers to the person who is subject to income tax on the recharacterization amount as the "owner taxpayer." In addition, the proposed regulations provide a framework for determining the recharacterization amount when an API is held though one or more tiers of passthrough entities.

A partnership interest is an API if it is transferred in connection with the performance of "substantial" services. Under the proposed regulations, services are presumed to be substantial with respect to a partnership interest transferred in connection with those services. Basically, this means that the partnership is presumed to get good value for the partnership interest it transfers in exchange for services.

Generally, an API is any interest in a partnership that is transferred to or held by the taxpayer in connection with the performance of services by the taxpayer in any "applicable trade or business" (ATB). Under Code Sec. 1061(c)(2), to qualify as an ATB, an activity must be "conducted on a regular, continuous, and substantial basis." Under the proposed regulations, an activity is conducted on a regular, continuous, and substantial basis if it meets the "ATB activity test." Under this test, the total level of activity conducted in one or more entities must meet the level of activity to establish a trade or business for purposes of trade or business expenses under Code Sec. 162.

The Treasury and the IRS have issued temporary and proposed regulations to:

• reconcile advance payments of refundable employment tax credits provided under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Families First Act) ( P.L. 116-127) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act ( P.L. 116-136), and
• recapture the benefit of the credits when necessary.

The Treasury and the IRS have issued temporary and proposed regulations to:

• reconcile advance payments of refundable employment tax credits provided under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Families First Act) ( P.L. 116-127) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act ( P.L. 116-136), and
• recapture the benefit of the credits when necessary.

The text of the temporary regulations serves as the text of the proposed regulations.

Background

Under the Families First Act, many employers with fewer than 500 employees must provide paid leave to employees due to circumstances related to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Certain employers must provide an employee with up to 80 hours of paid sick leave if the employee cannot work or telework due to specific reasons related to COVID-19. The Families First Act also amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to require employers to provide expanded paid family and medical leave to employees who cannot work or telework for certain reasons related to COVID-19.

Eligible employers may receive a refundable payroll credit for required qualified sick leave wages or qualified family leave wages paid to an employee, plus allocable qualified health plan expenses. The credits are allowed against the taxes imposed on employers by Code Sec. 3111(a) (the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance tax (social security tax)), first reduced by any credits claimed under Code Sec. 3111(e) and (f), and Code Sec. 3221(a) (the Railroad Retirement Tax Act Tier 1 tax), on all wages and compensation paid to all employees. The credits are increased by the amount of the employer’s share of Medicare tax on qualified leave wages.

The paid leave credits have per-day and maximum dollar limits for each employee, and apply to qualified leave wages paid with respect to the period beginning on April 1, 2020, and ending on December 31, 2020.

The CARES Act provides an employee retention credit for certain employers experiencing economic hardship related to COVID-19 but who pay qualified wages to their employees. Employers eligible for the employee retention credit are those that carry on a trade or business during calendar year 2020 and tax-exempt organizations that either have a full or partial suspension of operations during any calendar quarter in 2020 due to an order from an appropriate governmental authority limiting commerce, travel, or group meetings (for commercial, social, religious, or other purposes) due to COVID-19, or experience a significant decline in gross receipts during the calendar quarter.

Qualified wages are those paid by an employer to some or all employees after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021, and include the employer’s qualified health plan expenses that are properly allocable to such wages or compensation. Qualified wages differ depending on whether the employer averaged more than 100 full-time employees during 2019, or 100 full-time employees or fewer during 2019.

The employee retention credit is a fully refundable tax credit for employers equal to 50 percent of qualified wages; the maximum for an eligible employer for qualified wages paid to any employee is $5,000. The credit is allowed against the taxes imposed on employers by Code Sec. 3111(a), first reduced by:

• any credits allowed under Code Sec. 3111(e) and (f),
• the paid leave credits described above, and
• the taxes imposed under Code Sec. 3221(a) that are attributable to the Code Sec. 3111(a) rate in effect, first reduced by any paid leave credits allowed, on all wages and compensation paid to all employees.

The same wages or compensation cannot be counted for both the Families First Act leave credits and the CARES Act employee retention credit.

Refundability of Credits

If the amount of the paid sick and family leave credits is more than the taxes imposed by Code Sec. 3111(a) or Code Sec. 3221(a) for any calendar quarter, the excess is treated as an overpayment that must be refunded under Code Sec. 6402(a) and Code Sec. 6413(b). A similar refund is required for the employee retention credit.

The IRS has revised Form 941, Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return, and is revising the other employment tax returns, so that employers can use these returns to claim the paid sick and family leave credits and the employee retention credit. The revised returns will provide for any credits in excess of the employment taxes imposed as described above, to be credited against other employment taxes and then for any remaining balance to be refunded to the employer.

Advance Payment of Credits and Erroneous Refunds

In anticipation of the paid sick and family leave credits, including any refundable portions, these credits may be advanced as provided by IRS forms and instructions, up to the total allowable amount and subject to applicable limits for the calendar quarter.

The IRS has created Form 7200, Advance Payment of Employer Credits Due To COVID-19, which employers can use to request an advance of the paid sick or family leave credits, the employee retention credit, or two or more of them. Employers must reconcile any advance payments claimed on Form 7200 with total credits claimed and total taxes due on their employment tax returns. A refund, a credit, or an advance of any portion of these credits to a taxpayer in excess of the amount to which the taxpayer is entitled is an erroneous refund for which the IRS must seek repayment.

