Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of May 8, 2023 – May 12, 2023.

May 8, 2023: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2023-19, which highlights the following:

• Revenue Procedure 2023-22: This revenue procedure provides qualified mortgage bond issuers and mortgage credit certificate issuers with (1) the nationwide average purchase price for residences located in the United States, and (2) the average area purchase price safe harbors for residences located in statistical areas in each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands and Guam.

• Announcement 2023-14: This announcement provides the revocation of IRC 501(c)(3) Organizations for failure to meet the code section requirements. Contributions made to the organizations by individual donors are no longer deductible under IRC 170(b)(1)(A).

• Notice 2023-34: This notice provides that convertible virtual currency should be treated as property for federal tax purposes and general tax principles applicable to property transactions apply to transactions using convertible virtual currency. This notice modifies Notice 2014-21 by revising a sentence in the background section to remove the statement that virtual currency does not have legal tender status in any jurisdiction, among other changes.

• Revenue Procedure 2023-21: This revenue procedure provides the domestic asset/liability percentages and domestic investment yields needed by foreign life insurance companies and foreign property and liability insurance companies to compute their minimum effectively connected net investment income under Section 842(b) for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2021.

• Revenue Ruling 2023-9: This revenue ruling provides the applicable federal rates for federal income tax purposes for May 2023. The short-term federal interest rate is 4.30%, the mid-term rate will drop to 3.57% and the long-term rate will fall to 3.72%

May 8, 2023: The IRS announced Saturday hours for May 13 in more than 40 locations across 25 states. The Saturday hours were to help taxpayers who may have a tax concern or questions about an IRS notice.

May 8, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-63, providing IRS websites and other publications with tax-related disaster relief information that can help taxpayers.

May 9, 2023: The IRS announced that it will accept applications for Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) matching grants from May 8, 2023, to June 26, 2023. The funding will be for the 2023 calendar year. The IRS awards matching grants to qualifying organizations to develop, expand or maintain an LITC. An LITC must match every dollar of funding awarded by the IRS.

May 9, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-64, highlighting the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and the right to challenge the IRS’s position.

May 10, 2023: The IRS released Notice 2023-39, which describes proposed amendments to Section 148 that the US Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the IRS intend to issue regarding an exception to arbitrage investment restrictions applicable to bonds on which the interest is excludable from gross income under Section 103(a) (tax-exempt bonds). Specifically, the forthcoming proposed regulations will amend Section 1.148-11(d)(1)(i)(F) regarding whether certain perpetual trust funds created and controlled by states that are pledged as credit enhancements to guarantee tax-exempt bonds will be treated as replacement proceeds of the guaranteed bonds for purposes of the arbitrage investment restrictions on tax-exempt bonds under Section 148.

May 10, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-65, providing tips for picking the right third-party payroll service provider. An unreliable or fraudulent company could lead to missed deposits, theft or returns not being filed.

May 10, 2023: The IRS offered tips on preparedness and protecting personal information during natural disasters. The tips come as part of National Hurricane Preparedness Week and National Wildfire Awareness Month.

May 11, 2023: The IRS Independent Office of Appeals (IRS Appeals) asked for input on how to best improve access to IRS Appeals conferences for taxpayers who do not live near an IRS Appeals office. Public comments can be sent to ap.taxpayer.experience@irs.gov by July 10, 2023. For more information, read our blog post here.

May 11, 2023: The IRS released Tax Tip 2023-66, reminding taxpayers of available benefits to help offset the cost of making businesses accessible to people with disabilities.

May 12, 2023: The IRS and the Treasury announced initial guidance for the owners of green energy products, such as wind, solar and energy storage technologies. Notice 2023-38 provides the general rules taxpayers must satisfy to qualify for the domestic content bonus credit amounts and the related recordkeeping and certification requirements. The guidance also describes a safe harbor regarding the classification of certain components in representative types of qualified facilities, energy projects or energy storage technologies.

May 12, 2023: The IRS released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandums and Chief Counsel Advice).

Upcoming Events: Registration for the 2023 IRS Nationwide Tax Forums is now open, and the events are returning to an in-person format for the first time since 2019. The IRS Nationwide Tax Forums are designed specifically for tax professionals (e.g., enrolled agents, certified public accountants, certified financial planners and Annual Filing Season Program participants) as well as uncredentialed tax professionals. The dates and locations are as follows:

• July 11-13: New Orleans, LA

• July 25-27: Atlanta, GA

• August 8-10: National Harbor, MD (Washington, DC area)

• August 22-24: San Diego, CA

• August 29-31: Orlando, FL