Federal Tax Update Podcast

This week we look at:

• Rev. Rul. 2026-22: 401(h) surplus assets may fund active medical benefits for employees age 59½ and over
• Tax Court sustains revocation of a social club's exemption where gas royalties exceeded 50% of receipts
• Tax Court denies whistleblower award because the IRS acted on a Senate report, not the claim

This week we look at:

• Automatic refunds for adoption credit carryforwards claimed on 2025 returns
• Tax Court rejects two syndicated easement deals and applies 40% gross valuation penalties
• IRS withdraws the per se device rule and two anti-abuse rules from 2016 § 355 proposed regs
• New law lets ministers revoke prior Form 4361 SECA exemptions beginning in 2029
• Rev. Proc. 2026-34 rewrites EPCRS: broader self-correction, no mandatory recoupment
• New IRA correction program (IVCP) begins May 1, 2027, replacing PLRs for 60-day rollover waivers

This week we look at:

• Congress passes H.R. 9496, creating new IRC §7511 relief for hostages and wrongful detainees.
• Rev. Proc. 2026-20 gives investment trusts holding digital assets a safe harbor for staking.
• California OTA rejects FTB's hot asset theory for nonresident partnership interest sales.
• Rev. Rul. 2026-18 publishes the SIFL rates for second-half 2026 employer aircraft flights.
• Tax Court sustains bank-deposits income, denies Cohan estimates, and abates penalty in Rahman.
• Proposed regs implement OBBBA changes to the Section 36B premium tax credit and APTC rules.
• T.D. 10059 finalizes the back-end basis adjustment rule for intragroup Section 357(c) liabilities.
• IRS postpones deadlines to February 2027 for Hurricane Isaias victims in Alabama and Florida.
• Court of Federal Claims denies ERC for a staffing agency in Southern Arizona Health Services.
• T.D. 10060 lets the IRS contract for card payment fees, recouped through a reimbursement fee.

This week we look at:

Informal claim and COVID-19 disaster relief save an untimely-looking IRA refund suit in Singh. IRS recasts "Section 351 conversion" ETF transactions as taxable exchanges in Rev. Rul. 2026-20. Proposed regs implement a four-year installment election for farmland sales to young farmers. A corporate Offer-in-Compromise caps an officer's Trust Fund Recovery Penalty liability in Amodio. Treasury completes automatic enrollment in Trump Accounts under new Section 530A regulations. Sevillo Fine Foods: three independent grounds doom an ERC claim based on port congestion delays. Tax Court holds Form 872-T cannot terminate a fixed-date Form 872 extension in Fine v. Commissioner. New IRS notice extends tax deadlines to September 2027 for Israel conflict-affected taxpayers. Congress sends the National Taxpayer Advocate independent legal counsel in H.R. 997. New regulations build the infrastructure for the $1,700 Section 25F scholarship tax credit.

This week we look at:

• Tax Court Applies Equitable Tolling to BBA Partnership Petition Deadlines -- Kings Road Property
• District Court Voids VIBIR's Net Investment Income Tax Assessment -- Perkins
• IRS Notice 2026-55 Seeks Comments on Opportunity Zone Rules for Housing Developers
• Hurricane Michael Casualty and Charitable Deductions Fail for Lack of Substantiation -- Williams
• Treasury Raises the Estate Tax Closing Letter User Fee to $76 -- TD 10055
• Tax Court Finds Proper Mailing Despite a Defective Form 3877 -- Lindsey
• Unsubstantiated Insider Loan Triggers 225-Percent Excise Tax Exposure -- Jagannath

This week we look at:

• Tax Court Warns of AI Drafting Pitfalls in a CDP Lien Withdrawal Case -- Moore
• Altering the Perjury Jurat Dooms a Refund Suit -- Johnson v. IRS
• IRS Extends the Involuntary Conversion Period for Drought-Hit Livestock Sales
• H.R. 9500 Would Restore and Expand Personal Casualty and Theft Loss Relief
• Second Circuit Rejects Form Over Function for SECA Tax -- Soroban Capital Partners
• H.R. 5334 Expands the Educator Expense Deduction to Early Childhood Teachers