Temporary Regulations

The temporary regulations provide that erroneous refunds of the credits are treated as underpayments of the taxes imposed under Code Sec. 3111(a) or Code Sec. 3221(a), and authorize the IRS to assess any portion of the credits erroneously credited, paid, or refunded in excess of the amount allowed as if those amounts were tax liabilities subject to assessment and administrative collection procedures. This allows the IRS to efficiently recover the amounts, while also preserving administrative protections afforded to taxpayers with respect to contesting their tax liabilities under the Code and avoiding unnecessary costs and burdens associated with litigation. These procedures will apply in the normal course in processing employment tax returns that report advances in excess of claimed credits and in examining returns for excess claimed credits.

The temporary regulations also provide that employers against whom an erroneous refund of credits can be assessed as an underpayment include persons treated as the employer under Code Sec. 3401(d), Code Sec. 3504, and Code Sec. 3511, consistent with their liability for the employment taxes against which the credit applied.

The temporary regulations apply to all paid leave credit refunds advanced or paid on or after April 1, 2020, and all employee retention credit refunds advanced or paid on or after March 13, 2020. Further, the temporary regulations apply to all paid leave credits (including any increases in the credits) refunded on or after April 1, 2020, including advanced refunds, as well as all employee retention credits that are refunded on or after March 13, 2020, including advanced refunds.

Applicability Date

The temporary regulations are effective July 29, 2020, the date they are scheduled to be published in the Federal Register.

Comments and Requests for Public Hearing

The Treasury Department and IRS request comments on all aspects of the proposed regulations. A public hearing will be scheduled if requested in writing by any person who timely submits electronic or written comments. Written or electronic comments and requests for a public hearing must be received by 60 days after the proposed regulations are published in the Federal Register.

Submit electronic submissions via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov (indicate IRS and REG-111879-20) by following the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted to the Federal eRulemaking Portal, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. The IRS expects to have limited personnel available to process public comments that are submitted on paper through the mail. Until further notice, any comments submitted on paper will be considered to the extent practicable. The Treasury and IRS will publish for public availability any comment submitted electronically, and to the extent practicable on paper. Send paper submissions to: CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG-111879-20), room 5203, Internal Revenue Service, PO Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, D.C. 20044.

The IRS has provided guidance on the special rules relating to funding of single-employer defined benefit pension plans, and related benefit limitations, under Act Sec. 3608 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) (P.L. 116-136). The guidance clarifies application of the extended contribution deadline, and the optional use of the prior year’s adjusted funding target attainment percentage (AFTAP), with examples.

The IRS has provided guidance on the special rules relating to funding of single-employer defined benefit pension plans, and related benefit limitations, under Act Sec. 3608 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) (P.L. 116-136). The guidance clarifies application of the extended contribution deadline, and the optional use of the prior year’s adjusted funding target attainment percentage (AFTAP), with examples.

Affected Funding Rules

A single-employer defined benefit plan is subject to minimum required contribution rules under Code Sec. 430. The minimum required contribution for a plan year generally depends on a comparison of the value of plan assets (reduced by any credit balances) with the plan's funding target. If the value of plan assets is less than the funding target of the plan for the year, the minimum required contribution for that plan year is the sum of:

• the target normal cost for the plan year;
• the shortfall amortization installments for the plan year; and
• the waiver amortization installments for the plan year.

The minimum required contribution for a plan year must be paid within 8-1/2 months after the close of the plan year ( Code Sec. 430(j)). Payments made on a date other than the valuation date for the plan year must be adjusted for interest accruing for the period from the valuation date to the payment date, at the effective interest rate for the plan for the year. Employers maintaining plans that had a funding shortfall for the preceding plan year (i.e., the value of plan assets, reduced by credit balances, was less than the funding target for the preceding year) must make quarterly contributions to the plan. If the employer fails to pay the full amount of a required quarterly installment, interest is assessed at the plan's effective interest rate plus five percentage points.

Benefit limits apply to plans that have funded target attainment percentage for the preceding year below designated thresholds are deemed to be in "at-risk" status and are subject to increased target liability. The benefit limits on single-employer defined benefit plans are based on the plan’s AFTAP ( Code Sec. 436(b)). Generally, a plan's funding target attainment percentage is the ratio of the value of plan assets for the plan year (reduced by any funding standard carryover balance and prefunding balance) to the funding target for the plan year (determined without regard to the plan's at-risk status) ( Code Secs. 430(d)(2) and 436(j)(1)).

CARES Act Relief
Minimum required contributions to a single-employer retirement plan otherwise due in calendar year 2020 (including any quarterly contributions) are delayed until January 1, 2021. The amount of each such contribution is increased by any interest accruing for the period between the original due date (without regard to the delay) for the contribution and the payment date. A plan sponsor also may elect to treat the plan’s AFTAP for the last plan year ending before January 1, 2020, as the AFTAP for plan years that include calendar year 2020 (Act Sec. 3608 of P.L. 116-136.

Extended Deadline and Interest
The extended contribution due date of January 1, 2021, does not apply to a multiemployer plan, a CSEC plan, a fully-insured plan, or a money purchase pension plan. If the contribution deadline for a plan year is during 2020, a contribution in excess of the amount needed to satisfy the minimum required contribution for the plan year that is made by January 1, 2021, may be designated as a contribution for that plan year.

Any payment made after the original due date for the contribution and by the extended due date must be increased for the period between the original due date and the payment date at the effective interest rate for the plan year that includes the payment date. If the contribution is less than the amount that was due on the original due date for the minimum required contribution, as increased with interest pursuant to the CARES Act, then a portion of the minimum required contribution for that plan year would remain unpaid. The unpaid portion of the minimum required contribution, determined as of the valuation date and based on contributions made on or before January 1, 2021, with the contributions discounted for interest to the valuation date, would give rise to an unpaid minimum required contribution that would be subject to an excise tax. Furthermore, a contribution made after January 1, 2021, to satisfy that unpaid minimum required contribution must be adjusted for interest for the period between the date that the contribution is made and the valuation date at the effective interest rate for the plan year for which the contribution is made (with additional interest as required to reflect any late quarterly installments for the plan year).

