1. Healthcare

IRS NEWS FOR TAX PROFESSIONALS
February 2015
Filing season opens Jan. 20, 2015. The IRS began accepting tax returns electronically on Jan.
20. Paper tax returns began processing at the same time.
More Information on the One-Per-Year Limit on IRA Rollovers. The Rollover Chart
summarizes allowable rollover transactions.
The Identity Protection: Prevention, Detection and Victim Assistance page on IRS.gov was
updated Jan. 8, 2015.
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New publication for taxpayers:
Publication 5027 Identity Theft Information for Taxpayers.
New publication for tax preparers: Publication 5199 Tax Preparer Guide to Identity Theft.
New page for tax preparers:
Identity Theft Information for Tax Preparers.
The Offer in Compromise booklet, Form 656B, has a January 2015 revision date.
The Internal Revenue Service released Rev. Proc. 2014-63 providing rules for the nationwide
rollout of post-Appeals mediation for Offer in Compromise (OIC) and Trust Fund Recovery
Penalty (TFRP) cases. Post-Appeals mediation is available to help resolve disputes after
unsuccessful negotiations with the IRS Office of Appeals.
IRS.gov has resources that can help tax professionals manage estate and bankruptcy issues.
For more information, including links to forms and publications, see:
 Bankruptcy
 Deceased taxpayers – probate, filing estate and individual Returns, Paying Taxes Due.
IRS Chief Counsel has described the rules for joint obligors on a mortgage to deduct
mortgage interest from joint and separate funds. See Chief Counsel Memorandum
201451027 for more information.
►AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
The Interactive Tax Assistant for 2015 has been deployed to IRS.gov. The ITA tool is a tax law
resource that takes you through a series of questions and provides you with responses to tax law
questions.
There are two ACA topics on the Interactive Tax Assistant
 Am I eligible to claim the Premium Tax Credit?
 Am I required to make an Individual Shared Responsibility Payment?
Lots of information here! Affordable Care Act Legal Guidance and other resources.
See the latest Health Care Tax Tips here.
ACA News for Individuals
Forms and Instructions are now final.
Form 8962 Premium Tax Credit.
Instructions 8962.
Form 8965 Health Coverage Exemptions.
Instructions 8965.
Practitioners please see page 7 of the instructions for Form 8965:
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Column c—Exemption Certificate Number (ECN)
Enter the ECN that you received from the Marketplace for the individual listed in column a. If you
were granted a coverage exemption from the Marketplace, but did not receive an ECN, or do
not know your ECN, contact the Marketplace to obtain your ECN. If the Marketplace has not
processed your application before you file, enter “pending.”
ACA News for Businesses
This page was recently updated on IRS.gov:
S Corporation compensation and medical insurance issues.
►YOUR PRACTICE
With the filing season approaching, the IRS joined with national tax organizations to provide
people with new options to get information and tips on selecting tax professionals and avoiding
unscrupulous preparers. See also understanding tax return preparer credentials and
qualifications.
Publication 1345 contains new electronic signature guidance for Forms 8878 and 8879
including information on currently acceptable electronic signature methods, identity verification
requirements, and electronic record requirements. Additional information can be found on
IRS.gov: Electronic Signature Guidance for Forms 8878 and 8879, FAQ's for An Electronic
Return Originator, and New e-signature Guidance for IRS e-file.
Publication 2043, IRS Refund Information Guidelines for the Tax Preparation Community,
is now available on IRS.gov. The publication contains the lasted guidance on communicating with
your clients about refunds, direct deposit limits and more.
Educational Letters sent by the Return Preparer Office (RPO). In early January 2015, the
Return Preparer Office sent out three educational letters to tax preparers.
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Letter 5105 was sent to approximately 1,200 tax return preparers. Letter 5105
encourages special attention to Schedule C rules.
Letter 5271 was sent to approximately 5,000 tax return preparers. Letter 5271
encourages special attention to Child Tax Credit rules.
