TE/GE is pleased to announce the release of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Fiscal Year 2018 Accomplishments Letter that:

• Contains information on TE/GE’s contributions to the tax administration system
• Lists each TE/GE function’s accomplishments under the six portfolio programs of our compliance program

You may also want to review the TE/GE Fiscal Year 2019 Program Letter, which explains TE/GE’s compliance program consisting of:

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today issuedinterim guidance regarding the treatment of qualified transportation fringe benefit expenses paid or incurred after Dec. 31, 2017.

The new rules assist taxpayers in determining the amount of parking expenses that are no longer tax deductible. They also help tax-exempt organizations determine how these nondeductible parking expenses create or increase unrelated business taxable income (UBTI).

The IRS acknowledges that this guidance falls late in the year and taxpayers that own or lease parking facilities may have already adopted reasonable methods in 2018 to determine the amount of their nondeductible parking expenses. Taxpayers may rely on the guidance or, until further guidance is issued, use any reasonable method for determining nondeductible parking expenses related to employer-provided parking. 

A key part of this guidance is a special rule, enabling many employers to retroactively reduce the amount of their nondeductible parking expenses. Under

Latest webcasts for charities and nonprofits

Four new presentations are available for 501(c)(3) organizations. Additional charities and nonprofits topics are onIRSvideos.gov.

• Charities and Nonprofits: A Quick Resource Guide
• Did you lose your tax-exempt status? Why it happens and how to fix it
• Easy Form 1023-EZ
• File Error-Free Forms 990

Recent IRS notices affecting Exempt Organizations

• Notice 2018-55 Tax reform imposes a 1.4 percent excise tax on the investment income of certain educational institutions.
• Notice 2018-67 An exempt organization with more than one unrelated trade or business must calculate unrelated business taxable income separately for each trade or business.

Issue snapshots

Issue Snapshots are IRS employee job aids that provide analysis and resources along with audit tips and issue indicators for technical tax issues. Visit Issue Snapshots for a complete listing of issue snapshots for Exempt Organizations.

IRSAC expands to cover more areas of the IRS; IRPAC and ACT to join centralized advisory committee in 2019 The IRS announced that the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Committee’s (IRSAC) role will expand in 2019 to have a wider portfolio and will incorporate the Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee (IRPAC) and the Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT). Although ACT will no longer exist, the IRS emphasizes that TE/GE issues will remain a priority area in the expanded IRSAC.

401(k) contribution limit increases to $19,000 for 2019; IRA limit increases to $6,000 The Internal Revenue Service announced cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2019.

The IRS has launched an easy-to-use webpage, IRS.gov/taxreform, with information about how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act affects your taxes, with a special section focused on tax exempt entities.

The tax reform page features three areas designed specifically for:

• Individuals – For example, standard deduction increase, child tax credit, withholding. Use the Withholding Calculator to make sure you’re withholding enough tax from your paycheck.
• Businesses – For example, depreciation, expenses and qualified business income deductions.
• Tax Exempt Entities – For example, tax reform affecting retirement plans, tax-exempt organizations and governments.

Under the Tax Exempt Entities tab, you’ll find highlights of how tax reform affects retirement plans, tax-exempt organizations and tax-advantaged bonds.

Retirement plans

• Rollovers of retirement plan loan offsets – If your plan offsets an outstanding loan balance when you leave employment, you have until the due date of your individual
  

The Fiscal Year 2019 Program Letter explains TE/GE’s compliance program consisting of:

The Program Letter (referred to as a Work Plan or Priority Letterin prior fiscal years) outlines TE/GE’s commitment to improving customer experience and reducing taxpayer burden, while cultivating a strong work force.

Similar to the FY 2017 Accomplishments summary, TE/GE will release a summary of its FY 2018 accomplishments when all the data is available.