Overview
IRS Issues Updated FATCA Forms and Publication: The IRS released three updated documents through its electronic FATCA news service. Form 1042-S is used to report certain amounts from US sources paid to foreign persons (including persons presumed to be foreign). Form 8938 is used by certain individuals to report specified foreign financial assets if the total value of all the specified foreign financial assets in which they have an interest is more than the appropriate reporting threshold. Publication 515 describes the persons responsible for withholding (withholding agents), the types of income subject to withholding, and the information return and tax return filing obligations of withholding agents. The revision of Publication 515 is primarily for use in 2015, but it also includes information that is relevant for 2014.
IRS Provides Automatic Approval of Change in Funding Method for Takeover Plans: In Announcement 2015-3, the IRS provides automatic approval of a change in funding method with respect to a single-employer defined benefit plan under certain circumstances in which the change in method results from a change in the plan’s enrolled actuary if four conditions are satisfied. The automatic approval provided by the announcement will apply for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2013.