Two new Administrative Decisions

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation today posted two new Administrative Decisions:

• Decision 2017-03 considers the Rhode Island tax impact when one's federal income tax picture for a prior year is changed. 
• Decision 2017-04 involves whether the taxpayer was a bona fide nonresident for purposes of use tax due on a motor vehicle purchase.

Advisory for Tax Professionals

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation has posted an Advisory for Tax Professionals which includes information on the following topics:

• Improvements to the “Where’s My Refund?” online tool.
• Fighting refund fraud.
• How to contact the Division of Taxation.
• What’s new for filing season.
• A list of recent Division of Taxation publications.
• A list of recent Division of Taxation outreach efforts.
• Answers to some questions involving filing season.

For more information, click here.

Practitioner Alert: Scam impersonates tax preparation software provider

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation, the Internal Revenue Service, and other Security Summit partners today warned tax preparers of an email scam that impersonates their tax preparation software provider. For more information, click here.

Updated forms and instructions

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation has updated its forms and instructions to reflect the recent change in the extended due date for calendar-year C corporations.

 

The Division has updated Form RI-7004, which is for making an automatic extension request involving Form RI-1120C, RI-1120S, and RI-1065. To view it, click here.

 

The Division has also updated Form BUS-EXT, the automatic extension request for those filing Form RI-1120POL (political organizations tax), Form T-72 (public service corporation gross earnings tax), and Form T-74 (banking institution excise tax). To view it, click here.

 

The Internal Revenue Service recently announced that it would make a six-month automatic extension available to calendar-year C corporations. (To see the IRS announcement, click here.) In response, the Rhode Island Division of Taxation announced that it would follow suit. (To see the Division's announcement, click here.)

• Thus, for example, a calendar-year C corporation preparing its Rhode Island return for tax year 2016, with an original due date of April 18, 2017, will have an extended due date of October 16, 2017.

The Division decided to establish the six-month extension so that entities will have the same deadline for filing their federal and Rhode Island returns, a convenience for businesses and for tax professionals. The updated forms and instructions are available for tax preparers, tax software providers, taxpayers, and other stakeholders.

Closed due to storm

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation is closed today -- Thursday, February 9 -- due to the storm.

Extended due date for some C corps

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation has announced that calendar-year C corporations are eligible for an automatic six-month extension for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2016. 

Thus, for example, a calendar-year C corporation preparing its Rhode Island return for tax year 2016, with an original due date of April 18, 2017, will have an extended due date of October 16, 2017. 

The Division decided to establish the six-month extension so that entities filing their federal and Rhode Island returns will have the same deadline – a convenience for businesses and for tax professionals. For details, click here.

Ruling posted involving nonprofit

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation has posted on its website a declaratory ruling involving a nonprofit organization.

The nonprofit filed a request for a ruling regarding the application of the sales tax to the nonprofit's purchases as the nonprofit awaits a decision from the Internal Revenue Service on the nonprofit's application for tax-exempt status.

To view Ruling Request No. 2016-02, click here.

Alert for employers: phishing scam

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation, the Internal Revenue Service, and other Security Summit partners are issuing the following alert to employers:

The Form W-2 email phishing scam has evolved beyond the corporate world and is spreading to other sectors, including school districts, tribal organizations, and nonprofits. To learn more, click here.

Recent postings of tax information

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation has posted a number of items in recent weeks, including the following:

• An Administrative Decision involving the nursing facility provider assessment;
• An Administrative Decision involving the personal income tax and refund offsets;
• A special edition of its newsletter, focusing mainly on what's new for filing season;
• An update with information about an email scam, the mailing of  forms for estimated tax, and surplus lines insurance; and
• The regular edition of its newsletter, focusing mainly on what's new for the 2017 tax year.