IRS Roundup- January 21 – February 9, 2026
•February 11, 2026
0
Why It Matters
These actions reshape retirement‑plan compliance timelines, accelerate IRS digital payment infrastructure, and set the regulatory groundwork for clean‑fuel incentives, while the court decision clarifies limits on cross‑border financing structures.
Key Takeaways
- •IRA amendment deadline moved to Dec 31 2027
- •Electronic payments order pushes IRS toward digital transactions
- •ETAAC applications open, focusing tax fraud prevention
- •Proposed clean fuel credit rules target domestic producers
- •Tax Court blocks Aventis FASIT deduction claim
Pulse Analysis
The extension granted by Notice 2026‑9 gives retirement‑plan sponsors an extra year to align their IRA, SIMPLE, and Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) arrangements with the SECURE 2.0 Act. By pushing the compliance deadline to the end of 2027, the IRS provides a buffer for model language development, reducing the risk of costly retroactive corrections and allowing financial advisors to advise clients with greater certainty.
Meanwhile, Executive Order 14247 and Fact Sheet 2026‑2 signal a decisive shift toward fully electronic federal payments. The IRS’s push for digital disbursements aims to cut processing times, lower fraud exposure, and improve taxpayer experience. The open call for ETAAC members underscores the agency’s focus on collaborative solutions to identity theft and refund fraud, while the continuation of operations funded by the Inflation Reduction Act ensures uninterrupted service despite budgetary lapses.
The proposed clean‑fuel production credit regulations, stemming from the IRA and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, could reshape the domestic clean‑energy landscape. By clarifying eligibility, ownership, and registration requirements, the rules aim to stimulate investment in low‑carbon transportation fuels. Coupled with the U.S.–Spain tax‑treaty arbitration framework and the Tax Court’s Aventis ruling, these developments highlight the IRS’s broader agenda of tightening cross‑border tax compliance and reinforcing the integrity of tax‑benefit programs.
IRS Roundup- January 21 – February 9, 2026
by Suzanne Golshanara, Edward L. Froelich, Matthew J. Blaney, McDermott Will & Schulte LLP
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for January 21, 2026 – February 9, 2026.
January 26, 2026: The IRS released Notice 2026‑9, which provides a one‑year extension to make certain amendments to individual retirement arrangements (IRAs), simplified employee pension arrangements, and savings incentive match plan for employees IRA plans. The new deadline is December 31, 2027. The extension gives the IRS additional time to issue model language for the various changes resulting from compliance with the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 and related legislation.
January 27, 2026: The IRS released Fact Sheet 2026‑2, which provides updated questions and answers regarding the implementation of Executive Order 14247, Modernizing Payments To and From America’s Bank Account. The executive order advances the transition to fully electronic federal payments both to and from the IRS.
January 29, 2026: The IRS announced that it is accepting applications for the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) through February 28, 2026. The ETAAC provides an organized public forum for discussing electronic tax administration issues, such as prevention of identity theft and refund fraud.
February 2, 2026: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin No. 2026‑6, which includes Announcement 2026‑3. The announcement provides a copy of the arrangement entered into by the competent authorities of the United States and Spain regarding the implementation of the arbitration process provided for in paragraphs 5 and 6 of Article 26 of the U.S.–Spain income tax treaty and its protocol.
February 2, 2026: The IRS announced that it would continue operations under the current lapse in appropriations until further notice, using funding from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA).
February 3, 2026: The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS issued proposed regulations regarding the clean fuel production credit enacted by the IRA and amended by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The new law made important changes to what is often referred to as the 45Z credit. The proposed regulations would provide rules for determining clean fuel production credits. They also would amend three sets of final regulations: the elective payment election regulations and the credit transfer election regulations (to clarify language relating to ownership of clean fuel production facilities) and the federal excise tax registration regulations (to make them clearer and more consistent with the clean fuel production credit registration requirements in these proposed regulations). The proposed regulations would affect domestic producers of clean transportation fuel, taxpayers that may claim a credit for a related producer’s fuel, and excise tax registrants. Comments must be received by April 6, 2026. There is a public hearing that will be held on May 28, 2026, and requests to speak at the public hearing will be accepted until May 26, 2026.
Recent court decisions
January 28, 2026: The U.S. Tax Court issued its opinion in Aventis Inc. v. Commissioner, rejecting Aventis’s attempt to treat its cross‑border financing structure as a valid legacy financial asset securitization investment trust (FASIT). The Tax Court held that the preferred stock issued to Aventis’s French affiliate did not meet the statutory requirements for a FASIT “regular interest” and therefore functioned as equity rather than debt. Accordingly, the Tax Court found the company ineligible for the interest deductions it claimed for tax years 2008 through 2011 and upheld the IRS’s decision to reallocate the underlying asset income back to Aventis. The Court also declined to find that Aventis had substantially complied with the technical rules governing FASITs prior to their statutory repeal. Although Congress repealed the FASIT regime in 2004, the Aventis structures remained subject to the pre‑repeal rules, which according to the Court required strict adherence.
The IRS also released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandums, and Chief Counsel Advice).
0
Comments
Want to join the conversation?
Loading comments...