The CARES Act specifies that to determine the amount of a quarterly installment due by the extended due date, the amount of that installment is increased from the installment’s original due date to the payment date at the effective interest rate for the plan year that includes the date the quarterly installment is paid. If a plan sponsor does not satisfy a quarterly installment originally due during 2020 by the extended due date, then the unpaid portion of that installment is subject to a higher interest rate for the period during which the installment (or a portion thereof) remains unpaid when determining the amount of the minimum required contribution that is satisfied by a contribution.

A contribution made after the original due date for a plan year but on or before the extended due date is taken into account as of a valuation date for a plan year after the plan year for which the contribution was made. For purposes of determining the value of plan assets, if an employer makes a contribution to the plan after the valuation date for the current plan year and the contribution is for an earlier plan year, then the present value of the contribution determined as of that valuation date is taken into account as an asset of the plan as of the valuation date, provided the contribution is made before a specified deadline. The specified deadline is the deadline for contributions for the plan year immediately preceding the current plan year. However, that deadline is extended by the CARES Act. Furthermore, the interest adjustment rules override the discounting rules that apply generally for this purpose. Note, however, that certification of the AFTAP for a plan year must not take into account contributions that are expected to be made after the certification date.

If the plan year is a plan year for which the extended due date for minimum required contributions applies, then the deadline for a plan sponsor’s election to increase a prefunding balance or to use a prefunding balance or a funding standard carryover balance to offset the minimum required contribution for that plan year is extended to January 1, 2021. However, the extended due date does not change the date by which a contribution must be made in order to be deducted for a tax year. A taxpayer is deemed to have made a payment on the last day of the preceding tax year if the payment is on account of that tax year and is made no later than the time prescribed by law for filing the return for that tax year (including extensions).

Guidance for AFTAP Election

A plan sponsor may elect to apply the AFTAP for the last plan year ending before January 1, 2020, for a plan year that includes any portion of calendar year 2020. For example, if a plan sponsor makes an election for a plan year that runs from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020, then the AFTAP that applies is the certified AFTAP from the plan year that ends on June 30, 2019. That plan sponsor may separately elect to use that same AFTAP for the plan year that begins on July 1, 2020.

The AFTAP election must be made using the procedures that apply for elections relating to funding balances. Thus, the plan sponsor must provide written notification of the election to the plan's actuary and the plan administrator. If a plan’s actuary has not certified the plan’s AFTAP for a plan year before the plan sponsor makes the election, then the plan sponsor’s election is treated as a certification of the AFTAP. Thus, beginning with the date of the election, the AFTAP for the last plan year ending on or before December 31, 2019, applies for the plan year for which the election is made, rather than any presumed AFTAP.

A plan’s actuary generally must certify the plan’s AFTAP for a plan year for which the plan sponsor makes the election. However, if the plan sponsor makes the election for a plan year that begins in 2019 and ends in 2020 and also makes an election for the next plan year, then the actuary is not required to certify the plan’s AFTAP for the plan year that begins in 2019. If the plan’s actuary has certified an AFTAP for a plan year, then the Schedule SB of Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan, for that plan year should reflect the certified AFTAP.

If a plan’s actuary certified the plan’s AFTAP for a plan year before the plan sponsor makes the election, then the plan sponsor’s election is treated as a subsequent determination of the AFTAP for that plan year. However, the plan sponsor’s election is eligible for deemed immaterial treatment, and the election is treated as the recertification on the part of the actuary that is otherwise required for deemed immaterial treatment. Thus, the AFTAP that applies pursuant to the plan sponsor’s election is applied on a prospective basis beginning with the election date.

If the AFTAP that applies is pursuant to a plan sponsor’s election, then the restriction on plan amendments and unpredictable contingent event benefits is applied, except that the AFTAP that applies pursuant to the election is substituted for the presumed AFTAP. Thus, for example, the AFTAP that applies pursuant to the plan sponsor’s election will be used to calculate a presumed adjusted funding target and an inclusive presumed AFTAP.

The AFTAP that applies pursuant to a plan sponsor’s election for a plan year generally will not apply for purposes of the presumptions used in a subsequent plan year. Instead, the actual AFTAP for the plan year that was certified by the plan’s actuary generally is used for purposes of applying the presumption rules the subsequent plan year.

The IRS has released proposed regulations that implement new Code Sec. 7602(f), which bars non-government persons who are hired by the IRS from questioning a witness under oath whose testimony was obtained pursuant to a summons issued under Code Sec. 7602. The regulations prohibit any IRS contractors from asking a summoned person’s representative to clarify an objection or assertion of privilege. The IRS has also withdrawn a notice of proposed rulemaking ( NPRM REG-132434-17) that contained proposed rules addressing the participation of persons described under Code Sec. 6103(n) in the interview of a summoned witness and excluding certain non-government attorneys from participating in an IRS examination.

The IRS has released proposed regulations that implement new Code Sec. 7602(f), which bars non-government persons who are hired by the IRS from questioning a witness under oath whose testimony was obtained pursuant to a summons issued under Code Sec. 7602. The regulations prohibit any IRS contractors from asking a summoned person’s representative to clarify an objection or assertion of privilege. The IRS has also withdrawn a notice of proposed rulemaking ( NPRM REG-132434-17) that contained proposed rules addressing the participation of persons described under Code Sec. 6103(n) in the interview of a summoned witness and excluding certain non-government attorneys from participating in an IRS examination.

