Current Federal Tax Developments

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

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2026-10-26 Current Federal Tax Developments

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.

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2026-10-19 Current Federal Tax Developments

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.

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2026-10-05 Current Federal Tax Developments

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

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• Current Federal Tax Developments - September 28, 2026

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

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• 2026-09-21 Current Federal Tax Developments

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

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2026-09-14 Current Federal Tax Developments

This week we look at:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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2026-09-07 Current Federal Tax Developments

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.

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2026-08-31 Current Federal Tax Developments

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)

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• 2026-08-24 Current Federal Tax Developments

• 2026-08-24 Slides

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

You can download PDFs with copies of this week’s articles and slides below:

• 2026-08-17 Slides

• 2026-08-17 CFTD Articles