Overview
Tax Court Issues Opinions on Levy Issue: Today, the US Tax Court issued two opinions in Melasky v. Comm’r, Docket No. 12777-12L. The first opinion determined that a challenge to the crediting of a payment is not a challenge to the underlying tax liability and thus is reviewed for abuse of discretion. The second opinion, which was reviewed by the full Tax Court, held that the IRS settlement officer complied with applicable law and administrative procedure in the collection action, and the check paid by the taxpayers constituted an involuntary payment that could be applied against whichever tax liability the IRS chooses.
IRS Releases Fact Sheet on Tax Reform Changes for Businesses: Yesterday, the IRS released a fact sheet summarizing changes from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that affect business taxpayers. The fact sheet provides explanations of these changes including: the qualified business income deduction, changes to fringe benefit deductions, the employer tax credit for paid family and medical leave, and the limitation of like-kind exchanges to real estate. The fact sheet also notes that business taxpayers should re-estimate estimated tax payments to account for changes in tax liability from the new law.