Overview
TIGTA Releases Two Audit Reports: Today, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released its audit report on its Fiscal Year 2018 Statutory Review of Disclosure of Collection Activities on Joint Returns. Section 7803(d)(1)(B) requires TIGTA to review and certify annually the IRS's compliance with section 6103(e)(8), which requires the IRS to disclose efforts to collect delinquent taxes on joint tax liabilities when requested by taxpayers who are no longer married or no longer reside in the same household.
In addition, TIGTA released an audit report finding that the IRS lacks a coordinated strategy to address unregulated return preparer misconduct. TIGTA made several recommendations to improve the identification and deterrence of misconduct by unregulated tax preparers. In response to the report, IRS officials agreed with eight of the nine recommendations and plans corrective actions. TIGTA believes more emphasis should be placed on the collection of return preparer penalties, and tracking the success of these efforts would assist collection function management in realizing a better collection rate.
Miscellaneous Guidance: Notice 2018-58 announces that Treasury and the IRS intend to issue regulations providing clarification regarding: (1) the special rules for contributions of refunded qualified higher education expenses to a qualified tuition program; (2) the new rules permitting a rollover from a qualified tuition program to an ABLE account under section 529A; and (3) the new rules treating certain elementary or secondary school expenses as qualified higher education expenses.