AICPA Recommends New Procedure for Disaster-Related Extension Requests

The American Institute of CPAs is calling on the Internal Revenue Service to establish a more streamlined and rapid procedure for processing extension requests filed by taxpayers in areas with a disaster declaration.

AICPA notes that there is has been an increasing number of natural disasters each year, leading to more disaster-related extension requests and, in turn, delays in obtaining a Sec. 1033 extension approval. To account for this, the organization made the following recommendations in a December 11, 2023, letter to the agency regarding the extension of Sec. 1033 replacement period:

• Acknowledge receipt of replacement period extension requests within 30 days;
• Render decisions on replacement period extension requests within 90 days of receipt by the IRS;
• Provide blanket automatic extensions for certain disasters that cause tremendous damage to most taxpayers in a particular area, such as damage caused by wildfires, category 3-5 hurricanes, and tornadoes; and
• Eliminate the requirement for taxpayers to provide a reason or justification for Sec. 1033 extension requests, saving time and costs to taxpayers and the IRS in the IRS review and approval of the extensions.

AICPA also recommended that the IRS develop online tools to allow taxpayers to track the status of Sec. 1033 extension requests, as well as the ability to contact an IRS employee on status and to receive emails when a decision has been made. The organization is also calling for a public awareness campaign regarding Sec. 1033 extensions, including providing annual information on the number of requests and approvals each year.

“If adopted, these recommendations will benefit taxpayers and tax practitioners by providing more rapid responses from the IRS to Sec. 1033 replacement period requests,” Peter Mills, AICPA senior manager for tax policy and advocacy, said in a statement.

Copies of this and other tax policy and advocacy letters submitted by AICPA in 2023 can be found here.

By Gregory Twachtman, Washington News Editor.