November 2023 / United States

The Internal Revenue Service announced that interest rates will remain the same for the calendar quarter beginning Jan. 1, 2024.

For individuals, the rate for overpayments and underpayments will be 8% per year, compounded daily. Here is a complete list of the new rates:

• 8% for overpayments (payments made in excess of the amount owed), 7% for corporations.
• 5.5% for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000.
• 8% for underpayments (taxes owed but not fully paid).
• 10% for large corporate underpayments.

Under the Internal Revenue Code, the rate of interest is determined on a quarterly basis. For taxpayers other than corporations, the overpayment and underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus three percentage points.

Generally, in the case of a corporation, the underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus three percentage points and the overpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus two percentage points. The rate for large corporate underpayments is the federal short-term rate plus five percentage points. The rate on the portion of a corporate overpayment of tax exceeding $10,000 for a taxable period is the federal short-term rate plus one-half of a percentage point.

The interest rates announced on 17th November 2023 are computed from the federal short-term rate determined during Oct. 2023.

Further details are contained in the Revenue Ruling 2023-22

Source: www.irs.gov

Starting in calendar year 2023, the Inflation Reduction Act reinstates the Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate for crude oil received at U.S. refineries, and petroleum products that entered into the United States for consumption, use, or warehousing. The tax rate is the sum of the Hazardous Substance Superfund rate and the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund financing rate. For calendar years beginning in 2024, the Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate is adjusted for inflation. For calendar year 2024 crude oil or petroleum products entered after Dec. 31, 2016, will have a tax rate of $0.26 cents a barrel.

Highlights of changes in Revenue Procedure 2023-34:

The tax year 2024 adjustments described below generally apply to income tax returns filed in 2025. The tax items for tax year 2024 of greatest interest to most taxpayers include the following dollar amounts:

• The standard deduction for married couples filing jointly for tax year 2024 rises to $29,200, an increase of $1,500 from tax year 2023. For single taxpayers and married individuals filing separately, the standard deduction rises to $14,600 for 2024, an increase of $750 from 2023; and for heads of households, the standard deduction will be $21,900 for tax year 2024, an increase of $1,100 from the amount for tax year 2023.
• Marginal rates: For tax year 2024, the top tax rate remains 37% for individual single taxpayers with incomes greater than $609,350 ($731,200 for married couples filing jointly).The other rates are: 35% for incomes over $243,725 ($487,450 for married couples filing jointly) 32% for incomes over $191,950 ($383,900 for married couples filing jointly) 24% for incomes over $100,525 ($201,050 for married couples filing jointly) 22% for incomes over $47,150 ($94,300 for married couples filing jointly) 12% for incomes over $11,600 ($23,200 for married couples filing jointly) The lowest rate is 10% for incomes of single individuals with incomes of $11,600 or less ($23,200 for married couples filing jointly).
• The Alternative Minimum Tax exemption amount for tax year 2024 is $85,700 and begins to phase out at $609,350 ($133,300 for married couples filing jointly for whom the exemption begins to phase out at $1,218,700). For comparison, the 2023 exemption amount was $81,300 and began to phase out at $578,150 ($126,500 for married couples filing jointly for whom the exemption began to phase out at $1,156,300).
• The tax year 2024 maximum Earned Income Tax Credit amount is $7,830 for qualifying taxpayers who have three or more qualifying children, an increase of from $7,430 for tax year 2023. The revenue procedure contains a table providing maximum EITC amount for other categories, income thresholds and phase-outs.
• For tax year 2024, the monthly limitation for the qualified transportation fringe benefit and the monthly limitation for qualified parking increases to $315, an increase of $15 from the limit for 2023.
• For the taxable years beginning in 2024, the dollar limitation for employee salary reductions for contributions to health flexible spending arrangements increases to $3,200. For cafeteria plans that permit the carryover of unused amounts, the maximum carryover amount is $640, an increase of $30 from taxable years beginning in 2023.
• For tax year 2024, participants who have self-only coverage in a Medical Savings Account, the plan must have an annual deductible that is not less than $2,800, an increase of $150 from tax year 2023, but not more than $4,150, an increase of $200 from tax year 2023. For self-only coverage, the maximum out-of-pocket expense amount is $5,550, an increase of $250 from 2023. For tax year 2024, for family coverage, the annual deductible is not less than $5,550, an increase of $200 from tax year 2023; however, the deductible cannot be more than $8,350, an increase of $450 versus the limit for tax year 2023. For family coverage, the out-of-pocket expense limit is $10,200 for tax year 2024, an increase of $550 from tax year 2023.
• For tax year 2024, the foreign earned income exclusion is $126,500, increased from $120,000 for tax year 2023.
• Estates of decedents who die during 2024 have a basic exclusion amount of $13,610,000, increased from $12,920,000 for estates of decedents who died in 2023.
• The annual exclusion for gifts increases to $18,000 for calendar year 2024, increased from $17,000 for calendar year 2023.
• The maximum credit allowed for adoptions for tax year 2024 is the amount of qualified adoption expenses up to $16,810, increased from $15,950 for 2023.

