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As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to affect local communities and global economies, Bezold Tax & Accounting Services, LLC remains committed to serving your tax and financial planning needs. As part of this commitment, we want to make you aware of key tax provisions impacting businesses contained in the year-end coronavirus relief legislation, known as the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (H.R. 133), that was signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020.


Here we go again! Seems like we just finished filing 2019 returns and ready, set, go for 2020.

We have learned a lot this year! And, we face 2021 with great optimism. The last few months have been spent upgrading and learning new ways to communicate with you as our main priority. As you are aware, late the filing season everyone's world was rocked with COVID 19. Ours included. We had to maximize safety precautions to keep both you and us safe and still prepare accurate and timely tax returns. Like doing a 360 in the middle of an ocean!


Filing Season Begins!


Dear Taxpayers:

Here is an overview of key provisions in the recent COVID relief legislation that affect individuals. The legislation is the COVID-related Tax Relief Act of 2020 (the "Act" or COVIDTRA) and the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (TCDTR), both of which are part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.


Dear Business Client:

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the CCA, 2021), signed into law on December 27, 2020, is a further legislative response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The CCA, 2021 includes--along with spending and other non-tax provisions and tax provisions primarily affecting individuals--the numerous business tax provisions briefly summarized below. The provisions are found in two of the several acts included in the CCA, 2021, specifically, (1) the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (the TCDTR) and (2) the COVID-related Tax Relief Act of 2020 (the COVIDTRA).


Proposed regulations spell out the critical mineral and battery component requirements of the new clean vehicle credit, while also clarifying several other components of the credit. The proposed regs, along with modified Frequently Asked Questions on the IRS website, largely adopt previous IRS guidance, including Rev. Proc. 2022-42, Notice 2023-1, and Notice 2023-16


The IRS is obsoleting Rev. Rul. 58-74, 1958-1 CB 148, as of July 31, 2023. Rev. Rul. 58-74 generally allows a taxpayer that adopted the expense method for research and experimental (R&Eexpenses to use a refund claim or amend a return to deduct R&E expenses that the taxpayer failed to deduct when they were paid or accrued.


The IRS has issued safe harbor deed language that may be used to amend eligible easement deeds intended to qualify for conservation contribution deductions under Code Sec. 170(f)(3)(B)(iii), to comply with changes to the law created by section 605(d) of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022.


The IRS closed out the 2023 Dirty Dozen campaign with a warning for taxpayers to beware of promoters peddling tax avoidance schemes. These schemes are primarily targeted at high income individuals seeking to reduce or eliminate their tax obligation. The IRS advice taxpayers to seek services from an independent, trusted tax professional and to avoid promotres focused on aggressively marketing and pushing questionable transactions.


As part of the annual Dirty Dozen tax scams effort, the IRS and the Security Summit partners have urged taxpayers to be on the lookout for spearphishing emails. Through these emails, scammers try to steal client data, tax software preparation credentials and tax preparer identities with the goal of getting fraudulent tax refunds. These requests can range from an email that looks like it’s from a potential new client to a request targeting payroll and human resource departments asking for sensitive Form W-2 information.


The American Institute of CPAs is recommending the Internal Revenue Service place a greater emphasis on service as the agency works on its strategic plan for the $80 billion in additional appropriations provided to the IRS in the Inflation Reduction Act.


National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins offered both praise and criticism of the Internal Revenue Service’s Strategic Operating Plan outlining how it will spend the additional $80 billion allocated to the agency as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.


On April 4, 2023, the Internal Revenue Service released the Strategic Operating Plan, which details the agency’s plans to use Inflation Reduction Act resources to transform the administration of the tax system and services provided to taxpayers.


The American Institute of CPAs is calling on the Internal Revenue Service to issue guidance related to how digital asset losses affect tax obligations.