Tax compliance and advisory services

Managing your company's tax strategy in the face of today's complex puzzle of rules and regulations can drain your time, money and resources. Grant Thornton's tax specialists will complement your team and maintain your auditor’s independence with our compliance services and customized tax planning advice.

Congress tees up remaining 2010 tax agenda

Congress adjourned for its July 4 recess without completing several major tax priorities. Lawmakers plan to address the remaining tax legislation when they return, but may delay action on major tax legislation until after Labor Day. The unfinished legislative efforts on tax policy include tax “extenders," small business and economic stimulus tax incentives, the expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, estate and gift taxes and revenue offsets to pay for many of these priorities. Read our Tax Legislative Update for charts on the revenue raisers, provisions that appear in both House and Senate bills, tax items exempted from the pay-go rules and more.

IRS begins accepting applications for therapeutic discovery credit

The IRS has released the application (Form 8942) and instructions for the therapeutic discovery credit. The full form, instructions, and accompanying guidance provide new information on what will qualify, including which medical device development projects may qualify and when separate applications are warranted. Applications must be filed on or before July 21, 2010. The credit will NOT be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, and all applications filed by July 21 will be given equal consideration. A single application will cover both 2009 and 2010, including estimated costs for the remainder of 2010. Read the latest Tax Flash for more.

IRS denying protective claims for refund for FICA taxes on severance payments

The IRS’s action appears to be a broad-based response to the many protective claims filed by employers since the Quality Stores ruling, and while not unprecedented, it is a response that many in the industry did not expect. We believe it is quite possible that employers who filed a claim may receive a notice of disallowance from the IRS. We have analyzed alternatives in response to such a disallowance and have identified several options.

U.S. Department of Labor provides further guidance regarding transition relief

The U.S. Department of Labor has published Form 5500 revisions and related final regulations that eliminate special limited reporting for Section 403(b) plans, effective for plan years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2009. Under the new annual reporting rules, “large” ERISA-covered 403(b) plans are required to file audited financial statements with their Form 5500. The transition relief provides that the administrator of a 403(b) plan does not need to treat annuity contracts and custodial accounts as part of the employer’s Title I plan or as plan assets for purposes of ERISA’s annual reporting requirements, if certain conditions are met.

This website supports Grant Thornton LLP’s marketing of professional services, and is not written tax advice directed at the particular facts and circumstances of any person. If you are interested in the subject of this document we encourage you to contact us or an independent tax advisor to discuss the potential application to your particular situation. Nothing herein shall be construed as imposing a limitation on any person from disclosing the tax treatment or tax structure of any matter addressed herein. To the extent this document may be considered to contain written tax advice, any written advice contained in, forwarded with, or attached to this document is not intended by Grant Thornton to be used, and cannot be used, by any person for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code.