Section 7602(f)

The 2016 Summons Interview Regulations under Reg. §301.7602-1(b)(3) were issued, in part, to clarify that persons described in Code Sec. 6103(n) and Reg. §301.6103(n)-1(a) may receive and review books, papers, records, or other data summoned by the IRS. The regulations were also issued to clarify that, in the presence and under the guidance of an IRS officer or employee, these non-government persons could participate fully in the interview of a person whom the IRS had summoned as a witness to provide testimony under oath, allowing a contractor to ask a summoned witness substantive questions. Code Sec. 7602(f) was enacted by section 1208 of the Taxpayer First Act of 2019 ( P.L. 116-25).

Comment Request

Written or electronic comments and requests for a public hearing must be received by October 6, 2020. Commenters are strongly encouraged to submit public comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov (indicate IRS and REG-132434-17) by following the online instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted on paper will be considered to the extent practicable. The Treasury Department and the IRS will publish for public availability any comment submitted electronically, and to the extent practicable on paper, to its public docket. Paper submissions can be sent to: CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG-132434-17), room 5203, Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, D.C. 20044.

Proposed regulations adopt the post-2017 simplified accounting rules for small businesses.

Proposed regulations adopt the post-2017 simplified accounting rules for small businesses.

Implementation

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ( P.L. 115-97) put in place a single $25 million gross receipts test (adjusted annually for inflation after 2018) for determining whether certain taxpayers can use the cash method of accounting, are not required to use inventories, are not required to apply the uniform capitalization (UNICAP) rules, and are not required to use the percentage of completion method for a small construction contract.

The proposed regulations address a variety of issues. For example, they address application of the gross receipts test to taxpayers that are not corporations or partnerships. The gross receipts test is applied by taking into account the amount of gross receipts derived from all of the taxpayer's trades or businesses. Under the proposed regulations, amounts not related to a taxpayer's trade or business—items such as Social Security benefits, personal injury awards and settlements, disability benefits, and wages received as an employee reported on Form W-2—are generally excluded from gross receipts. Similar rules are provided for each of the exemptions.

Other issues addressed in the proposed regulations include rules:

• implementing the Code Sec. 263A(i) small business taxpayer exemption for purposes of the requirement to capitalize interest;
• permitting farmers who had been using a farming exception to the Code Sec. 263A rules to adopt the small business exception, and vice versa;
• permitting a taxpayer to elect to use the allocated taxable income or loss of the immediately preceding tax year to determine whether the taxpayer is a syndicate for purposes of Code Sec. 448(d)(3) for the current tax year;
• requiring a taxpayer that meets the gross receipts test in the current tax year to obtain IRS written consent before changing to the cash method if the taxpayer had previously changed its overall method from the cash method during any of the five tax years ending with the current tax year;
• applying the look-back method to redetermine the taxpayer’s modified taxable income under Reg. §1.59-3(b) and the taxpayer’s base erosion minimum tax amount (BEMTA) for the tax year; and
• clarifying the treatment under Code Sec. 471(c) for small business taxpayers with and without applicable financial statements.

Applicability Date

The regulations are proposed to apply for tax years beginning on or after the date the Treasury Decision adopting these proposed regulations as final is published in the Federal Register. However, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, a taxpayer may rely on the proposed regulations, provided that the taxpayer follows all the applicable rules contained in the proposed regulations for each Code provision that the taxpayer chooses to apply.

The IRS has modified two safe harbor explanations in Notice 2018-74, 2018-40 I.R.B. 529, that can be used to satisfy the requirement under Code Sec. 402(f) that certain information be provided to recipients of eligible rollover distributions. The modifications were necessary due to recent changes in law made by the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act). One safe harbor explanation is for payments not from a designated Roth account, and the other is for payments from a designated Roth account. The Code Sec. 402(f) notice may be provided as many as 180 days before the date on which the distribution is made (or the annuity starting date).

The IRS has modified two safe harbor explanations in Notice 2018-74, 2018-40 I.R.B. 529, that can be used to satisfy the requirement under Code Sec. 402(f) that certain information be provided to recipients of eligible rollover distributions. The modifications were necessary due to recent changes in law made by the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act). One safe harbor explanation is for payments not from a designated Roth account, and the other is for payments from a designated Roth account. The Code Sec. 402(f) notice may be provided as many as 180 days before the date on which the distribution is made (or the annuity starting date).

Qualified Birth and Adoption Distributions

Code Sec. 72(t)(1) generally provides for a 10-percent additional tax on a distribution from a qualified retirement plan, unless the distribution qualifies for an exception. The SECURE Act permits an individual to receive up to $5,000 for a qualified birth or adoption distribution from an applicable eligible retirement plan without being subject to the 10 percent additional tax. A qualified birth or adoption distribution is any distribution from an applicable eligible retirement plan to an individual if made during the 1-year period beginning on the date on which the child of the individual is born or on which the legal adoption by the individual of an eligible adoptee is finalized.

Additionally, an individual may recontribute a qualified birth or adoption distribution (not to exceed the amount of the distribution) to an eligible retirement plan in which the taxpayer is a beneficiary and to which a rollover can be made. Although the distributions may be recontributed, a plan administrator is not required to provide a Code Sec. 402(f) notice to a recipient of a qualified birth or adoption distribution.

Required Minimum Distributions

The SECURE Act also amended Code Sec. 401(a)(9) to change the required beginning date for minimum distributions from retirement plans. The new required beginning date for an employee or an IRA owner is April 1 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which the individual attains age 72, rather than April 1 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which the individual attains age 70-1/2. This is effective for distributions required to be made after December 31, 2019, with respect to individuals who will attain age 70-1/2 after that date. As a result of this change, employees and IRA owners who will attain age 70-1/2 in 2020 will not have a required beginning date of April 1, 2021.

