SWEET & ASSOCIATES, P.C.

The IRS has announced penalty relief for the 2025 tax year relating to new information reporting obligations introduced under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The relief applies to penalties imposed under Code Secs. 6721 and 6722 for failing to file or furnish complete and correct information returns and payee statements.

The OBBBA introduced new deductions for qualified tips and qualified overtime compensation, applicable to tax years beginning after December 31, 2024. These provisions require employers and payors to separately report amounts designated as cash tips or overtime, and in some cases, the occupation of the recipient. However, recognizing that employers and payors may not yet have adequate systems, forms, or procedures to comply with the new rules, the IRS has designated 2025 as a transition period.

For 2025, the Service will not impose penalties if payors or employers fail to separately report these new data points, provided all other information on the return or payee statement is complete and accurate. This relief applies to information returns filed under Code Sec. 6041 and to Forms W-2 furnished to employees under Code Sec. 6051. The IRS emphasized that this transition relief is limited to the 2025 tax year only and that full compliance will be required beginning in 2026 when revised forms and updated electronic reporting systems are available.

Although not mandatory, the IRS encourages employers to voluntarily provide separate statements or digital records showing total tips, overtime pay, and occupation codes to help employees determine eligibility for new deductions under the OBBBA. Employers may use online portals, additional written statements, or Form W-2 box 14 for this purpose.

Notice 2025-62

IR-2025-110

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The 2026 cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) that affect pension plan dollar limitations and other retirement-related provisions have been released by the IRS. In general, many of the pension plan limitations will change for 2026 because the increase in the cost-of-living index met the statutory thresholds that trigger their adjustment. However, other limitations will remain unchanged.

The SECURE 2.0 Act (P.L. 117-328) made some retirement-related amounts adjustable for inflation. These amounts, as adjusted for 2026, include:

The catch-up contribution amount for IRA owners who are 50 or older is increased from $1,000 to $1,100.
The amount of qualified charitable distributions from IRAs that are not includible in gross income is increased from $108,000 to $111,000.
The limit on one-time qualified charitable distributions made directly to a split-interest entity is increased from $54,000 to $55,000.
The dollar limit on premiums paid for a qualifying longevity annuity contract (QLAC) remains $210,000.

Highlights of Changes for 2026

The contribution limit has increased from $23,500 to $24,500 for employees who take part in:

401 (k)
403 (b)
most 457 plans, and
the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan

The annual limit on contributions to an IRA increased from $7,000 to $7,500.

The catch-up contribution limit for individuals aged 50 and over for employer retirement plans (such as 401(k), 403(b), and most 457 plans) has increased from $7,500 to $8,000.

The income ranges increased for determining eligibility to make deductible contributions to:

IRAs,
Roth IRAs, and
to claim the Saver’s Credit.

Phase-Out Ranges

Taxpayers can deduct contributions to a traditional IRA if they meet certain conditions. The deduction phases out if the taxpayer or their spouse takes part in a retirement plan at work. The phase-out depends on the taxpayer’s filing status and income.

For single taxpayers covered by a workplace retirement plan, the phase-out range is $81,000 to $91,000, up from $79,000 to $89,000.
For joint filers, when the spouse making the contribution takes part in a workplace retirement plan, the phase-out range is $129,000 to $149,000, up from $126,000 to $146,000.
For an IRA contributor who is not covered by a workplace retirement plan but their spouse is, the phase-out range is $242,000 to $252,000, up from $236,000 to $246,000.
For a married individual filing separately who is covered by a workplace plan, the phase-out range remains $0 to $10,000.

The phase-out ranges for Roth IRA contributions are:

$153,000 to $168,000 for singles and heads of household,
$242,000 to $252,000 for joint filers,
$0 to $10,000 for married separate filers.

Finally, the income limits for the Saver’s Credit are:

$80,500 for joint filers,
$60,375 for heads of household,
$40,250 for singles and married separate filers.

Notice 2025-67

IR-2025-111

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The IRS released interim guidance and announced its intent to publish proposed regulations regarding the exclusion of interest on loans secured by rural or agricultural real property under Code Sec. 139L. Taxpayers may rely on the interim guidance in section 3 of the notice for loans made after July 4, 2025, and on or before the date that is 30 days after the publication of the forthcoming proposed regulations.

