Issue Number: 2015-30
Inside This Issue
1. Efforts to Prevent Payroll Tax Delinquencies
2. Attend One of This Year’s IRS Nationwide Tax Forums
3. ACA Information Center for Tax Pros
4. Tax Relief Available for Additional Storm Victims in Oklahoma
5. Technical Guidance
1. Efforts to Prevent Payroll Tax Delinquencies
The IRS Collection division is piloting an initiative to make early contact with employers who may be falling behind in their payroll taxes. When it appears an employer may owe a balance at the end of the quarter, Revenue Officers will be in contact before the quarterly payroll tax return, Form 941, is due. The goal is to address payroll tax issues before they become unmanageable. Information on federal tax deposits is available in IRS Publication 15, Employer’s Tax Guide.
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2. Attend One of This Year’s IRS Nationwide Tax Forums
Sign up and attend one of the 2015 IRS Nationwide Tax Forums. The Forums feature three days of the latest tax law information, hands-on workshops, networking opportunities, and exhibits of products and services to improve your business.
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3. ACA Information Center for Tax Pros
If you need information on the Affordable Care Act, the ACA Information Center for Tax Professionals is the best place to start.
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4. Tax Relief Available for Additional Storm Victims in Oklahoma
Taxpayers in additional Oklahoma counties may be eligible for tax relief following severe storms and flooding in May.
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5. Technical Guidance
Notice 2015-52, the second notice concerning § 4980I and it is intended to supplement Notice 2015-16 concerning section 4980I, issued on February 23, 2015. Notice 2015-52 addresses additional issues under section 4980I, including the identification of the taxpayer who may be liable for the excise tax, employer aggregation, exclusion from the cost of applicable coverage amounts attributable to the excise tax, the age and gender adjustment to the dollar limit, the allocation of the tax among the applicable taxpayers, and the payment of the applicable tax. In this notice, Treasury and the IRS invite comments on the issues addressed in this notice and on any other issues under section 4980I. After considering the comments on both notices, Treasury and IRS intend to issue proposed regulations under section 4980I.
Revenue Procedure 2015-39 provides a safe harbor for accrual method taxpayers to treat economic performance as occurring ratably on contracts that provide services on a regular basis. In other words, under the safe harbor, a taxpayer can ratably expense the cost of regular and routine services as the services are provided under the contract. Contracts for regular janitorial or landscape maintenance services are typical examples of contractual services that may qualify for the safe harbor. A service contract that provides for a single product to be delivered to the taxpayer, such as an environmental impact study, will not satisfy the definition of a Ratable Service Contract because the contract does not provide for services to be provided on a regular basis. The revenue procedure defines a Ratable Service Contract and provides examples of contracts that will and will not satisfy the definition.
The revenue procedure also includes examples of bundled service contracts, which provide for both regular and one-time services. Whether part of a bundled service contract qualifies as a Ratable Service Contract depends on whether the parties have separately priced the services specified in the contract.
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