Model Notices

To assist with the implementation of the modified safe harbor explanations, the IRS has released two model safe harbor explanations: one for distributions that are not from a designated Roth account, and the other for distributions from a designated Roth account. Both explanations should be provided to a participant if the participant is eligible to receive eligible rollover distributions from both a designated Roth account and an account other than a designated Roth account. A plan administrator or payor may customize a safe harbor explanation by omitting any information that does not apply to the plan. Alternatively, a plan administrator or payor may provide an explanation that is different from a safe harbor explanation. Any explanation must include the information required by Code Sec. 402(f) and must be written in a manner designed to be easily understood.

The IRS has reminded taxpayers that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act ( P.L. 116-136) can provide favorable tax treatment for withdrawals from retirement plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Under the CARES Act, individuals eligible for coronavirus-related relief may be able to withdraw up to $100,000 from IRAs or workplace retirement plans before December 31, 2020, if their plans allow. In addition to IRAs, this relief applies to 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans and others.

The IRS has reminded taxpayers that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act ( P.L. 116-136) can provide favorable tax treatment for withdrawals from retirement plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Under the CARES Act, individuals eligible for coronavirus-related relief may be able to withdraw up to $100,000 from IRAs or workplace retirement plans before December 31, 2020, if their plans allow. In addition to IRAs, this relief applies to 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans and others.

Also, until September 22, 2020, individuals eligible to take coronavirus-related withdrawals may be able to borrow as much as $100,000 (up from $50,000) from a workplace retirement plan, if their plan allows. Loans are not available from an IRA. For eligible individuals, plan administrators can suspend, for up to one year, plan loan repayments due on or after March 27, 2020, and before January 1, 2021. A suspended loan is subject to interest during the suspension period, and the term of the loan may be extended to account for the suspension period.

To be eligible for COVID-19 relief, coronavirus-related withdrawals or loans can only be made to an individual if:

• the individual is diagnosed with COVID-19 by a test approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (including a test authorized under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act);
• the individual’s spouse or dependent is diagnosed with COVID-19 by such a test; or
• the individual, their spouse, or a member of the individual’s household experiences adverse financial consequences from: (1) being quarantined, furloughed or laid off, having work hours reduced, being unable to work due to lack of childcare, having a reduction in pay (or self-employment income), or having a job offer rescinded or start date for a job delayed, due to COVID-19; or (2) closing or reducing hours of a business owned or operated by the individual, the individual’s spouse, or a member of the individual’s household, due to COVID-19.

Taxpayers can learn more about these provisions in IRS Notice 2020-50, I.R.B. 2020-28, 35. The IRS has also posted FAQs that provide additional information.

The Treasury and IRS have issued final and proposed regulations under the global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI) and subpart F provisions for the treatment of high-taxed income. The final regulations provide guidance on determining the type of high-taxed income that is eligible for the exclusion (the "GILTI high-tax exclusion" or GILTI HTE).

The Treasury and IRS have issued final and proposed regulations under the global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI) and subpart F provisions for the treatment of high-taxed income. The final regulations provide guidance on determining the type of high-taxed income that is eligible for the exclusion (the "GILTI high-tax exclusion" or GILTI HTE).

Proposed regulations generally conform the rules for the subpart F high-tax exception to the rules for the GILTI high-tax exclusion. A single election is provided under Code Sec. 954(b)(4) for purposes of subpart F and tested income.

Under the Code Sec. 954(b)(4) high tax exception, income received by a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) is excluded under subpart F, if the income is subject to an effective rate of foreign tax that is greater than 90 percent of the maximum U.S. corporate tax rate.

Final Regulations on the GILTI HTE

The final regulations:

• provide that the GILTI HTE applies, on an elective basis, to high-taxed income of a CFC that is excluded from foreign base company (FBCI) ( Code Sec. 954) or insurance income ( Code Sec. 953) under Code Sec. 954(b)(4), regardless if the income would otherwise be FBCI or insurance income;
• provide that the effective foreign tax rate is determined on a tested unit basis;
• provide rules to determine the net amount of income (i.e., tentative tested income) and the foreign taxes paid or accrued with respect to such net amount of income that are used to compute the effective rate of tax;
• indicate how to make a GILTI HTE election; and
• do not provide rules that account for the use of foreign tax NOL carryforwards.

An exception under Code Sec. 954(b)(4) for purposes of the GILTI HTE applies to any item of income that is subject to an effective rate of tax greater than the maximum U.S. corporate tax rate, which is 18.9 percent based on a 21 percent tax. Controlling domestic shareholders of CFCs can elect to apply the exception to items of income that would not otherwise be FBCI or insurance income. An item of gross income is subject to a high-rate of foreign tax, if after taking into account properly allocable expenses, the net item of income is subject to an effective rate of tax above the statutory threshold.

The high-tax exception is applied on the basis of the items of gross income of a tested unit of a CFC, rather than the CFC as a whole. All tested units of a CFC in the same country are generally grouped together to determine the effective foreign tax rate for the purpose of applying the high-tax exclusion. The approach minimizes the blending of tax rates within a CFC and is thought to provide a more accurate idea of the income subject to a high-rate of foreign tax.

The election to exclude high-taxed income from gross tested income is generally made or revoked for a one-year period.

Proposed Regulations Single Election

The proposed regulations provide for a single election under Code Sec. 954(b)(4) for purposes of both subpart F and GILTI, based on the final GILTI high-tax exclusion regulations.

Under the proposed regulations:

• the election is made with respect to all members of a CFC group (rather than on a CFC-by-CFC basis);
• the determination of whether income is high taxed is made on a tested unit-by-unit basis;
• the determination of high tax income is simplified by grouping certain income that would otherwise qualify as subpart F income with income that would otherwise qualify as tested income for purposes of determining the effective foreign tax rate, and for purposes of the high-tax exception; and
• the method for allocating and apportioning deductions to items of gross income is modified for purposes of the high-tax exception.