Partial Exclusion of Interest

Code Sec 139L, as added by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21), provides for a partial exclusion of interest for certain loans secured by rural or agricultural real property. The amount excluded is 25 percent of the interest received by a qualified lender on a qualified real estate loan. A qualified lender will include 75 percent of the interest received on a qualified real estate loan in gross income. A qualified lender is not required to be the original holder of the loan on the issue date of the loan in order to exclude the interest under Code Sec 139L.

Qualified Real Estate Loan

A qualified real estate loan is secured by qualified rural or agricultural property only if, at the time that the interest accrues, the qualified lender holds a valid and enforceable security interest with respect to the property under applicable law. Subject to a safe harbor provision, the amount of a loan that is a qualified real estate loan is limited to the fair market value of the qualified rural or agricultural property securing the loan, as of the issue date of the loan. If the amount of the loan is greater than the fair market value of the property securing the loan, determined as of the issue date of the loan, only the portion of the loan that does not exceed the fair market value is a qualified real estate loan.

The safe harbor allows a qualified lender to treat a loan as fully secured by qualified rural or agricultural property if the qualified lender holds a valid and enforceable security interest with respect to the qualified rural or agricultural property under applicable law and the fair market value of the property security the loan is at least 80 percent of the issue price of the loan on the issue date.

Fair market value can be determined using any commercially reasonable valuation method. Subject to certain limitations, the fair market value of any personal property used in the course of the activities conducted on the qualified rural or agricultural property (such as farm equipment or livestock) can be added to the fair market value of the rural or agricultural real estate. The addition to fair market value may be made if a qualified lender holds a valid and enforceable security interest with respect to such personal property under applicable law and the relevant loan must be secured to a substantial extent by rural or agricultural real estate.

Use of the Property

The presence of a residence on qualified rural or agricultural property or intermittent periods of nonuse for reasons described in Code Sec. 139L(c)(3) does not prevent the property from being qualified rural or agricultural property so long as the the property satisfies the substantial use requirement.

Request for Comments

The Treasury Department and the IRS are seeking comments on the notice in general and on the following specific issues:

The extent to which the forthcoming proposed regulations address the meaning of certain terms;
The extent to which the forthcoming proposed regulations address whether property is substantially used for the production of one or more agricultural products or in the trade or business of fishing or seafood processing;
The extent to which the forthcoming proposed regulations address how the substantial use requirement applies to properties with mixed uses;
The manner in which the forthcoming proposed regulations address changes involving qualified rural or agricultural property following the issuance of a qualified real estate loan;
The manner in which the forthcoming proposed regulations address how a qualified lender determines whether the loan remains secured by qualified rural or agricultural property;
The extent to which the forthcoming proposed regulations address how Code Sec. 139L applies in securitization structures; and
The extent to which the forthcoming proposed regulations address Code Sec. 139L(d), regarding the application of Code Sec. 265 to any qualified real estate loan.

Written comments should be submitted, either electronically or by mail, by January 20, 2026.

Notice 2025-71

IR-2025-113

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The IRShas provided a safe harbor for trusts that otherwise qualify as investment trusts under Reg. §301.7701-4(c) and as grantor trusts to stake their digital assets without jeopardizing their tax status as investment trusts and grantor trusts. The Service also provided a limited time period for an existing trust to amend its governing instrument (trust agreement) to adopt the requirements of the safe harbor.

Background

Under “custodial staking,” a third party (custodian) takes custody of an owner’s digital assets and facilitates the staking of such digital assets on behalf of the owner. The arrangement between the custodian and the staking provider generally provides that an agreed-on portion of the staking rewards are allocated to the owner of the digital assets.

Business or commercial trusts are created by beneficiaries simply as a device to carry on a profit-making business that normally would have been carried on through a business organization classified as a corporation or partnership. An investment trust with a single class of ownership interests, representing undivided beneficial interests in the assets of the trust, is classified as a trust if there is no power under the trust agreement to vary the investments of the certificate holders.