Letter 5272 was sent to approximately 1,400 tax return preparers. Letter 5272
encourages special attention to Child Tax Credit and ITIN rules.
See IRS letters and visits to return preparers for more information.
Heads up to enrolled agents: When completing Form 2848, you need to sign Part II,
Declaration of Representative. The instructions for Form 2848 (July 2014 revision), state:
“Enrolled Agent — Enter IRS as the licensing jurisdiction and the enrollment card number in the
block provided.” It’s a new requirement to enter IRS as the licensing jurisdiction.
Mark Your Calendars! The dates for the 2015 Nationwide Tax Forums have been announced.
Join your colleagues for three days of informative education sessions, training and networking,
featuring a full agenda of the latest tax law information, hands-on workshops, networking
opportunities and exhibits of the latest products and services for your business needs.
►EMPLOYERS
Tip recordkeeping & reporting has information for employees and employers about “autogratuities.” A new tax center, Information for Industries Where Tips are Customary, has
been added to the Industries/Professions Tax Centers page.
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►RETIREMENT PLANS
New single distribution rule for retirement plans: Beginning Jan. 1, 2015, when participants
choose to direct their retirement plan distribution to go to multiple destinations, the amounts will
be treated as a single distribution for allocating pre-tax and after-tax basis (Notice 2014-54 and
REG-105739-11). This will allow 401(a) qualified, 403(b) and 457(b) governmental retirement
plan participants to:
 Roll over amounts to both a Roth IRA and a non-Roth IRA.
 Allocate the pre-tax amount of the distribution to the non-Roth IRA and the after-tax
amount to the Roth IRA.
 Avoid having to pay income tax on pre-tax amounts rolled over to the non-Roth IRA.
►ISSUE MANAGEMENT RESOLUTION SYSTEM
See the January 2015 IMRS Hot Issues here.
►TAX CENTER OF THE MONTH: Construction Tax Center
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Tax tips - construction
This section provides important information on topics such as accounting methods,
excise taxes, and energy credits.
Avoiding problems
This section contains important information on recordkeeping and warns you of
fraudulent schemes.
►TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS
Where do I start? See applying for tax exempt status.
Find all of the most current information for tax-exempt organizations.
►NEWS FROM OTHER AGENCIES
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services is offering a webinar series for small business
employers, agents, brokers and other interested stakeholders, about important changes in the
Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP). The webinar will be offered every Tuesday,
1:00 to 2:00 pm Central time in February. See the full schedule and register here.
The Department of the Treasury issued final rules for myRA Savings Accounts. myRA is a
retirement account created by the United States Department of the Treasury for the millions of
Americans who face barriers to saving for retirement.
►IN EVERY ISSUE
See the latest
- Tax tips.
- Health care tax tips.
- Fact sheets.
- Headliners.
- News releases.
- Announcements, Notices, Revenue Rulings, Revenue Procedures, Treasury Decisions,
and Treasury Regulations are in the Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB).
- Tax statistics.
- Find the latest IRS news via social media options.
Subscribe to the Office of Professional Responsibility’s newsletter.
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Find the latest news and events for tax professionals.
The issue management resolution system helps solve issues with policies, practices and
procedures. Tax professionals should forward significant issues regarding IRS policies, practices
and procedures to their Stakeholder Liaison.
Outreach corner. Find it easy to spread the word about key income tax topics! This page offers
electronic communication materials to use in reaching out to the people you serve. Get free news
you can use each month, targeted by time of year to coincide with what your customers,
employees, volunteers, etc. need to know about new tax law legislation, IRS events and other
activities that affect them.
Industries/professions tax centers. Tax centers contain links to topics such as tax tips, financial
resources, trends and statistics, forms, and more.
Audit Techniques Guides (ATGs)
Audit Techniques Guides (ATGs) help IRS examiners during audits by providing insight into
issues and accounting methods unique to specific industries. While ATGs are designed to provide
guidance for IRS employees, they’re also useful to small business owners and tax professionals
who prepare returns.
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