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Treasury Priority Guidance Plan Focuses on TCJA Implementation

Practice Management

The 2018-2019 Treasury Priority Guidance Plan includes more than 60 regulatory projects relating to implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that the agency intends to address in the coming year.

Overall, the plan contains 239 guidance projects that will be the focus of efforts through June 30, 2019, of which 45 items have been released as of Oct. 31, 2018.

Most of these projects do not involve the issuance of new regulations, but instead provide guidance through other means, such as:

  • revocations of final, temporary proposed regulations;
  • notices, revenue rulings and revenue procedures;
  • amendments to existing regulations that bring about simplification and reduced burdens; and
  • deregulatory reforms as directed through executive orders.

A sampling of some of the key compensation and retirement-based projects that Treasury and IRS have either already addressed or plan to undertake by June 30 include the following. Many of these are carryovers from last year’s guidance plan.

Implementation of TCJA

  • Guidance under section 162(m) regarding the limitation on excessive employee remuneration (published Sept. 4, 2018 in IRB 2018-36)
  • Guidance on the excise tax on excess remuneration paid by “applicable tax-exempt organizations” under Code Section 4960
  • Guidance on the extended rollover period for qualified plan loan offsets under new Section 402(c)(3)(C) (published Oct. 1, 2018 in IRB 2018-40)

Regulations

  • Regulations updating the rules applicable to ESOPs
  • Regulations under section 401(a)(9) updating life expectancy and distribution period tables for purposes of the RMD rules

Guidance

  • Guidance relating to certain Employee Plans programs, including the Qualified Pre-approved Plan Program and the Determination Letter Program (published Sept. 4, 2018 in IRB 2018-36 as Rev. Proc. 2018-42)
  • Section 401(a)(9) on the use of lump-sum payments to replace lifetime income being received by retirees under DB plans
  • Hardship distributions under Section 401(k) to reflect modifications made by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018
  • Universal availability requirement under Section 403(b)
  • Timing of amendments to 403(b) plans
  • Service credit and vesting under Section 411
  • Treatment of future interest credits and annuity conversion factor under a hybrid DB plan and adjustments under a variable annuity plan for purposes of satisfying certain qualification requirements
  • Unified plan rule for Section 413(c) multiple employer plans
  • Aggregation rules under Section 414(m)
  • Issues relating to lifetime income from retirement plans and IRAs
  • Missing participants