Welcome to the Federal Tax Update Podcast, hosted by Lynn Nichols. This is presented as a member benefit by the South Carolina Association of CPAs. The commentary is brief, and you should not take a position on the items discussed until you thoroughly examine it with authoritative sources.

Topics covered in this installment include:

  • Capital Loss vs. Ordinary Loss
  • News from the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) concerning new director Sharyn Fisk and the creation of the position of “Enforcement Officer”
  • Individual Foreign Tax Credit: The IRS has created a 14-page Practice Unit on how to fill out Form 1116 – Foreign Tax Credit that would make an ideal staff training tool. It can be found at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/int_p_218.pdf
  • Qualified Improvement Property (QIP) Bonus Depreciation Deduction
  • Protecting Client Tax Data: The IRS has expanded on Publication 4557 (“Safeguarding Client Data”) in IR-2020-167 with “Six Steps to Protect Client Data”
  • Reporting Large Cash Transaction: FS-2020-11
  • IRS Relying on FAQs: While there have been hundreds of FAQs posted on the IRS website relating to coronavirus issues alone, remember that FAQs are not considered “authoritative guidance”

A federal tax specialist for 50 years, Lynn Nichols provides tax consulting services to CPA firms on complex federal income tax issues, professional standards in tax practice and effective tax practice management. Lynn is SCACPA’s advisor and speaker on federal tax topics.

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