IRS warns of twist on an old scam

The Internal Revenue Service today warned of a new twist on an old phone scam as criminals use telephone numbers that mimic IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers to trick taxpayers into paying non-existent tax bills. To learn more, click here.

Public hearing May 9

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation will hold a public hearing on May 9, 2018, on proposed amendments to two regulations -- one involving forms reproduction, the other focusing on corporate tax (combined reporting).

The hearing will be held at the Department of Administration building (the Powers building) at One Capitol Hill in Providence beginning at 2:00 p.m.

• The regulation on forms reproduction has been amended to include language regarding barcodes.
• The regulation on mandatory unitary combined reporting has been amended to delete the original regulation's preamble.

In addition, the format of both regulations has been modified in accordance with the new Rhode Island Code of Regulations (a uniform state code). For more information about the codification process, and to view regulations, see the Rhode Island Department of State (Secretary of State) website.

Deadline is tonight

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation has extended this year’s tax deadline by one day. Therefore, the deadline for filing 2017 Rhode Island tax returns and for making Rhode Island tax payments is tonight – April 18, 2018.

Because of a computer-related outage at the Internal Revenue Service yesterday, the IRS last night extended the federal deadline to today. Rhode Island is following suit. “Having the same deadline for federal and Rhode Island filings and payments will be a convenience for tax professionals and taxpayers alike,” said Rhode Island Tax Administrator Neena S. Savage.

To learn more, click here.

Recent developments

IRS e-file outage

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation urges tax professionals and taxpayers to continue filing despite an outage today at the IRS. The Division also recommends e-filing. To learn more, click here.

• IRS e-filing was out of commission for most of today. However, at around 5:00 p.m. (Eastern time) today, the IRS announced that the e-filing outage is over and that its system is up and running. For confirmation, click here.

Section 965 income

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation reminds tax preparers and taxpayers about certain Rhode Island tax obligations related to the federal tax legislation enacted in December 2017. 

“Due to recent inquiries from practitioners, we are confirming the treatment of Section 965 income  under Rhode Island law. This is a reminder that nothing has changed under Rhode Island law, and this guidance is intended to confirm the impact of federal tax reform,” said Rhode Island Tax Administrator Neena S. Savage. For details, click here.

Tax Administrator's reminder about deadline

Rhode Island Tax Administrator Neena Savage was interviewed this morning on Rhode Island Public Radio about tomorrow's tax-filing deadline. To learn more about the deadline for filings and payments, click here.

Rhode Island Tax Administrator Neena Savage on Rhode Island Public Radio.

Wavemaker Fellowships

Rhode Island Governor Gina M. Raimondo and the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation have announced the re-opening of applications for the Wavemaker Fellowship.

The Wavemaker Fellowship is aimed at graduates working at jobs in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and certain design fields. In general, the program provides a refundable tax credit that can cover student loan payments up to $6,000 per year for up to four years. 

To view the recent announcement, click here. For more about the program, including application instructions and eligibility requirements, click here.

Reminder about April 17 deadline

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation today issued a reminder about next week's personal income tax deadline. For details, click here.

Recent developments

Corporate estimated tax

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation reminds tax professionals and taxpayers that corporations have a new deadline and formula for making their estimated tax payments.

For a calendar-year C corporation in 2018, the first payment is due one week from today – on April 17, 2018. For more details, click here.

Regulations filed

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation yesterday filed, as final, 31 regulations with the Rhode Island Department of State (Secretary of State).

The regulations contain no major changes. Their format has been modified in accordance with the new Rhode Island Code of Regulations (a uniform state code), and some of the regulations include minor changes. The Division's action yesterday included the repeal of a number of regulations and merging or consolidating their content.

The Division of Taxation has filed numerous proposed and final regulations of late, and will continue to do so as part of its months-long effort to streamline and re-codify its regulations. The Division intends to post from time to time, on this blog, brief descriptions of some -- but not all -- of the regulatory filings. However, all of the regulatory filings are available to view and to monitor at the Rhode Island Department of State website. Click here.

Security Summit issues alert

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation, the Internal Revenue Service, and other partners in the Security Summit urge taxpayers and tax professionals to be alert to identity theft scams, especially a new email version currently pretending to be from “IRS Refunds.” To learn more, click here.

Regulations posted as final

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation today posted, as final, five regulations. The regulations contain no major changes. Their format has been modified in accordance with the new Rhode Island Code of Regulations (a uniform state code), and some of the regulations include minor changes. For example:

• One regulation has been updated so that it lists the new forms for filing amended returns for certain business taxes.
• One regulation involves the conduct of public hearings. It is a standard regulation used by other State agencies.
• A regulation involving estimated tax payments for businesses has been updated to reflect recent changes in law (including the dates on which installments are due).
• A regulation involving limited liability partnerships and limited partnerships sets forth, among other things, the application of filing deadlines and of the annual filing charge (or filing fee).
• A regulation involving the public service corporation tax reflects a recent change in the law involving due dates. 

The Division of Taxation has filed numerous proposed and final regulations of late, and will continue to do so as part of its months-long effort to streamline and re-codify its regulations. The Division intends to post from time to time, on this blog, brief descriptions of some -- but not all -- of the regulatory filings. However, all of the regulatory filings are available to view and to monitor at the Rhode Island Department of State (Secretary of State) website.