Trust Arrangement

The revenue procedure applies to an arrangement formed as a trust that (i) would be treated as an investment trust, and as a grantor trust, if the trust agreement did not authorize staking and the trust’s digital assets were not staked, and (ii) with respect to a trust in existence before the date on which the trust agreement first authorizes staking and related activities in a manner that satisfies certain listed requirements, qualified as an investment trust, and as a grantor trust, immediately before that date. If the listed requirements (described below) are met, a trust's authorization in the trust agreement to stake its digital assets and the resulting staking of the trust's digital assets will, under the safe harbor, not prevent the trust from qualifying as an investment trust and as a grantor turst.

Requirements for Trust

The requirements for the safe harbor to apply are as follows:

Interests in the trust must be traded on a national securities exchange and must comply with the SEC’s regulations and rules on staking activities.
The trust must own only cash and units of a single type of digital asset under Code Sec. 6045(g)(3)(D).
Transactions for the cash and units of digital asset must be carried out on a permissionless network that uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism to validate transactions.
Trust’s digital assets must be held by a custodian acting on behalf of the trust at digital asset addresses controlled by the custodian.
Only the custodian can effect a sale, transfer, or exercise the rights of ownership over said digital assets, including while those assets are staked.
Staking of the trust's digital assets must protect and conserve trust property and mitigate the risk that another party could control a majority of the assets of that type and engage in transactions reducing the value of the trust’s digital assets.
The trust’s activities relating to digital assets must be limited to (1) accepting deposits of the digital assets or cash in exchange for newly issued interests in the trust; (2) holding the digital assets and cash; (3) paying trust expenses and selling digital assets to pay trust expenses or redeem trust interests; (4) purchasing additional digital assets with cash contributed to the trust; (5) distributing digital assets or cash in redemption of trust interests; (6) selling digital assets for cash in connection with the trust's liquidation; and (7) directing the staking of the digital assets in a way that is consistent with national securities exchange requirements.
The trust must direct the staking of its digital assets through custodians who facilitate the staking on the trust's behalf with one or more staking providers.
The trust or its custodian must have no legal right to participate in or direct the activities of the staking provider.
The trust's digital assets must generally be available to the staking provider to be staked.
The trust's liquidity risk policies must be based solely on factors relating to national securities exchange requirements regarding redemption requests.
The trust's digital assets must be indemnified from slashing due to the activities of staking providers.
The only new assets the trust can receive as a result of staking are additional units of the single type of digital asset the trust holds.

Amendment to Trust

A trust may amend its trust agreement to authorize staking at any time during the nine-month period beginning on November 10, 2025. Such an amendment will not prevent a trust from being treated as a trust that qualifies as an investment trust under Reg. §301.7701-4(c) or as a grantor trust if the aforementioned requirements were satisfied.

Effective Date

This guidance is effective for tax years ending on or after November 10, 2025.

Rev. Proc. 2025-31

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WASHINGTON – National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins told attendees at a recent conference that she wants to see the Taxpayer Advocate Service improve its communications with taxpayers and tax professionals.

“What I would like to do is improve our responsiveness and communication with fill-in-the-blank, whether it be taxpayer or practitioner, because I think that is huge,” Collins told attendees November 18, 2025, at the American Institute of CPA’s National Tax Conference.

“I think a lot of my folks are working really hard to fix things, but they’re not necessarily communicating as fast and often as they should,” she continued. “So, I would like to see by year-end we’re in a position that that is a routine and not the exception.”

In tandem with that, Collins also told attendees she would like to see the IRS be quicker in terms of how it fixes issues. She pointed to the example of first-time abatement, something she called an “an amazing administrative relief for taxpayers” but one that is only available to those who know to ask for it.

She estimated that there are about one million taxpayers every year that are eligible to receive it and among those, most are lower income taxpayers.

The IRS, Collins noted, agreed a couple of years ago that this was a problem. “The challenge they had was how do they implement it through their systems?”

Collins was happy to report that those who qualify for first-time abatement will automatically be notified starting with the coming tax filing season, although she did not have any insight as to how the process would be implemented.

Patience

Collins also asked for patience from the taxpayer community in the wake of the recently-ended government shutdown, which has increased the TAS workload as TAS employees were not deemed essential and were furloughed during the shutdown.

She noted that TAS historically receives about 5,000 new cases a week and the shutdown meant the rank-and-file at TAS were not working. She said that the service did work to get some cases closed that didn’t require employee help.

“So, any of you who are coming in or have cases, please be patient,” Collins said. “Our guys are doing the best they can, but they do have, unfortunately, a backlog now coming in.”

