TAX TREATMENT OF STATE AND LOCAL TAX REFUNDS

Tax treatment of state and local tax refunds. In IRS Rev. Rul. 2019-11, the Internal Revenue Service addressed how the long standing tax benefit rule interacts with the new $10,000 limit on deductions of state and local taxes to determine the portion of any state or local tax refund that must be included on the taxpayer's federal IRS income tax return. Tax treatment of state and local tax refunds.

Sec. 164 generally provides an itemized deduction for certain taxes paid or accrued during the tax year. However, Sec 164 (b) (6) as added by the law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, P.L. 115-97, limits an individual's deduction for the aggregate amount of state and local taxes paid during the calendar year to $10,000 ($5,000 in the case of a married individual filing a separate return.) Sec. 111 (a), which partially codifies the tax benefit rule, excludes from gross income amounts attributable to the recovery during the tax year of any amount deducted in any prior year to the extent the amount did not reduce the amount of tax imposed by Chapter 1 of the Code.

Taxpayers who itemize deductions and who paid state and local taxes in excess of the state and local tax deduction limit may not be required to include the entire state or local tax refund in income in the following year. According to the IRS, a key part of that determination is calculating the amount the taxpayer would have deducted had the taxpayer only paid the actual state and local tax liability, with no refund and no balance due. The IRS therefore ruled that if a taxpayer received a tax benefit from deducting state or local taxes in a prior tax year and the taxpayer recovers all or a portion of those taxes in the current tax year, the taxpayer must include in gross income, the taxpayer must deduct the lessor of the difference between the taxpayer's total deductions in the prior year and the deductions taken if he had taken the proper amount. So if the SALT cap has you owing a large tax debt, call this Tax Resolution Services firm for every option in the IRS Code to see if you qualify for any reduction in your tax, including the IRS Fresh Start Program. Call for your Tax Resolution consultation. Nationwide Tax Services for 36 years. 1-888-689-7861 Our Tax Resolution Company is a leader among Tax Resolution Companies, call and ask us what that means.