Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of February 26, 2024 – March 1, 2024.

February 26, 2024: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2024-9, which includes the following:

• Announcement 2024-11, which shares recent disciplinary sanctions involving lawyers, certified public accountants, enrolled agents, enrolled actuaries, enrolled retirement plan agents and appraisers.
• Revenue Procedure 2024-12, which extends the time for providing certain seller reports for vehicle sales that qualify for the clean vehicle credit or the previously owned clean vehicle credit under Internal Revenue Code (Code) §§ 30D and 25E, respectfully.
• Revenue Procedure 2024-13, which provides two tables of limitations on depreciation deductions for owners of passenger automobiles placed in service during calendar year 2024 and a table of dollar amounts that must be used to determine income inclusions by passenger automobile lessees with a lease term beginning in calendar year 2024.
• Revenue Procedure 2024-14, which provides indexing adjustments for applicable dollar amounts under Code § 4980H(c)(1) and (b)(1). These indexed amounts are used to calculate the employer shared responsibility payments under § 4980H(a) and (b)(1), respectively.

February 26, 2024: The IRS announced that it will accept supplemental applications from all qualified organizations for Low Income Taxpayer Clinic matching grants from February 26 to April 10.

February 26, 2024: The IRS provided businesses, tax professionals and others who want to learn more about resolving incorrect Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claims a free webinar about the ERC Voluntary Disclosure Program and other IRS efforts to help taxpayers who may have been misled by aggressive marketing and misinformation around ERC eligibility.

February 27, 2024: The IRS announced that individuals and businesses in parts of California affected by severe storms and flooding that began on January 21, 2024, now have until June 17, 2024, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.

February 27, 2024: The IRS announced that two private sector experts with extensive experience in the tax and cryptocurrency industries have been hired as executive advisors to help the agency’s efforts within the digital assets space.

February 27, 2024: The IRS released Notice 2024-26, which provides that withholding agents (both US and foreign persons) are administratively exempt from the requirements to electronically file Forms 1042, Annual Withholding Tax Return for U.S. Source Income of Foreign Persons, that are required to be filed in calendar year 2024. Additionally, withholding agents that are foreign persons are administratively exempt from the requirements to electronically file Forms 1042 that are required to be filed in calendar year 2025.

February 28, 2024: The IRS reminded taxpayers that recent improvements to Where’s My Refund? provide more information and remains the best way to check the status of a refund, including information regarding IRS confirmation of receiving a federal tax return, approval of a tax refund and the issuing date of the approved tax refund.

February 28, 2024: The IRS reminded taxpayers that an electronically filed tax return will be rejected if the taxpayer is required to reconcile advance payments of the premium tax credit on Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit, but does not complete the form in the software and submit it with their tax return.

February 28, 2024: The IRS announced that individuals and businesses in parts of Washington State affected by wildfires that began on August 18, 2023, now have until June 17, 2024, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.

February 29, 2024: The IRS announced a new initiative, made possible by Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 funding, focused on high-income taxpayers who have failed to file federal income tax returns in more than 125,000 instances since 2017. IRS compliance letters recently began going out and the mailings include more than 25,000 to those with more than $1 million in income and over 100,000 to those with incomes between $400,000 and $1 million for tax years between 2017 and 2021.

February 29, 2024: The IRS released Revenue Procedure 2024-15, which sets forth the manner in which a public utility may treat certain legislatively authorized transactions (specifically a securitization that involves the issuance of debt instruments by a qualifying state financing entity) entered into by the public utility to recover specified costs through a non-bypassable surcharge to customers within the utility’s historic service area.

March 1, 2024: The IRS provided additional information to assist taxpayers in their understanding of what to do with Form 1099-K, including frequently asked questions.

March 1, 2024: The IRS announced that its Free File Guided Tax Software service has seen a year-over-year increase of nearly 10% so far this filing season. Taxpayers across the nation can access free software products provided by IRS Free File trusted partners by visiting IRS.gov.

March 1, 2024: The IRS released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandums and Chief Counsel Advice).