Taxpayers can request a copy of their federal income tax return and all attachments from the IRS.  In lieu of a copy of your return (and to save the fee that the IRS charges for a copy of your tax return), you can request a tax transcript from the IRS at no charge. A tax transcript is a computer print-out of your return information.

Tax return copy

A copy of your tax return is exactly that: a copy of the return you filed with the IRS. According to the IRS, copies of individual tax returns are generally available for returns filed in the current year and the past six years. The IRS charges a fee of $57 to send taxpayers a copy of their return.

Requests for copies of tax returns should be filed on Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return.  The IRS has advised on its website that taxpayers should allow 60 days to receive a copy of their tax return.

Tax return transcript 

A tax return transcript shows most line items from your return as it was originally filed, including any accompanying forms and schedules. However, a tax transcript does not show any changes the taxpayer or the IRS made after the return was filed. According to the IRS, a tax return transcript is generally available for the current and past three years.

Taxpayers can request transcripts online at the IRS web site, telephoning the IRS, or filing Form 4506T-EZ, Short Form Request for Individual Tax Return Transcripts. Businesses that need business-related information should file Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return. Taxpayers can request that the IRS send the transcript to their tax representative.  The IRS reported on its website that transcript requests made online or by telephone generally will be processed within five to 10 days; transcript requests made by filing a paper form take longer to process.

Tax account transcript

The IRS also can provide a tax account transcript.   This document shows basic data from the individual’s return and includes any adjustments the taxpayer or the IRS made after the return was filed.  A tax account transcript is generally available for the current and past three years, according to the IRS and is provided at no-cost.

If you have any questions about the types of tax records available from the IRS, please contact our office.

The start of the school year is a good time to consider the variety of tax benefits available for education. Congress has been generous in providing education benefits in the form of credits, deductions and exclusions from income. The following list describes the most often used of these benefits.

Exclusion From Income

Scholarships. A student enrolled in an educational program may receive a scholarship or fellowship to pay for all or part of the student‘s tuition and fees. These amounts are not included in the student‘s (or the parent’s) income. Need-based education grants, such as a Pell Grant, and tuition reductions are also excluded from income. However, amounts paid for work on campus may be taxable as compensation for services. Payments to cover room and board as opposed to tuition are also subject to tax.

Loan cancellation. Most students take out loans to pay for education expenses. Normally, if a debt is cancelled, the debtor has taxable income. However, if a student loan is canceled or reduced, the cancelled amount is not included in income.

Employer assistance. If you receive educational assistance benefits from your employer under an educational assistance program, you can exclude up to $5,250 of those benefits each year. Courses do not have to be related to your job. If they are related, further tax benefits may be available.

Education plans. Generally, amounts paid to establish an education plan, account or savings bond are not deductible. However, income on the account can grow tax-free (unlike a bank account, for example), and distributions of income from the account are not taxable if they are used for tuition and other qualified education expenses. These general rules apply to a Coverdell Education Savings Account (an education IRA), a qualified tuition program (QTP or “529 plan”), and certain U.S. savings bonds. In the last category or Series EE bonds issued after 1989 and Series I bonds.  A qualified tuition program is established by a state and may provide payments for prepaid tuition or an account with tax-free earnings.

Tax Credits

LLC and AOTC. A lifetime learning credit (LLC) of up to $2,000 is available education expenses for a dependent for whom you claim an exemption. More recently, parents can claim an American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) of up to $2,500 for college expenses paid for each eligible student. The current, enhanced level of the AOTC is scheduled to expire at the end of 2012, but the Obama administration has asked Congress to make it permanent. 

Dependent care. Parents can take a credit for dependent care expenses paid so that they can work. Expenses for care do not include amounts paid for education. Expenses for a child in nursery school, pre-school, or similar programs for children below the level of kindergarten are expenses for care. Expenses to attend kindergarten or a higher grade are not expenses for care. However, expenses for before- or after-school care of a child in kindergarten or a higher grade may be expenses for care, so that a credit can be claimed.

Deductions

Some deductions can be taken directly against gross income, in determining adjusted gross income. These are adjustments to income or “above-the-line“ deductions. Other deductions can only be taken as an itemized deduction. An above-the-line deduction is more valuable.

Above-the-line. Tuition expenses of up to $4,000 can be deducted directly against income. Tuition that also qualifies for one of the education tax credits, however, can be used only once, either for a credit or this above-the-line deduction. Ordinarily, interest paid is a nondeductible personal expense (other than home mortgage interests). However, interest paid on a student loan interest is deductible and can also be taken as an adjustment to income.

Itemized. Not all education-related expenses are deductible. However, a taxpayer may be able to claim a deduction for the expenses paid for your work-related education. The deduction will be the amount by which qualifying work-related education expenses exceed two percent of adjusted gross income. These expenses are added to other itemized deductions, to determine whether the taxpayer will itemize or claim the standard deduction.

Gift tax

Generally, a person making a gift must pay gift tax if the gift exceeds a specified amount ($13,000 currently). However, tuition paid directly to an educational institution to cover tuition for someone else’s benefit (e.g. a grandchild) is not taxable gift irrespective of amount. Prepaid tuition plans can qualify for this benefit.

A variety of educational benefits are available. In some cases, a deduction or a credit (but not both) may be available for the same payment. Thus, it is important to determine the exact requirements for each benefit and the amount of the benefit. Our office can help you determine how to maximize these benefits.

Whether for a day, a week or longer, many of the costs associated with business trips may be tax-deductible. The tax code includes a myriad of rules designed to prevent abuses of tax-deductible business travel. One concern is that taxpayers will disguise personal trips as business trips. However, there are times when taxpayers can include some personal activities along with business travel and not run afoul of the IRS.