This week we look at:

• Final Regulations Restore the Car Loan Interest Deduction Under T.D. 10054
• Fourth Circuit Affirms $2.9M Willful FBAR Penalty -- United States v. Rund
• Tax Court Clarifies BBA Extension Mechanics -- Katanga Properties
• Treasury Proposes Sweeping QOF Certification and Reporting Regulations
• Proposed Regs Allocate Foreign Source Deductions Under Sections 250 and 904
• Unrestricted $16.5M Art Deal Funds Are Taxable Income -- Tunkl v. Commissioner

This week we look at:

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Federal Circuit Bars Treaty FTCs Against the NIIT -- Bruyea and Christensen

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Financial Disability Tolling and Third-Party Authorization -- Goldman v. United States

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OIC Public-Policy Rejections Upheld -- Filipowski v. Commissioner

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Substantiation and Alter-Ego Doctrine -- Hank Risan v. Commissioner

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Codifying Racial Nondiscrimination for Private Schools -- Proposed Section 1.501(c)(3)-2

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IRS's Certified-Mailing Burden of Proof -- Wales v. Commissioner

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Automatic Accounting Method Changes for R&E and Construction -- Rev. Proc. 2026-32

This week we look at:

• Zero-Return Form 1065 Filings and the Beard Test (IRS CCA 202634014)
• Full Payment Rule & Presumption of Correctness -- Pellegrino v. United States
• Pro Rata Share Determinations Under OBBBA -- Proposed Regulations (REG-115646-25)
• Treaty Exclusivity for Pooled Investments -- South Saskatchewan Community Foundation v. U.S.

This week we look at:

• Form 1041-A Relief for Passthrough Charitable Deductions (REG-109082-25)
• Vested Development Rights & Easement Valuation — Malibu Valley Land v. Commissioner
• First Circuit Bars Equitable Tolling of Section 6213(a) — Kyick Holdings v. Commissioner
• PRWORA Immigration Restrictions on Refundable Credits (REG-119882-25)
• Single-Employer DB Pension Funding Proposed Regulations (REG-107855-25)
• Excluded Property Sales Income Under Section 250 (REG-117130-25)
• Section 163(j) Business Interest Limitation Update — Fact Sheet FS-2026-14
• Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act (H.R. 5366)
• IRS Ends Uniform Easement Settlement Initiative, Creates Office of Conservation Easements
• Trump Account Eligible Investment Rules — Proposed Regulations (RIN 1545-BS14)

This week we look at:

• Unpacking the Saver's Match: Technical Guidance and Operational Frameworks Under Notice 2026-48
• Harmonizing Section 3406 Backup Withholding with Section 6050W De Minimis Reporting Thresholds
• The High Bar for Equitable Tolling in Tax Practice: The Eighth Circuit's Final Ruling in Boechler, P.C.
• Employer Contributions to Trump Accounts and Nondiscrimination Rules under REG-101355-26
• The Perpetual Burden of Carryover Substantiation: AMT Credits and Recordkeeping in Beacom v. Commissioner
• Equitable Tolling of Tax Court Filing Deadlines: Maniktala v. Commissioner (8th Cir.)
• Standardizing Retirement Plan Rollovers and Trustee-to-Trustee Transfers under SECURE 2.0: Notice 2026-49
• Unmasking the $70 Million Dubai Fraud: Section 165 Theft Loss Deductions in Deutsch v. Commissioner
• Treasury Proposes Substantive Section 987 Relief for Controlled Foreign Corporations (REG-103844-26)
• Rehearing Reversal: The Fifth Circuit's Management Test for the Limited Partner Exception (K Alain, L.L.L.P.)
• The Crucial Role of Highest and Best Use in Conservation Easement Valuations: Evans v. Commissioner

This week we look at:

• IRS Reinstates Tax Deferral on Variable Annuity Term Certain Options: Reconsideration and Reversal in PLR 202630002
• Understanding the ERC Pleading Standard: Federal Claims Court Deferral in I Health and Life Insurance Services
• Predecessor Losses, the Lonely Parent Rule, and the Limits of Economic Reality: Analysis of HBM Holdings Co. v. Commissioner
• Double Books and Disguised Payees: Corporate Personal Expenses and the Civil Fraud Penalty in Prezioso v. Commissioner

