WASHINGTON — The Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service and Department of Energy (DOE) announced today that the application portal for the 2024 Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program is now open.

Applications are being accepted beginning today at 9:00am ET, with a 30-day initial application window which concludes at 11:59 pm ET on June 27. During this 30-day initial application window all applications will be considered as submitted at the same date and time. Applications submitted after the 30-day application window will then be evaluated on a rolling basis.

Created by the Inflation Reduction Act, the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program provides a 10 or 20 percentage point increase to the energy investment credit for solar and wind facilities under five megawatts (AC) that apply for and receive an allocation of environmental justice solar and wind capacity limitation.

Taxpayers that receive an allocation and properly place the facility in service may then claim the increased energy investment credit in the year that the facility is placed in service.

More information can be found on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 page on IRS.gov.

State laws satisfying the requirements of Treas. Reg. Section 1.501(c)(3)-1(b)(4)

Treasury Regulations (Treas. Reg.) Section 1.501(c)(3)-1(b)(4) includes requirements for Section 501(c)(3) organizations related to the distribution of assets upon dissolution (dissolution requirements). Revenue Procedure 82-2 identified the states and circumstances in which an organization could satisfy these requirements by operation of state law. The conclusions in the revenue procedure were based on state laws in effect at the time of its publication, many of which have since changed. Because Rev. Proc. 82-2 no longer provides an accurate list of the states with laws that operate to ensure the distribution of assets for exempt purposes upon dissolution, it has been obsoleted by Rev. Proc. 2024-22 on May 24, 2024. 

On April 23, 2024, Associate Chief Counsel, Employee Benefits, Exempt Organizations and Employment Taxes (ACC:EEE) issued Program Manager Technical Advice Memorandum 2024-02 (PMTA), with updated guidance on state laws that satisfy the dissolution requirements of Treas. Reg. Section 1.501(c)(3)-1(b)(4).  The PMTA was issued to the Tax Exempt and Government Entities (TEGE) Exempt Organizations Rulings and Agreements and Examinations offices, which will use the advice in processing applications for recognition of exemption and undertaking examinations. The PMTA includes tables identifying states with laws that operate to ensure the dedication of assets to exempt purposes. Separate tables are provided for nonprofit corporations, inter vivos charitable trusts, testamentary charitable trusts, and unincorporated nonprofit associations.

Subsequent changes to state law by statute or court decision may affect the accuracy of this information.

State laws satisfying the Section 508(e) private foundation governing instrument requirements

Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 508(e) includes requirements for the governing instruments of private foundations exempt from taxation under IRC Section 501(a). Rev. Rul. 75-38 identified 48 states and the District of Columbia as jurisdictions with statutory provisions in effect at the time of its publication that satisfied the requirements of IRC Section 508(e) and noted certain exceptions. The conclusions in the revenue ruling were based on state laws in effect at the time of its publication, a number of which have since changed. Because Rev. Rul. 75-38 no longer provides an accurate list of the states with statutory provisions that satisfy the requirements of IRC Section 508(e) or of such exceptions, it has been obsoleted by Rev. Rul 2024-10 on May 24, 2024. 

On April 23, 2024, ACC:EEE issued PMTA 2024-03 with updated guidance on state laws that satisfy the private foundation governing instrument requirements of IRC Section 508(e). The PMTA was issued to the TEGE Exempt Organizations Rulings and Agreements and Examinations offices, which will use the advice in processing applications for recognition of exemption and undertaking examinations.  The PMTA includes a table identifying whether and under what circumstances each state has enacted laws satisfying the requirements of IRC Section 508(e) for nonprofit corporations, trusts, and unincorporated nonprofit associations covered by those laws and exceptions. Subsequent changes to state law by statute or court decision may affect the accuracy of this information.

1. Storm victims in seven states have until June 17 to file and pay
2. IRS Nationwide Tax Forum: The benefits of attending
3. Treasury, IRS issue new rules on capacity limitation carryover amounts for 2024 program year
4. Treasury, IRS and DOE announce new allocation round for the qualifying advanced energy project credit
5. Upcoming webinars for tax practitioners
6. News from the Justice Department’s Tax Division
7. Technical Guidance

1.  Storm victims in seven states have until June 17 to file and pay

Individuals and businesses in parts of seven states that were affected by storms have until June 17 to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. For areas designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the IRS offers relief, including delaying various tax filing and payment deadlines. The June 17 deadline applies to taxpayers impacted by seven different disaster declarations. These include:

• One county in California;
• One county and two tribal nations in Connecticut;
• Nine counties in Michigan;
• Seven counties in Maine;
• Nine counties in Tennessee;
• Two counties in Washington; and
• Six counties in West Virginia.                                                       

The current list of eligible localities is always available on the Tax relief in disaster situations page on IRS.gov.
       

