Two years after passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the U.S. Treasury Department continues the process of proposing and finalizing regulations related to enforcement and administration of the reforms outlined in the law. The volume of regulations issued related to the TCJA highlights the scope of the change in taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. law since its passage.
According to our calculations from a list compiled by San Jose State University professor Annette Nellen, the Treasury has released 1,025 pages of regulations related to TCJA.
Most recently, Treasury released final regulations on the base erosion and anti-abuse tax (BEAT), which is meant to dissuade firms from engaging in profit shiftingProfit shifting is when multinational companies reduce their tax burden by moving the location of their profits from high-tax countries to low-tax jurisdictions and tax havens. abroad. Other high-profile releases from 2019 include final regulations guiding enforcement of Section 199A, commonly known as the pass-through deduction; final regulations on enforcing the new tax on global intangible low-tax income (GILTI); and final regulations on state-level workarounds to the $10,000 limit on the state and local tax deduction (SALT).
In addition to better-known regulations, Treasury issued proposed or final regulations on TCJA-related provisions for items such as valuation rules for the personal use of employer-provided vehicles and modifying discounting rules for insurance companies. While these provisions may not be relevant for many taxpayers, they are vital for guiding economic decisions for taxpayers in affected industries.
The Treasury Department is finalizing 21 sets of proposed regulations after taking comments from taxpayers and is going through an internal review and revision process in coordination with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)
Of the 21 sets of regulations, four were issued in late 2018 and will likely be finalized in the coming months. This includes, for example, proposed rules on the net interest deduction limitation. Currently, OIRA is reviewing proposed regulations on qualified opportunity funds for opportunity zones, which should be released in the coming weeks.
While the regulatory process may be followed less on a day-to-day basis than legislative battles on the Hill, it remains an important part of the administration and enforcement of the tax system. Taxpayers rely on guidance from the Treasury Department and IRS when making economic decisions, making them just as important as the legislation underpinning the regulations.
The TCJA brought huge changes to the federal tax code, which explains the volume of regulations issued by Treasury and the IRS in the following two years. We should expect another increase in tax-related regulatory guidance if tax proposals by policymakers and presidential candidates are enacted post-2020.
| Topic | Citation | Page Count | Year | Status | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Limitation on Deduction for Dividends Received from Certain Foreign Corporations and Amounts Eligible for Section 954 Look-Through Exception |
TD 9865 and REG 106282-18 | 29 | 2019 | Final and Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Tax Return Preparer Due Diligence Penalty |
TD 9842 | 5 | 2018 | Final Regs | Download |
|
Additional First Year Depreciation Deduction |
TD 9874 | 43 | 2019 | Final Regs | Download |
|
Amount Determined Under Section 956 for Corporate United States Shareholders |
TD 9859 | 4 | 2019 | Final Regs | Download |
|
Contributions in Exchange for State or Local Tax Credits |
TD 9864 | 19 | 2019 | Final Regs | Download |
|
Electing Small Business Trusts with Nonresident Aliens as Potential Current Beneficiaries |
TD 9868 | 3 | 2019 | Final Regs | Download |
|
Estate and Gift Taxes; Difference in the Basic Exclusion Amount |
TD 9884 | 6 | 2019 | Final Regs | Download |
|
Guidance Regarding the Transition Tax Under Section 965 and Related Provisions |
TD 9846 | 78 | 2019 | Final Regs | Download |
|
Modification of Discounting Rules for Insurance Companies |
TD 9863 | 6 | 2019 | Final Regs | Download |
|
Ownership Attribution for Purposes of Determining whether a Person Is Related to a Controlled Foreign Corporation; Rents Derived in the Active Conduct of a Trade or Business |
TD 9883 | 3 | 2019 | Final Regs | Download |
|
Qualified Business Income Deduction |
TD 9847 | 63 | 2019 | Final Regs | Download |
|
Regulations Regarding Advance Payments for Goods and Long-Term Contracts |
TD 9870 | 2 | 2019 | Final Regs | Download |
|
Regulations To Prescribe Return and Time for Filing for Payment of Taxes and to Update the Abatement Rules for Taxes |
TD 9855 | 2 | 2019 | Final Regs | Download |
|
Guidance Related to Section 951A (Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income) and Certain Guidance Related to Foreign Tax Credits |
TD 9866 | 83 | 2019 | Final Regs | Download |
|
Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax |
TD 9885 | 78 | 2019 | Final Regs | Download |
|
Certain Hybrid Arrangements |
REG–104352–18 | 40 | 2018 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Gain or Loss of Foreign Persons from Sale or Exchange of Certain Partnership Interests |
REG-113604-18 | 9 | 2018 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Guidance Related to the Foreign Tax Credit, Including Guidance Implementing Changes Made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act |
REG-105600-18 | 67 | 2018 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Limitation on Deduction for Business Interest Expense |
REG-106089-18 | 121 | 2018 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Advance Payments for Goods, Services, and Other Items |
REG-104554-18 | 17 | 2019 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Contribution Limits Applicable to ABLE Accounts |
RIN 1545–BP10 | 5 | 2019 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Deduction for Foreign-Derived Intangible Income and Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income |
REG-104464-18 | 47 | 2019 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Determination of the Maximum Value of a Vehicle for Use with the Fleet-average and Vehicle Cents-per-mile Valuation Rules |
REG 101378-19 | 5 | 2019 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Electing Small Business Trusts with Nonresident Aliens as Potential Current Beneficiaries |
REG-117062-18 | 5 | 2019 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Eligible Terminated S Corporations |
REG 131071-18 | 15 | 2019 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Guidance on Passive Foreign Investment Companies |
REG 105474-18 | 42 | 2019 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Guidance on the Determination of the Section 4968 Excise Tax Applicable to Certain Private Colleges and Universities |
REG 10877-18 | 14 | 2019 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Guidance Under Section 958 (Rules for Determining Stock Ownership) and Section 951A (Global Intangible Low–Taxed Income) |
REG 101828-19 | 20 | 2019 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Information Reporting for Certain Life Insurance Contract Transactions and Modifications to the Transfer for Valuable Consideration Rules |
REG-103083-18 | 20 | 2019 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Investing in Qualified Opportunity Funds |
REG-120186-18 | 42 | 2019 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Ownership Attribution Under Section 958 Including For Purposes of Determining Status as Controlled Foreign Corporation or United States Shareholder |
REG-104223-18 | 13 | 2019 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Regulations under Section 382(h) Related to Built-in Gain and Loss |
REG-125710-18 | 19 | 2019 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Section 199A Rules for Cooperatives and Their Patrons |
REG 118425-18 | 39 | 2019 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Taxable Year of Income Inclusion under an Accrual Method of Accounting |
REG-104870-18 | 20 | 2019 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Withholding of Tax and Information Reporting with Respect to Interests in Partnerships Engaged in the Conduct of a U.S. Trade or Business |
REG 195476-18 | 28 | 2019 | Proposed Regs | Download |
|
Additional Rules Regarding Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax |
REG 112607-19 | 13 | 2019 | Proposed Regs | Download |
| Total Page Count | 1025 | ||||
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