Items unaffected by indexing

By statute, certain items that were indexed for inflation in the past are currently not adjusted.

• The personal exemption for tax year 2024 remains at 0, as it was for 2023. This elimination of the personal exemption was a provision in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• For 2024, as in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018, there is no limitation on itemized deductions, as that limitation was eliminated by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• The modified adjusted gross income amount used by taxpayers to determine the reduction in the Lifetime Learning Credit provided in § 25A(d)(2) is not adjusted for inflation for taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2020. The Lifetime Learning Credit is phased out for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income in excess of $80,000 ($160,000 for joint returns).

The Treasury Department has released a final rule regarding when and how entities should use FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) identifiers for reporting beneficial ownership information (BOI) of certain related entities (see Note). An identifier is a unique identifying number that FinCEN will issue to individuals who have provided FinCEN with their BOI and to "reporting companies" that have filed initial BOI reports. The final rule is effective as of 1 January 2024.

Beneficial ownership reporting requirements initially were enacted as part of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) of 2021 and final rules were delegated for development to FinCEN.

The newly adopted rule requires certain corporations, limited liability companies, and other similar entities (i.e. "reporting companies") to report certain identifying information about the beneficial owners who own or control such entities and the company applicants who form or register them.

Specifically, the final rule clarifies that a reporting company may report another entity's FinCEN identifier and full legal name in lieu of the full list of information required under 31 CFR 1010.380(b)(1) with respect to the beneficial owners of the reporting company, but only if the following three conditions are met:

• the entity has obtained a FinCEN identifier and provided that FinCEN identifier to the reporting company;
• an individual is or may be a beneficial owner of the reporting company by virtue of an interest in the reporting company that the individual holds through the entity; and
• the beneficial owners of the entity and of the reporting company are the same individuals.

These requirements are intended to facilitate access to BOI for certain authorized recipients for the purposes of countering money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and for other specific purposes. The new rule was revised before being finalized to take into account concerns that commentators raised. The changes are to:(1) consistently refer to the entity whose FinCEN identifier the reporting company may use as "another entity" or "the other entity" rather than simply "the entity," in order to avoid confusion with the reporting company itself; and (2) make clear that it is an individual's ownership interest in another entity that allows the reporting company to report the other entity's FinCEN identifier in lieu of the individual's information.

Note: The Treasury established the FinCEN in 1990 to provide a government-wide multisource financial intelligence and analysis network. While it does not directly collect taxes like the IRS, FinCEN plays a crucial role in safeguarding the financial system from illicit use, combating money laundering, and promoting national security by receiving and maintaining financial transactions data, analysing and disseminating that data for law enforcement purposes, and building global cooperation with counterpart organizations in other countries and with international bodies.