IRS

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the Act), signed by President Biden on November 15, 2021, includes extensions to the single employer pension funding relief originally provided in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). Other provisions include modifications to the mandatory 60-day postponement period, which grants relief to taxpayers for certain tax-related acts due to federally declared disasters and new reporting requirements for transactions involving digital assets. The effective dates vary—pension funding relief provisions apply to plan years beginning after December 31, 2021; the disaster relief changes are effective for federally declared disasters that occur after November 15, 2021; and the new reporting requirements for digital assets apply to information reports required to be filed after December 31, 2023.

The IRS has issued a fourth draft of the 2022 Form W-4P, Withholding Certificate for Periodic Pension or Annuity Payments. In it, the IRS indicates that while final versions of the redesigned Form W-4P and Form W-4R will be released for 2022, based on comments received on prior drafts from stakeholders, the IRS will postpone requirements to begin using the redesigned forms until January 1, 2023. Payors should update their system programming for these new forms but may otherwise continue to use the 2021 Form W-4P.

The IRS has issued its initial 2021-2022 Priority Guidance Plan, in which it describes guidance projects in the current fiscal year. Many items in the plan have appeared in prior years’ Priority Guidance Plans.

The IRS has released Revenue Procedure 2021-37, providing procedures for the issuance of opinion letters and the timing requirements of remedial amendment periods for Cycle 2 approvals of 403(b) plans. The guidance aligns the 403(b) pre-approval process with the 401(a) process in several ways.

The IRS has issued a news release announcing the postponement of certain tax-related deadlines for California wildfire victims. The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that began on July 14, 2021. Affected individuals and households that reside or have a business in Lassen, Nevada, Placer, and Plumas counties, as well as taxpayers with records located in the covered area that are needed to meet covered deadlines qualify for relief.

The IRS has issued a news release announcing the postponement of certain tax-related deadlines for Tennessee victims of severe storms and flooding. The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that began on August 21, 2021. Affected individuals and households that reside or have a business in Dickson, Hickman, Houston, and Humphreys counties, as well as taxpayers with records located in the covered area that are needed to meet covered deadlines qualify for relief.

The average number of natural disasters continues to rise. As a result, Congress and the IRS have tried to keep pace by providing relief for those affected by major disasters and emergencies. In December 2019, the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019 amended Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Sec. 7508A by requiring a new mandatory 60-day postponement period for certain tax-related acts following a federally declared disaster. To help clarify the new rule, the IRS issued final regulations in June 2021. The regulations 1) explain how the new mandatory 60-day postponement period is determined, and 2) clarify how the term “federally declared disaster” is defined under IRC Sec.165.

The IRS has released final regulations regarding the mandatory 60-day postponement of deadlines for certain time-sensitive, tax-related acts in circumstances of federally declared disasters, implemented under the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020.

The IRS has issued a revised 2020 Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), intended to clarify the application of required minimum distribution (RMD) rules under the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act).

On May 18, the IRS issued Notice 2021-31, which provides guidance affecting COBRA premium assistance pursuant to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). The notice includes 86 questions that clarify the application of the premium assistance to group health plans, employee eligibility, determination of the premium subsidy amount, and the advance payment or quarterly offset of taxes for employers.