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2.  IRS Nationwide Tax Forum: The benefits of attending

What do you get when you attend the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum? The tax forum registration fee includes all conference activities including seminars, exhibits and special events as well as the welcome reception on Tuesday and the networking reception on Wednesday. Registered attendees have full access to:

• More than 40 continuing education (CE) courses. Attendees can earn up to 19 credits. The conference agenda will be available by early June.
• The Exhibit Hall for information on tax products and services that can help you and your business. Visit the IRS Zone to learn more about the IRS's vision for transformation and digitization and share your perspective with IRS representatives.
• The Case Resolution Program for personalized assistance with your toughest tax case. IRS experts will be on-site for a one-on-one conversation, to conduct research on your case and endeavor to resolve your tax matter on site.
• Focus groups on a broad array of topics. Come share your opinion.
• Special bonus sessions on practice management, scams and schemes, and the new Treasury Department Beneficial Ownership Information reporting requirements.

Register now and take advantage of the Early Bird rate (available until 5 p.m. June 17). Attendees who register early will have their badges mailed to them prior to the forum.

For more information about this year’s Nationwide Tax Forum, view the video, Five things to Know about the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum.

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3.  Treasury, IRS issue new rules on capacity limitation carryover amounts for 2024 program year

The Treasury Department and the IRS announced proposed regulations that offer taxpayers new guidance concerning the total amount of unallocated environmental justice solar and wind capacity limitation that has been carried over from the 2023 Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit program year to the 2024 program year. Announcement 2024-25 states the distribution of the carried over capacity limitation among the facility categories, category 1 sub-reservations, and application options for the 2024 program year.

Visit the DOE program homepage for additional guidance, final regulations and program resources to help applicants prepare their submissions.

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4.  Treasury, IRS and DOE announce new allocation round for the qualifying advanced energy project credit

The Treasury Department, IRS and Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new round of allocations for the qualifying advanced energy project credit. The DOE Qualified Advanced Energy Project Credit Program Applicant Portal (48C Portal) is now open for applicants interested in registering for a new round of allocations. Applicants must submit their concept papers by June 21.

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5.  Upcoming webinars for tax practitioners

The IRS offers the upcoming live webinar to the tax practitioner community:

• Tax Considerations for H-2A Visa Holders (Agricultural Workers) and Employers on June 6, at 2 p.m. ET. Earn up to 1 CE credit (Federal Tax). Certificates of completion are being offered.

For more information or to register, visit the Webinars for tax practitioners webpage.

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6.  News from the Justice Department’s Tax Division

The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut issued a civil injunction suit to permanently bar Juan Carlos Frias and his tax return preparation businesses from preparing federal tax returns for others. In the Justice Department’s complaint, Frias and his companies prepared more than 10,000 tax returns for customers, exhibit a pattern of filing tax returns that understated customers’ liabilities and inflated their refunds by falsifying business expenses. Frias and his businesses consented to entry of the injunction, which permits the United States is allowed to conduct post-judgment discovery to monitor compliance with the order.

Kent Ellsworth of Arizona pleaded guilty to assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns. In total, Ellsworth prepared more than 500 false tax returns and caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $17 million. He will be sentenced on Aug. 14 and faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of preparing and filing false tax returns. Ellsworth also faces a maximum fine of $250,000, a period of supervised release and the costs of prosecution for each count. IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

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7.  Technical Guidance

Announcement 2024-25 provides the total amount of unallocated environmental justice solar and wind capacity limitation (Capacity Limitation) that has been carried over from the 2023 Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program (Program) year to the 2024 Program year.

Notice 2024-43 amends regulations under sections 59A and 6038A to defer the applicability date of certain provisions of the regulations relating to the reporting of qualified derivative payments (“QDPs”).

Notice 2024-44 provides guidance for complying with the final regulations with respect to dividend equivalents under IRC sections 871(m), 1441, 1461 and 1473 (collectively referred to as the section 871(m) regulations) in 2025, 2026 and 2027, extending the transition relief provided in Notice 2022-37, 2022-37 I.R.B. 234, for two years.

Rev. Proc. 2024-22 obsoletes Rev. Proc. 82-2, 1982-1 C.B. 367, which identified the circumstances in which an organization could satisfy § 1.501(c)(3)-1(b)(4) (requiring that the assets of a section 501(c)(3) organization be dedicated to an exempt purpose) by operation of the law of certain States or the District of Columbia.

Rev. Rul. 2024-10 obsoletes Rev. Rul. 75-38, 1975-1 C.B. 161, which identified the District of Columbia and each State with statutory provisions that, in 1975, satisfied the private foundation governing instrument requirements of section 508(e). 

