Handling the Delay in 199A Regs

Brace for tough conversations, more extensions.

By Stephen Nelson

Pretty clearly, the Section 199A final regulations won’t appear before Dec. 31, 2018. The draft version of the final regulations went to the Office of Budget and Management on Dec. 14, 2018. And the review process almost certainly won’t finish in time for the new regulations to appear in the Federal Register before New Year’s Eve.

Note: The Department of Treasury did not designate the final regulations as economically significant. That means OMB has 45 days to review the regulations.

This timing hugely impacts tax accountants preparing returns with qualified business income, the income partially sheltered by the new Section 199A deduction.

Note: Qualified business income includes sole proprietorship profits, trade or business income earned in an S corporation or partnership, rental income in most cases, REIT dividends and then also income from qualified agricultural or horticultural cooperatives. In short, lots of taxpayers earn qualified business income.