This week we look at:

• Valuation of Remainder Interest Gifts Upon Trust Termination: State Law and Net Gift Adjustments in Lewis v. Commissioner
• Revenue Procedure 2026-26: Technical Overview of 2027 Indexing Adjustments for Premium Tax Credits and Affordability Standards
• Limitations of Interest Abatement Claims Under I.R.C. § 6404(e)(1) in the Context of ERC-Driven Amendments
• Section 6015(c) Relief and the Substantiation Trap: An Analysis of Anderson v. Commissioner
• Navigating the AICPA's New Tax Services Independence Standards: A Guide for Practitioners

This week we look at:

• Partnership Recourse Rules: Conditional DROs will not establish EROL under § 1.752-2.
• Mileage Rate Adjustment: Business standard mileage rate rises to 76 cents on July 1, 2026.
• Business Tax Account: Modernized self-service portal expands features but requires active annual maintenance.
• Litigation Legal Fees: FCRA settlements are taxable gross income without above-the-line deduction.
• Corporate Reorganizations: Tax Court invalidates regulation limiting 100% DRD in post-Loper Bright era.
• ERC Litigation Realities: Exhaustion loophole rejected; notice pleading standards approved in refund suits.
• Conservation Easements: Valuation must be grounded in immediate local market demand, not speculation.

This week we look at:

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Transitioning from First Time Abate (FTA) to Automatic Exemption from Penalty (AEP)

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Strict Enforcement of Tax Refund Statutes of Limitations

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Employee Retention Credit (ERC) Refund Claims & Pleading Standards

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Pandemic-Era Persistence of New York's Convenience of the Employer Rule

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Invalidity of Treasury Regulation Section 1.951A-2(c)(5)

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Non-Shareholder Capital Contributions vs. Compensation

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Final Section 1035 Exchange & Corporate Reorganization Regulations

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Reclassification of Abusive CRAT Structures as Listed Transactions

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The National Taxpayer Advocate's Perspective on AEP

This week we look at:

• Section 7508A(d) and Interest on Pre-COVID-19 Disaster Tax Deficiencies
• The Soroban Capital Partners SECA Tax Controversy
• Pleading Requirements for the Employee Retention Credit (Tapestry Senior Housing)
• ERC Causation and the Essential Business Hurdle (RAAM Construction)
• The Section 530A Transfer Tax Safe Harbor (Rev. Proc. 2026-25)
• Penalty Supervisory Approval Verification in CDP (Besicorp Group)
• Retroactive ERC Deadlines & Constitutional Challenges

This week we look at:

• Nominal S Corporation Ownership and the Abuse Exception
• Recapping the ERC via Section 7405
• Civil Actions Constructive Dividends, Formalities, and Civil Fraud
• CDP Hearings, Offer-In-Compromise, and RCP Calculations
• Professional Responsibility and Responsible AI Use
• Rigorous Proof for ERC "Partial Suspension" Claims

This week we look at:

• Relief from Ineffective S Corporation and QSub Elections
• Procedural and Jurisdictional Limits in Challenging IRS Guidance
• Medicaid Gross Receipts, Cohan Estimations, and Professional Reliance
• Standards and Deceit in Supervised Release
• Transitional Guidance on Qualified Opportunity Zones

This week we look at:

• Application of New Section 68 to Trusts and Estates
• Assessing the Risks of Hindsight in Late § 475(f)(1) Elections
• The Eradication of the 5% Safe Harbor (Clean Energy)
• Limits of § 2036(a) and Tax-Motivated Transfers
• Section 183 Hobby Losses & Penalties
• New Section 25F Education Freedom Tax Credit

This week we look at:

• Proposed Increase to Estate Tax Closing Letter User Fee
• Divergent Causation Standards for ERC Eligibility
• Valuation Extremes in Conservation Easements
• Substantiating Mortgage Interest Deductions
• Taxation of Cryptocurrency Staking Rewards
• Section 4960 and "Covered Employees"
• FBAR Compliance and IRS Agent Authority