Notice 2024-41 modifies the existing domestic content safe harbor in Notice 2023-38, provides a new elective safe harbor for determining the domestic content bonus credit amounts under §§ 45, 45Y, 48, and 48E of the Internal Revenue Code, and requests comments regarding the new elective safe harbor to inform the development of any future updates.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service today released a corrected version of Notice 2024-41. A prior version was released on May 16, 2024.

Today’s corrected version reflects text that was inadvertently omitted while releasing the document.

Specifically, on page 16, in the left column of the Solar PV Table in Table 1 – New Elective Safe Harbor, the following applicable project components (APC) were omitted from Table 1: Steel Photovoltaic Module Racking, Pile or Ground Screw, and Steel or Iron Rebar in Foundation, and the word “Total.”

Notice 2024-41 modifies an existing safe harbor and provides a new elective safe harbor for determining domestic content bonus credit amounts. For more information about Notice 2024-41 see IR-2024-140.

Dear IVES Participants,

On May 16, 2024, through May 17,2024, we recognized technical issues on the Income Verification Express Services (IVES) E-Fax system. The fax lines were restored on May 23, 2024, by close of business. 

Participants are asked to refrain from re-submitting missing requests or disputing missing items that have not been processed per the dates above. Transcript requests are placed in the processing queue and will be worked in first-in, first-out order.

We appreciate your patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Thank you,

IRS IVES Team

Notice 2024-44 provides guidance for complying with the final regulations with respect to dividend equivalents under IRC sections 871(m), 1441, 1461, and 1473 (collectively referred to as the section 871(m) regulations) in 2025,  2026, and 2027, extending the transition relief provided in Notice 2022-37, 2022-37 I.R.B. 234, for two years.

Notice 2024-43 amends regulations under sections 59A and 6038A to defer the applicability date of certain provisions of the regulations relating to the reporting of qualified derivative payments (“QDPs”).

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service announced today an extension of the current Free File program through 2029 following an agreement that will continue to make the free private-sector tax software available to taxpayers.

The five-year extension agreement between the IRS and Free File Inc. will continue the program through October 2029.

Free File is a public-private partnership between the IRS and several tax preparation software companies who provide their online tax preparation and filing software for free. Through this partnership, tax preparation and filing software providers make their online products available to eligible taxpayers. The program is only available on IRS.gov.

This year, Free File saw an increase of about 200,000 tax returns filed through the program, reaching 2.9 million returns as of May 11. That’s an increase of 7.3% from the 2.7 million filed through the same period last year.

“Free File remains an important part of the IRS portfolio to help taxpayers file their taxes for free,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “We were pleased to see growth in the program this year, and we look forward to continuing this important collaboration with the tax software industry. Free File was part of a successful filing season at the IRS that saw increased interest in a range of free programs to help taxpayers.”

Now in its 22nd filing season, taxpayers across the nation can access free software products provided by IRS Free File trusted partners by visiting IRS.gov. Through this public-private partnership, tax preparation and filing software providers make their online products available to eligible taxpayers. Eight private-sector Free File partners provide online guided tax software products this year to any taxpayer with an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $79,000 or less in 2023. In addition, those with an AGI over $79,000 can use the IRS's Free File Fillable Forms. Free access to online products is only available by starting from IRS Free File.

The IRS noted that Free File remains available on IRS.gov for taxpayers through the Oct. 15 extension deadline for 2023 tax returns.

“Free File has been an important partner with the IRS for more than two decades and helped tens of millions of taxpayers. This extension will continue that relationship into the future,” said Ken Corbin, chief of IRS Taxpayer Services. “This multi-year agreement will also provide certainty for private-sector partners to help with their future Free File planning.”

For 2024, partners participating in IRS Free File are:

• 1040Now
• Drake (1040.com)
• ezTaxReturn.com
• FileYourTaxes.com
• On-Line Taxes
• TaxAct
• TaxHawk (FreeTaxUSA)
• TaxSlayer

The IRS also saw interest this tax season in the Direct File pilot, which allowed taxpayers to file electronically directly with the IRS for the first time. Several hundred thousand taxpayers across 12 states signed up for Direct File accounts, and 140,803 taxpayers filed their federal tax returns using the new service.

The IRS also saw increased activity in free tax returns at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) sites, with 2.6 million returns prepared representing 200,000 more than a year ago.

Dear IVES Participants,

Maintenance is scheduled for the SOR database on Sunday, May 26, 2024, from 4:00 AM-8:00 AM ET.   

SOR mailboxes are expected to be unavailable during this maintenance window. 

Thank you,

IRS IVES Team