IRS Seeks Recommendations for 2018-2019 Priority Guidance Plan

Public Comment Invited on Recommendations for 2018-2019 Priority Guidance Plan

The Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and the Internal Revenue Service (Service) invite public comment on recommendations for items that should be included on the 2018-2019 Priority Guidance Plan.

The Treasury Department's Office of Tax Policy and the Service use the Priority Guidance Plan each year to identify and prioritize the tax issues that should be addressed through regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, notices, and other published administrative guidance. The 2018-2019 Priority Guidance Plan will identify guidance projects that the Treasury Department and the Service intend to work on as priorities during the period from July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019.

The Treasury Department and the Service recognize the importance of public input in formulating a Priority Guidance Plan that focuses resources on guidance items that are most important to taxpayers and tax administration. Published guidance plays an important role in increasing voluntary compliance by helping to clarify ambiguous areas of the tax law. The published guidance process is most successful if the Treasury Department and the Service have the benefit of the experience and knowledge of taxpayers and practitioners who must apply the rules implementing the internal revenue laws.

On December 22, 2017, P.L. 115-97, “An Act to provide for the reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018,” commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Act), was enacted. Since that time the Treasury Department and the Service have focused their efforts on guidance projects necessary to implement the Act.

The Treasury Department and the Service expect to continue to concentrate on guidance implementing the Act for the balance of the current plan year and during the 2018-2019 plan year. As a result, the Treasury Department and the Service do not expect to be able to complete a number of the guidance projects on the 2017-2018 Priority Guidance Plan, but they currently expect that many of these projects will be carried over to the 2018-2019 Priority Guidance Plan.

In reviewing recommendations and selecting additional projects for inclusion on the 2018-2019 Priority Guidance Plan, the Treasury Department and the Service will consider the following:

Since the enactment of the Act, the Treasury Department and the IRS have received a number of letters specifically asking for guidance related to the implementation of provisions in the Act. These suggestions have informed the projects that are currently in development and will also be considered in formulating the 2018-2019 Priority Guidance Plan, as will any additional recommendations for guidance related to the Act.

Please submit recommendations by June 15, 2018, for possible inclusion on the original 2018-2019 Priority Guidance Plan. Taxpayers may, however, submit recommendations for guidance at any time during the year. The Treasury Department and the Service will update the 2018-2019 Priority Guidance Plan periodically to reflect additional guidance that the Treasury Department and the Service intend to publish during the plan year. The periodic updates allow the Treasury Department and the Service to respond to the need for additional guidance that may arise during the plan year.

Taxpayers are not required to submit recommendations for guidance in any particular format. Taxpayers should, however, briefly describe the recommended guidance and explain the need for the guidance. In addition, taxpayers may include an analysis of how the issue should be resolved. For recommendations to modify, streamline, or withdraw existing regulations or other guidance, taxpayers should explain how the changes would reduce taxpayer cost and/or burden or benefit tax administration. It would be helpful if taxpayers suggesting more than one guidance project prioritize the projects by order of importance. If a large number of projects are being suggested, it would be helpful if the projects were grouped by subject matter and then in terms of high, medium, or low priority. Requests for guidance in the form of petitions for rulemaking will be considered with other recommendations for guidance in accordance with the considerations described in this notice.

Taxpayers may mail comments to:

or hand deliver comments Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to:

Alternatively, taxpayers may submit comments electronically via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov (type IRS-2018-0010 in the search field on the regulations.gov homepage to find this notice and submit comments). All recommendations for guidance submitted by the public in response to this notice will be available for public inspection and copying in their entirety. For further information regarding this notice, contact Emily M. Lesniak of the Office of the Associate Chief Counsel (Procedure and Administration) at (202) 317-3400 (not a toll-free call).