Business travel

You are considered “traveling away from home” for tax purposes if your duties require you to be away from the general area of your home for a period substantially longer than an ordinary day's work, and you need sleep or rest to meet the demands of work while away. Taxpayers who travel on business may deduct travel expenses if they are not otherwise lavish or extravagant. Business travel expenses include the costs of getting to and from the business destination and any business-related expenses at that destination.

Deductible travel expenses while away from home include, but are not limited to, the costs of:

• Travel by airplane, train, bus, or car to/from the business destination.
• Fares for taxis or other types of transportation between the airport or train station and lodging, the lodging location and the work location, and from one customer to another, or from one place of business to another.
• Meals and lodging.
• Tips for services related to any of these expenses.
• Dry cleaning and laundry.
• Business calls while on the business trip.
• Other similar ordinary and necessary expenses related to business travel.

Business mixed with personal travel

Travel that is primarily for personal reasons, such as a vacation, is a nondeductible personal expense. However, taxpayers often mix personal travel with business travel. In many cases, business travelers may able to engage in some non-business activities and not lose all of the tax benefits associated with business travel.

The primary purpose of a trip is determined by looking at the facts and circumstances of each case. An important factor is the amount of time you spent on personal activities during the trip as compared to the amount of time spent on activities directly relating to business.

Let’s look at an example. Amanda, a self-employed architect, resides in Seattle. Amanda travels on business to Denver. Her business trip lasts six days. Before departing for home, Amanda travels to Colorado Springs to visit her son, Jeffrey. Amanda’s total expenses are $1,800 for the nine days that she was away from home. If Amanda had not stopped in Colorado Springs, her trip would have been gone only six days and the total cost would have been $1,200. According to past IRS precedent, Amanda can deduct $1,200 for the trip, including the cost of round-trip transportation to and from Denver.

Weekend stayovers

Business travel often concludes on a Friday but it may be more economical to stay over Saturday night and take advantage of a lower travel fare. Generally, the costs of the weekend stayover are deductible as long as they are reasonable. Staying over a Saturday night is one way to add some personal time to a business trip.

Foreign travel

The rules for foreign travel are particularly complex.  The amount of deductible travel expenses for foreign travel is linked to how much of the trip was business related.  Generally, an individual can deduct all of his or her travel expenses of getting to and from the business destination if the trip is entirely for business.

In certain cases, foreign travel is considered entirely for business even if the taxpayer did not spend his or her entire time on business activities. For example, a foreign business trip is considered entirely for business if the taxpayer was outside the U.S. for more than one week and he or she spent less than 25 percent of the total time outside the U.S. on non-business activities. Other exceptions exist for business travel outside the U.S. for less than one week and in cases where the employee did not have substantial control in planning the trip.

Foreign conventions are especially difficult, but no impossible, to write off depending upon the circumstances. The taxpayer may deduct expenses incurred in attending foreign convention seminar or similar meeting only if it is directly related to active conduct of trade or business and if it is as reasonable to be held outside North American area as within North American area.

Tax home

To determine if an individual is traveling away from home on business, the first step is to determine the location of the taxpayer’s tax home. A taxpayer’s tax home is generally his or her regular place of business, regardless of where he or she maintains his or her family home. An individual may not have a regular or main place of business. In these cases, the individual’s tax home would generally be the place where he or she regularly lives.  The duration of an assignment is also a factor. If an assignment or job away from the individual’s main place of work is temporary, his or her tax home does not change. Generally, a temporary assignment is one that lasts less than one year.

The distinction between tax home and family home is important, among other reasons, to determine if certain deductions are allowed. Here’s an example.

Alec’s family home is in Tucson, where he works for ABC Co. 14 weeks a year.  Alec spends the remaining 38 weeks of the year working for ABC Co. in San Diego. Alec has maintained this work schedule for the past three years. While in San Diego, Alec resides in a hotel and takes most of his meals at restaurants.  San Diego would be treated as Alec’s tax home because he spends most of his time there. Consequently, Alec would not be able to deduct the costs of lodging and meals in San Diego.

Accountable and nonaccountable plans

Many employees are reimbursed by their employer for business travel expenses. Depending on the type of plan the employer has, the reimbursement for business travel may or may not be taxable. There are two types of plans: accountable plans and nonaccountable plans.

An accountable plan is not taxable to the employee. Amounts paid under an accountable plan are not wages and are not subject to income tax withholding and federal employment taxes. Accountable plans have a number of requirements:

• There must be a business connection to the expenditure. The expense must be a deductible business expense incurred in connection with services performed as an employee. If not reimbursed by the employer, the expense would be deductible by the employee on his or her individual income tax return.

• There must be adequate accounting by the recipient within a reasonable period of time. Employees must verify the date, time, place, amount and the business purpose of the expenses.

• Excess reimbursements or advances must be returned within a reasonable period of time.

Amounts paid under a nonaccountable plan are taxable to employees and are subject to all employment taxes and withholding.  A plan may be labeled an accountable plan but if it fails to qualify, the IRS treats it as a nonaccountable plan. If you have any questions about accountable plans, please contact our office.

As mentioned, the tax rules for business travel are complex. Please contact our office if you have any questions.

Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) -- both traditional and Roth IRAs -- are among the most popular retirement savings vehicles today. Protecting the value of your IRA (and other retirement accounts) is incredibly important. While some factors affecting the value of your retirement savings may be out of your control, there are many things within your control that can help you safeguard the wealth of those accounts and further their growth. This article addresses common mistakes regarding IRA distributions and contributions, and how to avoid them.

 A recent report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, which oversees IRS activities through investigative programs, reports that an increasing number of taxpayers are not complying with IRA contribution and distribution requirements. Mistakes include, among other things, making excess contributions that are left uncorrected or failing to take required minimum distributions from their IRAs.

