The IRS Large Business and International Division has approved six new compliance initiatives, bringing the total number of approved campaigns to 59.[1]

Note that the IRS is concerned those who “came in from the cold” under the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program are falling back in their old habits, likely feeling the heat is now off—so a new program is addressed at that group.

The newly approved campaigns and the IRS reason behind the campaigns are:

• S Corporations Built in Gains Tax – “C corporations that convert to S corporations are subjected to the Built-in Gains tax (BIG) if they have a net unrealized built-in gain and sell assets within 5 years after the conversion. This tax is assessed to the S corporation. LB&I has found that S corporations are not always paying this tax when they sell the C corporation assets after the conversion. LB&I has developed comprehensive technical content for this campaign that will aid revenue agents as they examine the issue. The goal of this campaign is to increase awareness and compliance with the law as supported by several court decisions. Treatment streams for this campaign will be issue-based examinations, soft letters, and outreach to practitioners”

• Post OVDP Compliance – “U.S. persons are subject to tax on worldwide income. This campaign addresses tax noncompliance related to former Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) taxpayers’ failure to remain compliant with their foreign income and asset reporting requirements. The IRS will address tax noncompliance through soft letters and examinations.”

• Expatriation – “U.S. citizens and long-term residents (lawful permanent residents in eight out of the last 15 taxable years) who expatriated on or after June 17, 2008, may not have met their filing requirements or tax obligations. The Internal Revenue Service will address noncompliance through a variety of treatment streams, including outreach, soft letters, and examination.”

• High Income Non-filer – “U.S. citizens and resident aliens are subject to tax on worldwide income. This is true whether or not taxpayers receive a Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement, a Form 1099 (Information Return) or its foreign equivalents. Through an examination treatment stream, this campaign will concentrate on bringing into compliance those taxpayers who have not filed tax returns.”

• U.S. Territories – Erroneous Refundable Credits – “Some bona fide residents of U.S. territories are erroneously claiming refundable tax credits on Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. This campaign will address noncompliance through a variety of treatment streams including outreach and traditional examinations.

• Section 457A Deferred Compensation Attributable to Services Performed before January 1, 2009 – “This campaign addresses compensation deferred from nonqualified entities attributable to services performed before January 1, 2009. In general, Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 457A requires that any compensation deferred under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan shall be includible in gross income when there is no substantial risk of forfeiture of the rights to such compensation. The campaign objective is to verify taxpayer compliance with the requirements of IRC Section 457A through issue-based examinations.”

[1] “The IRS Large Business and International Division (LB&I) Announces the Approval of Six Additional Compliance Campaigns,” IRS Website, https://www.irs.gov/businesses/corporations/the-irs-large-business-and-international-division-lbi-announces-the-approval-of-six-additional-compliance-campaigns, July 19, 2019, Retrieved July 21, 2019