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Taxpayers must keep some important factors in mind when the IRS may initiate direct contact with a them The IRS provides many different payment options to help taxpayers meet their obligations through which they can avoid late filing and interest penalties by submitting their tax return on time by April 18

Most IRS contacts with taxpayers are through regular mail delivered by the United States Postal Service However, there are limited circumstances when the IRS will come to a home or business as part of a collection investigation, an audit or an ongoing criminal investigation

IRS employees that may make face-to-face visits outside an IRS office include revenue officers, revenue agents and IRS Criminal Investigation special agents IRS employees are trained to respect taxpayer rights, and there are some important facts to keep in mind about the different types of visits

If a taxpayer doesn't have a previously known tax issue and suspects someone is trying to impersonate an IRS employee, there are a variety of options to report phone, email and other impersonation scams:

• Report impersonation scams to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration on the IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting webpage
• Taxpayers can also call 800-366-4484 to report impersonation scams
• Protect the community by reporting fraud, scams and bad business practices
• Report phone scams to the Federal Trade Commission at Report Fraud FTC
• Report an unsolicited email claiming to be from the IRS or an IRS-related system like the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System to the IRS at phishing@irs
• gov
• For a comprehensive listing of recent tax scams, consumer alerts and how to report them, visit Tax Scams/Consumer Alerts

The IRS requested comments on its intention to treat certain nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as collectibles under Code Sec 408(m) If an NFT is treated as a collectible, an IRA's acquisition of the NFT would be treated as a distribution equal to the cost of the NFT In addition, treating NFTs as collectibles would affect the long-term capital gains tax rate under Code Sec 1(h) For this purpose, the IRS defines an NFT as a unique digital identifier that is recorded using distributed ledger technology and may be used to certify authenticity and ownership of an associated right or asset, such as a digital file, digital music, the right to attend a ticketed event, or ownership of a physical item

Pending the issuance of the anticipated guidance, the IRS intends to determine whether an NFT is a collectible by analyzing whether the NFT's associated right or asset is a Code Sec 408(m) collectible Under this "look-through analysis," if the NFT's associated right or asset is a Code Sec 408(m) collectible (for example, an NFT that certifies ownership of a gem), then the NFT is treated as a collectible Similarly, if the NFT's associated right or asset is not a collectible (for example, a right to use a plot of land in a virtual environment), then the NFT is not treated as a collectible If the NFT's associated right or asset is a digital file, the IRS would apply the look-through analysis by asking whether the digital file constitutes a "work of art" under Code Sec 408(m)(2)(A) If it does, the NFT would be a Code Sec 408(m) collectible

The Treasury and IRS requested comments on any aspect of NFTs affecting an NFT's treatment as a Code Sec 408(m) collectible In particular, the IRS solicited comments on the definition of NFTs, how the look-through analysis might be applied to an NFT with more than one associated right or asset, and what factors to consider in determining whether a digital file associated with an NFT is a "work of art " The IRS has revised the instructions on obtaining the copies of exempt organization returns Under the new revision, taxpayers will not be able to obtain the copies of returns on DVD Instead, taxpayers will be able to access the exempt organization forms, free of cost, on Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) at https://www irs gov/charities-non-profits/tax-exempt-organization-search For further information, taxpayers may visit IRS gov/Charities-Non-Profits/Copies-of-EO-Returns-Available

The IRS has provided indexing adjustments for the applicable dollar amounts under Code Sec 4980H(c)(1) and (b)(1) These indexed amounts are used to calculate the employer shared responsibility payments (ESRP) This guidance is is effective for tax years and plan years beginning after December 31, 2023

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published the premium adjustment percentage for 2024 on December 12, 2022, using the most recent National Health Expenditure Accounts (NHEA) income and premium data that was available at the time of publication For calculation of the 2024 benefit year payment parameters, HHS used the NHEA Projections 2021-2030

For calendar year 2024:

• the adjusted $2,000 amount under Code Sec
• 4980H(c)(1) is $2,970 ($2,000 x 1
• 4899877401 = $2,979
• 9754802 rounded down to $2,970), and
• the adjusted $3,000 amount under Code Sec
• 4980H(b)(1) is $4,460 ($3,000 x 1
• 4899877401 = $4,469
• 9632203 rounded down to $4,460)

The IRS has announced the successful expansion of the digital scanning initiative also known as Digital Intake The Service has already scanned more than 120,000 paper Forms 940 since the start of 2023, which is a twenty-fold increase compared to all of 2022 The digital scanning initiative will expand soon to include scanning of Forms 1040 as well as Forms 941 In addition to contracts with industry partners, the IRS is also working with Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service and Lockbox Financial Agents to expand the reach of this work

Current scanning initiatives currently underway at the IRS cover:

• Digital Intake with Lockbox: Lockbox Financial Agents (FAs) are banks that specialize in payment processing
• Each year, taxpayers send payments and associated forms to these Lockbox banks
• The Lockbox project works to scan paper returns on-site, and e-file those returns
• Digital Intake with Industry Partners: This process extracts machine-readable information from paper tax returns and then e-files those returns

By providing a capability to scan and electronically process paper returns, the IRS will be able to shorten the processing time for taxpayers who file paper returns

State and local housing credit agencies that allocate low-income housing tax credits and states and other issuers of tax-exempt private activity bonds have been provided with a listing of the proper population figures to be used when calculating the 2023:

• calendar-year population-based component of the state housing credit ceiling under Code Sec
• 42(h)(3)(C)(ii);
• calendar-year private activity bond volume cap under Code Sec
• 146;
• and exempt facility bond volume limit under Code Sec
• 142(k)(5)