COVID-19: OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

OTHER IMPORTANT TAX RELATED INFORMATION

TAX COURT 

The United States Tax Court building remains closed and all trial sessions through June 30, 2020 are canceled.

Mail sent by standard delivery of the United States Postal Service is being held while the Tax Court building is closed. Items sent through the United States Postal Service or a designated delivery service (such as FedEx or UPS) may, however, be returned as undeliverable. If a document sent to the Court is returned, you should resend the document to the Court as soon as possible after the Court announces it has resumed receiving mail. At that time, include with your resubmission a copy of the original envelope or container in which it was first sent. You should retain a copy of any document sent to the Court.

On April 9, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued guidance (Notice 2020-23) that extends the deadline to file a Tax Court petition and a notice of appeal from a Tax Court decision. If the statutory deadline for filing a petition or notice of appeal falls on or after April 1, 2020 and before July 15, 2020, the filing deadline is now extended to July 15, 2020

TAXPAYER ASSISTANCE

IRS announced on March 20, 2020 that it has temporarily closed all Taxpayer Assistance Centers and will discontinue face-to-face service throughout the country until further notice.

TAX PAYER ADVOCATE SERVICE (TAS)

Due to COVID-19, almost no TAS personnel are working in their offices.  The best way to submit requests for help from TAS is to follow 2 steps:

• Download and complete IRS Form 911 with the information relevant to your IRS tax issue(s)
• Fax the request to Brenda Lackey, the Philadelphia local Taxpayer Advocate, at (855) 822-1226.  

TAS personnel have been directed to prioritize issues that involve taxpayers with the most severe hardship situations, especially those caused by COVID-related problems.

IRS GUIDANCE

IR-2020-71 - on April 14, 2020, the IRS warns tax professionals about scams and urges additional security measures to protect taxpayer’s data.

IR-2020-66 - on April 2, 2020, the IRS warned about coronavirus-related scams.

Announcement 2020-4 - on April 1, 2020, the IRS announced that public hearings conducted by the IRS on notices of proposed rulemaking related to the internal revenue laws will be temporarily held telephonically, and encourage taxpayers to submit public comments electronically in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

TAX WARRIOR BLOGS AND ALERTS

June 4, 2020 -  Estate Planning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

THIRD PARTY RESOURCES

AICPA Coronavirus Resource Center

Coronavirus: Latest Court Closings and Restrictions (Law 360)

U.S. Chamber of Commerce – Small Business Guide and Checklist for Coronavirus Emergency Loans