On Friday, July 31, President Obama signed into law the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015. This act has several parts which include important tax compliance provisions. These provisions include modifications to six-year statute to basis overstatement cases, imposes new requirements for additional information to be included in mortgage interest statements, requires consistent basis reporting for estates and beneficiaries and most importantly changes the due dates of several types of tax returns.

The modification to the six-year statute to basis overstatement cases changes the treatment of an overstatement of basis to an omission of gross income. This modification is overruling the decision of Home Concrete & Supply, LLC 132 S. Ct. 1836 which was ruled on in 2012, in which the tax court ruled that basis overstatement was not an increase to gross income and did not extend the six-year statute.

The provisions in this act which require additional information to be included in mortgage information statements require lenders to disclose the following on all statements issued after Dec. 31, 2016: outstanding principal balance of the mortgage at the beginning of the calendar year, the origination date of the loan, and the address of the property for which the mortgage was written. These new provisions apply to all statements which report more than $600 in mortgage interest paid in the calendar year.

The new law requires new reporting of basis of property received from trusts to beneficiaries. The law requires that beneficiaries report the basis of property received at the same value that the basis of the property is valued at for estate tax purposes. The act also requires that administrators that must file estate tax returns to file information returns with the IRS as well as payee statements issued to the any beneficiary who receives property from or acquires interest in the estate. These required statements must itemize each interest and its corresponding value which were reported on the estate tax return. These new basis reporting rules are effective the date the law was enacted.

The most important, and most likely applicable, change resulting from this new law is the change of due dates for certain tax returns. First, the act changes the due date of partnership returns to March 15th for calendar year partnerships or the 15th day of the third month following the year-end for fiscal year partnerships. While this is one month sooner than the old due date of April 15th or the 15th day of the fourth month after the fiscal year end, the new law allows for a six month extension for partnership returns versus the old five month extension. These new due dates will be effective for tax years beginning after 12/31/15.

Secondly, C corporation tax returns are now due April 15th for calendar year-end filers or the 15th day of the fourth month after the year-end of a fiscal year filer, with a six month extension. There are two exceptions to the general six month extension rule. First, calendar year C Corporations will have be allowed a five month extension versus the six month extension. Second, fiscal year-end taxpayer with a June 30th year-end will be allowed a seven month extension. These five and seven month extension rules will be in effect until 2026. These new due dates will be effective for tax years beginning after 12/31/15.

Next, the due date for the foreign reporting tax return FBAR - FinCEN Form 114's due date has changed from June 30th to April 15th. More importantly, for the first time a six month extension will be granted for this return. The act also provides for a penalty waiver for first time FBAR filers who are unintentionally late. The law also has made the due date for Form 3520, Annual Return to Report Transactions with Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts, April 15th with a six month extension available.

Finally, while the act did not change the due date of Form 1041, Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts, it changed the extension period from five months to five and a half months, making the extended due date for calendar year-end trust returns September 30th versus September 15th.
 

Tired of the old approaches to finance and accounting? Come learn from the experts why Modern Finance is changing the industry.

Join us at UHY's training center in Farmington Hills on Thursday, August 20 for The Modern Finance Tour in Detroit. You'll learn directly from the experts at BlackLine and co-hosting partner, UHY Advisors, how Modern Finance is transforming the finance and accounting processes in organizations, including best practices for account and intercompany reconciliations and for accelerating the financial close. You'll also hear first-hand how a successful company has accelerated their processes and improved the way finance and accounting work across their organization. The schedule of events is as follows:

3:00-4:00 Accelerate and modernize your finance transformation
Learn best practices and accounting insight for modernizing processes from BlackLine's finance transformation expert, Bob Davenport.
4:00-4:30 Improving the finance and accounting function
UHY Advisors' Brad Baer demonstrates how they've worked with global clients to improve accounting, finance, governance, risk and compliance.
4:30-5:00 Open discussion
5:00-6:00 Cocktail reception and networking

This complimentary event is geared towards companies who currently face challenges in creating an efficient and effective record-to-report process and how new accounting automation tools can help address these challenges. Finance and accounting professionals should take advantage of this great opportunity to network with their colleagues and learn how Modern Finance can enhance controls for reporting and compliance purposes, as well as assist in a more strategic use of finance and accounting resources.

Earn up to 2 CPE credits. Pre-registration is required. Cocktail reception with hors d'oeuvres included. Space is limited. Click here to RSVP.
 

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UHY LLP POTENTIAL RECRUITS WORK WITH DPS STUDENTS TO SHARPEN READING AND WRITING SKILLS
On Thursday, June 4, UHY LLP's Michigan practice invited a group of students from Thirkell Elementary in Detroit to their Farmington Hills office to help them develop stories for the Beyond Basics Publishing Center. UHY teamed up with Beyond Basics, a local 501c(3) nonprofit organization working to improve literacy and raise reading proficiency in inner city schools, to host students to help improve reading comprehension and expand the students' vocabularies.

Nearly 20 college recruits and other UHY employees gathered at UHY's training facility to help students from Mrs. Jackson's third grade class write their own personal stories. Each volunteer was assigned a student to mentor for the day. The recruits started by getting to know the students. With this information, the students created a short story that was designed to enhance vocabulary and sharpen writing skills. After the stories were written, each student was able to pick a book of their choice and read to their "buddy" or mentor.

As a result, 16 new stories were created for the Beyond Basics Publishing Center. This community event was part of UHY's Connect program. The program allows college recruits to get to know more about the organization, work with UHY employees, and experience some of the corporate social responsibility initiatives UHY takes part in. Both the students and UHY recruits benefited greatly from the experience.

"We have been working with Beyond Basics for the past four years, pairing our interns and college recruits with students from Detroit Public Schools. The objective of this program is to not only help strengthen the reading and writing skills of elementary school students but to also give our interns and recruits an understanding of UHY's commitment to giving back to the community and experiencing a volunteer outing first hand," said Rina Henning, UHY LLP recruiting manager.

UHY LLP places great emphasis on being active within the community from each recruits' first connection with the firm because corporate social responsibility is a high priority at all levels within the company. The firm also has its own independent 501c(3) organization, UHY Cares. Cares, which was incorporated over five years ago, was an idea inspired by employees and is volunteer based. Through UHY Cares, employees are able to give back to the community, including helping individuals going through personal emergencies or hardships. UHY Cares Michigan has provided assistance to over 150 local charities and families and continues to grow this list every year.

Beyond basics has been active in the Detroit community since 1999.Their mission is to guide and support children in economic need to develop fundamental educational skills. They aim to move these children beyond the basics and prepare them for productive and meaningful lives. The work the organization does, shaping the minds of grade school children, is especially important because nearly 50% of adults in Detroit are considered functionally illiterate.

CAREERS AT UHY

Are you ready to take charge of your career path? Be sure to visit our careers page for the most up-to-date listings or contact Yolanda Rountree. Current opportunities in our Michigan offices include: 

• Audit Manager, 7+ years of experience, manufacturing experience is highly preferred
• Audit Manager, 7+ years of experience, SEC experience is highly preferred
• Audit Accountant, 2-10 years of experience working with municipalities
• Audit Senior Staff Accountant, 2-4 years of experience
• Internal Audit Risk & Compliance Manager, 7+ years of experience
• R&D Tax Specialist, 7+ years of experience
• Tax Manager, 7-10 years of experience
• Tax Senior Consultant, 4-5 years of experience, Big 4 experience is required
• Tax Senior Accountant, 5-7 years of experience, CPA required
• Director of Litigation, testifying experience required municipalities
• Senior Associate (Corporate Finance), 2-4 years of Big 4 experience highly preferred 

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