Attorney General warns of tax scam

With the federal and state tax filing deadline two weeks away, consumer calls into the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office report a significant uptick in the frequency and aggressiveness of IRS scam phone calls. Consumers report receiving multiple phone calls per day, with most calls threatening immediate arrest for failure to make a payment for allegedly owed taxes.

"I think most, if not all, Rhode Islanders know this is a scam, but with these increasingly aggressive scare tactics, especially as we get closer to the filing deadline, I am concerned that vulnerable groups – including new taxpayers and older residents - will feel pressured into paying these scammers," said Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin. "I implore everyone with older parents, children, relatives, and neighbors to have a conversation on how to spot this scam and what to do when these phone calls are received." To learn more, click here.

Recent developments

Estate tax update

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation recently provided an update about the Division’s Estate and Excise Tax section during a meeting of the Commission to Study the Feasibility of Modernizing Probate Law and Procedure.

“We were pleased to have been invited to attend the Commission’s meeting at Warwick City Hall and to provide Chair Peter Lewiss and Commission members with information they requested. The Commission does important work, and we want its members and all of our stakeholders to be kept current on the status of our agency and its work,” said Rhode Island Tax Administrator Neena S. Savage, Esq., who oversees the Division of Taxation.

As part of the ordinary course of business, three members of the Division’s Estate and Excise Tax section recently transferred to jobs in the private sector or elected to retire.  “We have been busy cross-training staff to help handle estate tax tasks while we seek to fill the open positions – something we do routinely,” Savage said. “As a result, there has been no gap in service. All estate tax returns and payments have been, and will continue to be, processed promptly and accurately,” she said.

The Estate Tax section is being managed on a day-to-day basis by Theriza Iafrate, chief of the Division’s Estate and Excise Tax section, which is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. business days. Contact information is as follows:

Rhode Island Division of Taxation’s Estate Tax Section
Phone number	(401) 574-8829, option # 8
Email address	Tax.Estate@tax.ri.gov
Fax number	(401) 574-8956

Hearing on regulations

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation will hold a public hearing on April 18 on a number of proposed regulations involving the personal income tax.

The Division proposes to adopt some regulations, amend some, and repeal some. Their format has been modified in accordance with the new Rhode Island Code of Regulations. Some of the proposed regulations include minor changes. These changes can be reviewed on the Rhode Island Department of State (Secretary of State) website and on the Division of Taxation’s website.

Many of the changes reflect updates in the law since the regulations were last revised or promulgated. One new update is in the W-2 Informational Returns regulation (280-RICR-20-55-9) that requires any employer receiving or applying for tax credits to electronically file its W-2 returns.

The proposed regulations are listed as follows:

Adoptions:

280-RICR-20-55-1 – Estimated Payments

280-RICR-20-55-3 – Credit for Income Taxes of Other States

280-RICR-20-55-5 – Filing Status of Spouses – Nonresident Military Personnel and Partial-Year Residents

280-RICR-20-55-7 – Trust Distributions

Amendments:

280-RICR-20-55-2 - Extension of Time to File

280-RICR-20-55-4 – Tax Preparer Penalties

280-RICR-20-55-6 – Fiscal Year Taxpayers’ Method of Computing Rhode Island Tax

280-RICR-20-55-8 – Lottery and Pari-Mutuel Winnings and Prizes

280-RICR-20-55-9 – W-2 Informational Returns

280-RICR-20-55-10 – Employers’ Withholding

280-RICR-20-55-11 – Taxation of Nonresident Professional Athletes

280-RICR-20-55-12 – Net Operating Loss Limitation

Repeals:

Personal Income Tax – Estimated Payments (ERLID 630)

Personal Income Tax – Underpayment of Estimated Tax Charges – Exceptions and Waiver (ERLID 628)

Personal Income Tax – Credit for Income Taxes of Other States (ERLID 739)

Out of State Credit – Double Resident (ERLID 2347)

Personal Income Tax – Rhode Island Filing States – Nonresident Military Personnel and His/Her Spouse (ERLID 638)

Personal Income Tax – Filing Status of Husband and Wife Where One Is a Partial-Year Resident (ERLID 650)

Personal Income Tax – Trust Distributions (ERLID 657)

Personal Income Tax – Beneficiaries’ Treatment of Accumulation Distribution by Trust (ERLID 714)

Personal Income Tax – Family Education Accounts – Taxpayers (ERLID 635)

Personal Income Tax – Family Education Accounts – Qualified Depositories (ERLID 636)

Personal Income Tax – Use of Substitute Rhode Island Blank Income Tax Forms (ERLID 730)

Personal Income Tax – Tax Liability Computed by Internal Revenue Service (ERLID 646)

The hearing is to take place at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 2018, at the Department of Administration Building at One Capitol Hill, Providence, Rhode Island, diagonally across Smith Street from the State House.

The Division of Taxation has filed numerous proposed and final regulations of late, and will continue to do so as part of its months-long effort to streamline and re-codify its regulations. The Division intends to post from time to time, on this blog, brief descriptions of some -- but not all -- of the regulatory filings. However, all of the regulatory filings are available to view and to monitor at the Department of State (Secretary of State) website.