By Gregory Twachtman, Washington News Editor

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The IRS and Treasury have issued final regulations that implement the excise tax on stock repurchases by publicly traded corporations under Code Sec. 4501, introduced in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Proposed regulations on the computation of the tax were previously issued on April 12, 2024 (NPRM REG-115710-22) and final regulations covering the procedural aspects of the tax were issued on July 3, 2024 (T.D. 10002). Following public comments and hearings, the proposed computation regulations were modified and are now issued as final, along with additional changes to the final procedural regulations. The rules apply to repurchases made after December 31, 2022.

Overview of Code Sec. 4501

Code Sec. 4501 imposes a one percent excise tax on the fair market value of any stock repurchased by a “covered corporation”—defined as any domestic corporation whose stock is traded on an established securities market. The statute also covers acquisitions by “specified affiliates,” including majority-owned subsidiaries and partnerships. A “repurchase” includes redemptions under Code Sec. 317(b) and any transaction the Secretary determines to be economically similar. The amount subject to tax is reduced under a netting rule for stock issued by the corporation during the same tax year.

Scope and Definitions

The final regulations clarify the definition of stock, covering both common and preferred stock, with several exclusions. They exclude:

Additional tier 1 capital not qualifying as common equity tier 1,
Preferred stock under Code Sec. 1504(a)(4),
Mandatorily redeemable stock or stock with enforceable put rights if issued prior to August 16, 2022,
Certain instruments issued by Farm Credit System entities and savings and loan holding companies.

The IRS rejected requests to exclude all preferred stock or foreign regulatory capital instruments, limiting exceptions to U.S.-regulated issuers only.

Exempt Transactions and Carveouts

Several categories of transactions are excluded from the excise tax base. These include:

Repurchases in connection with complete liquidations (under Code Secs. 331 and 332),
Acquisitive reorganizations and mergers where the corporation ceases to be a covered corporation,
Certain E and F reorganizations where no gain or loss is recognized and only qualifying property is exchanged,
Split-offs under Code Sec. 355 are included unless the exchange is treated as a dividend,
Reorganizations are excluded if shareholders receive only qualifying property under Code Sec. 354 or 355.

The IRS adopted a consideration-based test to determine whether the reorganization exception applies, disregarding whether shareholders actually recognized gain.

Application to Take-Private Transactions and M&A

The final rules clarify that leveraged buyouts, take-private deals, and restructurings that result in loss of public listing status are not considered repurchases for tax purposes. This reverses prior treatment under proposed rules, aligning with policy concerns that such deals are not akin to value-distribution schemes.

Similarly, cash-funded acquisitions and upstream mergers into parent companies are excluded where the repurchase is part of a broader ownership change plan.

Netting Rule and Timing Considerations

Under the netting rule, the amount subject to tax is reduced by the value of new stock issued during the tax year. This includes equity compensation to employees, even if unrelated to a repurchase program. The rule does not apply where a corporation is no longer a covered corporation at the time of issuance.

Stock is treated as repurchased on the trade date, and issuances are counted on the date the rights to stock are transferred. The IRS clarified that netting applies only to stock of the covered corporation and not to instruments issued by affiliates.

Foreign Corporations and Surrogates

The excise tax also applies to certain acquisitions by specified affiliates of:

Applicable foreign corporations, i.e., foreign entities with publicly traded stock,
Covered surrogate foreign corporations, as defined under Code Sec. 7874.

Where such affiliates acquire stock from third parties, the tax is applied as if the affiliate were a covered corporation, but limited only to shares issued by the affiliate to its own employees. These provisions prevent U.S.-parented multinational groups from circumventing the tax through offshore affiliates.

Exceptions Under Code Sec. 4501(e)

The six statutory exceptions remain intact:

Reorganizations with no gain/loss under Code Sec. 368(a);
Contributions to employer-sponsored retirement or ESOP plans;
De minimis repurchases under $1 million per tax year;
Dealer transactions in the ordinary course of business;
Repurchases by RICs and REITs;
Repurchases treated as dividends under the Code.

The IRS expanded the RIC/REIT exception to cover certain non-RIC mutual funds regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940 if structured as open-end or interval funds.

