IRS Requests Comments on a Proposed Revenue Procedure for Requesting Consent to Change a Method of Accounting

On March 28, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a notice inviting comments on a proposed revenue procedure on changes in accounting.  If finalized, the new revenue procedure will allow a taxpayer to request consent to change a method of accounting for recognizing income when the change is made for the same taxable year for which the taxpayer adopts the new financial accounting revenue recognition standards. On May 28, 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) jointly announced new financial accounting standards for recognizing revenue. The new standards are effective for publicly-traded entities, certain not-for-profit entities, and certain employee benefit plans for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. For all other entities, the new standards are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018. Adoption of the new standards may create or increase differences between financial accounting and tax accounting rules. The IRS seeks comments on the specific issues identified in the proposed revenue procedure regarding conformity between the new standards, and the Internal Revenue Code and IRS Regulations.

Link to notice: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-17-17.pdf

Comments are due July 24, 2017.

Advocacy contact: Dillon Taylor(link sends e-mail) at 202.401.9787.