 Making excess contributions

 Knowing the maximum amount that you can contribute to your IRA is imperative to avoid negative tax consequences. A 6-percent excise tax applies to any excess contribution made to a traditional or Roth IRA. In 2010, individuals can contribute up to $5,000 to both traditional and Roth IRAs. Individuals age 50 or older can also make “catch-up” contributions of up to $1,000 to their IRA in 2010 as well.

 If you withdraw the excess contribution amount on or before the due date (including extensions) for filing your federal tax return for the year, you will not be treated as having made an excess contribution and the 6-percent excise tax will not be imposed. You must also withdraw any earnings on the contributions as well.

 Not contributing enough

 On the opposite end of the spectrum, you may be contributing too little to your IRA. Although your financial and personal situation will dictate how much you contribute to your IRA each year, and whether you are able to contribute the maximum amount, there are benefits to making the maximum contribution. Contributing the maximum amount means larger tax-free or tax-deferred growth opportunity for your dollars, and a higher – expectedly – account value upon retirement. Moreover, contributing more to your traditional IRA means a larger tax deduction come April 15. Thus, failing to contribute the maximum allowable amount means you may be missing out on tax deductions in addition to tax-deferred, or tax-free earnings.

 Not taking your RMDs

 Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are minimum amounts that a traditional IRA account owner must withdraw annually beginning with the year that he or she reaches age 70 ½. The RMD rules also apply to 401(k) plans, Roth 401(k)s, 403(b) plans, 457(b) plans, SIMPLE IRAs, and SEP IRAs. However, Roth IRAs are not subject to RMD rules (beneficiaries of Roth IRAs must take RMDs, however).

If you fail to take a RMD, or fail to take the correct amount for the year, the IRS imposes a 50 percent penalty tax on the difference between the actual amount you withdrew and the amount that was required. This is a stiff penalty to pay. A specific formula is used to compute annual RMDs, based on your current age, the amount in your IRA as of a certain date, and your life expectancy. Generally, RMDs are calculated for each account (if more than one) by dividing the prior December 31st balance of the IRA (or other retirement account) by a life expectancy factor that the IRS publishes in Tables in IRS Publication 590, which can be found on the agency’s website.

Note. RMDs were suspended for the 2009 tax year, in order to help retirement plans hit by the economic downturn. However, individuals must begin taking RMDs again in 2010 and thereafter.

Failing to rollover IRA funds within 60-days

If you receive funds from an IRA and want to roll over the money to another, you have only 60 days to complete the rollover in order to escape paying taxes on transaction. In general, failing to complete a rollover from one IRA to another within the 60-day window has significant tax ramifications. If the funds are not rolled over within this timeframe, the amount is considered taxable income, subject to ordinary income tax rates. And, if you are younger than age 59 ½, you will pay an additional 10 percent tax. The distribution may also have state income tax consequences as well. (Note: Rollovers from traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs are taxable, regardless of whether they are completed within 60 days). If you have the option, make a direct rollover or transfer. A direct, trustee-to-trustee transfer involves your funds being directly rolled over from one financial institution to the other, avoiding the 60-day requirement since you never directly receive the money.

Also, you can generally only make a tax-free rollover of amounts distributed to you from IRAs only once in 12-month period. As such, you can not make another rollover from the same IRA to another IRA (or from a different IRA to the same IRA) for one year without the amount being subject to tax.

And, individuals age 70 ½ or older cannot rollover any RMD amounts. Make sure that if you must take an RMD for the year, you withdraw the amount prior to rolling over the IRA.

Make Roth IRA contributions after age 70 ½

 If you continue earning income after reaching age 70 ½, you can continue contributing to your Roth IRA, on top of not having any RMD requirement. Therefore, you continue to accumulate tax-free savings. If you have earned income, and your financial and personal situation allow, consider continuing contributions to your Roth, building up tax-free money when you withdraw the funds.

 Failing to name an IRA beneficiary

 Don’t make the mistake of neglecting to name a beneficiary for your IRA. IRAs do not pass by will, but rather pass under the terms of an IRA Beneficiary Designation Form. If you have not named a beneficiary of your IRA, such as your spouse or child(ren), the “default” beneficiary usually is the account holder’s estate. Where there is no named beneficiary, distributions from the IRA must then generally be made as a lump sum or within five years after the owner’s death.

 When you designate your child(ren) as the IRA beneficiary, the rules regarding distributions differ from those that govern IRAs held by a surviving spouse beneficiary. Non-spouse IRA beneficiaries must generally begin taking required distributions over their life expectancy or within five years after the IRA owner's death. Although taking required distributions, the undistributed IRA assets continue to grow in a tax-deferred manner. On the other hand, a surviving spouse beneficiary may elect to treat the IRA as his or her own, or take minimum distributions as a non-spouse beneficiary would.

 Distributions from inherited IRAs are taxable to the recipient as ordinary income. Generally, the income tax rate tends to be higher when an IRA is paid to the estate instead of an individual beneficiary.

 Roth IRA conversions

 This year may be the first time you are eligible to convert your traditional IRA to a Roth. Beginning in 2010, any individual regardless of adjusted gross income (AGI) or filing status can take advantage of a Roth IRA conversion. Prior to 2010, the ability to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth was limited to individuals with AGIs of less than $100,000. Also, married individuals filing a separate return could not convert to a Roth IRA either. If you convert in 2010, you can elect to split (and defer) the tax you will owe on the conversion and pay half in 2011 and half in 2012.

 The decision to convert to a Roth IRA depends on many factors, including the financial and tax consequences of the transaction. Sometimes, it may be wiser depending on your situation to stick with your traditional IRA, especially if you will pay more tax on the conversion than in the account, or you don’t have outside funds to pay for the conversion tax. Do the math carefully and talk with your tax advisor beforehand.