Reporting and Administrative Requirements

Taxpayers must report repurchases on Form 720, Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return. Recordkeeping, filing, and payment obligations are governed by Part 58, Subpart B of the regulations. The procedural rules also address:

Applicable filing deadlines;
Corrections for adjustments and refunds;
Return preparer obligations under Code Secs. 6694 and 6695.

These provisions codify prior guidance issued in Notice 2023-2 and reflect technical feedback from tax professionals and stakeholders.

Applicability Dates

The final rules apply to:

Stock repurchases occurring after December 31, 2022;
Stock issuances during tax years ending after December 31, 2022;
Procedural compliance starting with returns due after publication in the Federal Register.

Corporations may rely on Notice 2023-2 for transactions before April 12, 2024, and either the proposed or final regulations thereafter, provided consistency is maintained.

Takeaways

The final regulations narrow the excise tax’s reach to align with Congressional intent: discouraging opportunistic buybacks that return capital to shareholders outside traditional dividend mechanisms. By excluding structurally transformative M&A transactions, debt-like preferred stock, and regulated financial instruments, the IRS attempts to strike a balance between tax enforcement and market practice.

T.D. 10037

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The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH Act) accelerated the due date for filing Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement and Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, and any returns or statements required by the IRS to report nonemployee compensation to January 31. The change is scheduled to take effect for returns and statements required to be filed in 2017. At this time, many employers and payroll providers are reprogramming their systems for the accelerated due date.

Filing requirements

Every employer engaged in a trade or business who pays remuneration, including noncash payments of $600 or more for the year for services performed by an employee must file a Form W-2 for each employee from whom income, social security, or Medicare tax was withheld or income tax would have been withheld if the employee had claimed no more than one withholding allowance or had not claimed exemption from withholding on Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate.

Prior to the PATH Act, the deadline for filing Copy A of Form W-2 with the Social Security Administration (SSA) was the last day of February following the calendar year for which the filing is made. The filing deadline was extended to the last day of March for employers that file electronically.

Comment. Under the combined annual wage reporting (CAWR) system, the IRS and the Social Security Administration (SSA) agree to share wage data. Employers submit Form W-2, (listing Social Security wages earned by individual employees), and Form W-3, (providing an aggregate summary of wages paid and taxes withheld) directly to the SSA. After the SSA records the wage information from Forms W-2 and W-3 in its individual Social Security wage account records, SSA forwards the information to the IRS

Revised deadline

Under the PATH Act, the due date has been accelerated to January 31, effective for Forms W-2, W-3 and information returns relating to calendar years beginning after December 18, 2015. The accelerated filing date of January 31 for Forms W-2 and W-3 matches the due date for providing wage statements to employees and written statements to payees receiving nonemployee compensation. One consequence of the PATH Act is that these returns no longer qualify for the extended due date of March 31 for filing electronically.

Penalties

Employers that fail to file a correct Form W-2 by the due date may be subject to a penalty under Code Sec. 6721. Higher penalties apply to returns required to be filed after December 31, 2016 and are indexed for inflation. Forms W-2 with incorrect dollar amounts may be eligible for a new safe harbor for certain minor errors.

If you have any questions about the new filing deadlines, please contact our office.

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An employee or self-employed individual is allowed a deduction for the costs of meals and incidental expenses while traveling away from home for business purposes. The deduction of these costs usually requires the substantiation of the costs. However, there is an optional method provided for these taxpayers that avoids keeping receipts.

An employee or self-employed individual is allowed a deduction for the costs of meals and incidental expenses while traveling away from home for business purposes. The deduction of these costs usually requires the substantiation of the costs. However, there is an optional method provided for these taxpayers that avoids keeping receipts.

The IRS publishes per diem rates that apply to different regions of the United States (See Notice 2015–63 on irs.gov). Taxpayers can use these per diem rates for purposes of calculating the meals and incidental costs deduction and they will be presumed to be substantiated.

The election is made by claiming the amount of the per diem deduction on the taxpayer's timely filed return. The amounts can only be claimed if the taxpayer is prepared to substantiate time, place and purpose of the business travel in accordance with IRS regulations. A separate statement, however, is not required to make this election.

Also note that deductions that an employee claims on his or her tax return due to the fact that his or her employer does not reimburse the employee are taken as itemized deductions and subject to the 2 percent floor for miscellaneous deductions before amounts may be deducted.

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