Links to Official IRS Bulletin Documents listed below are in the Adobe Acrobat PDF Format, and require the appropriate Acrobat Reader to view and/or print.

INCOME TAX

Notice 96-67(PDF, 25K)
Notice on application of section 401(a)(9) to employees who attain age 70 1/2 in 1996. This notice provides transitional guidance on the application of the definition of "required beginning date" found in section 401(a)(9)(C) of the Code, as amended by the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996, to employees who attain age 70 1/2 in 1996.

Rev. Rul. 96-62(PDF, 19K)
Training costs; business expenses. The Supreme Court's decision in INDOPCO, Inc. v. Commissioner, 503 U.S. 79 (1992), does not affect the treatment of training costs as business expenses which are generally deductible under section 162 of the Code.

Rev. Rul. 96-63(PDF, 30K)
Section 1274A inflation-adjusted numbers for 1997. This ruling provides the dollar amounts, increased by the 1997 inflation adjustment, for section 1274A of the Code. Rev. Rul. 96-4 supplemented and superseded.

Rev. Rul. 96-64(PDF, 9K)
CPI adjustment for below-market loans for 1997. The amount that section 7872(g) of the Code permits a taxpayer to lend to a qualified continuing care facility without incurring imputed interest is published and adjusted for inflation for years 1987-1997. Rev. Rul. 96-5 supplemented and superseded.

Rev. Rul. 96-65(PDF, 33K)
Damages received on account of personal injuries or sickness. Under current section 104(a)(2) of the Code, back pay and damages for emotional distress received to satisfy a claim for disparate treatment employment discrimination under Title Vll of the 1964 Civil Rights Act are not excludable from gross income. Under former section 104(a)(2), back pay received to satisfy such a claim was not excludable from gross income, but damages received for emotional distress were excludable. Rev. Ruls. 72-341, 94-92, and 93-88 obsoleted. Notice 95-45 superseded. Rev. Proc. 96-3 modified.

Announcement 96-133(PDF, 20K)
Beginning January 1, 1997, requests for employee plan determination letters and applications for recognition of tax exemption, formerly sent to the district offices in Chicago, Illinois and Dallas, Texas, should be sent to the Internal Revenue Service Center in Covington, Kentucky.

Notice 96-66(PDF, 11K)
Weighted average interest rate update. Guidelines are set forth for determining for December 1996 the weighted average interest rate and the resulting permissible range of interest rates used to calculate current liability for purposes of the full funding limitation of section 412(c)(7) of the Code as amended by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 and by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (GATT).

Announcement 96-134(PDF, 14K)
Three codes have been added to identify new amounts required to be reported in box 13 of the 1997 Form W-2.

Railroad Retirement Board 4th Quarter(PDF, 14K)
Railroad retirement; Quarter 4-96 & 1-97; rate determination; quarterly. The Railroad Retirement Board has determined that the rate of tax imposed by section 3221 of the Code shall be 34 cents for the quarter beginning October 1, 1996, and 35 cents for the quarter beginning January 1, 1997.

Rev. Proc. 96-60(PDF, 29K)
Modification of Rev. Proc. 84-77. This procedure explains the standards and alternate procedures to be used in preparing employment tax forms when a predecessor-successor employer relationship exists. Rev. Proc. 84-77 modified and superseded.

Social Security(PDF, 37K)
Social security contribution and benefit base. The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration has announced the OASDI contribution and benefit base for remuneration paid in 1997 and self-employment income earned in taxable years beginning in 1997.

EXCISE TAX

Announcement 96-135(PDF, 41K)
A petition has been filed to add diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A to the list of taxable substances in section 4672(a)(3) of the Code.

Rev. Proc. 96-38(PDF, 19K)
This procedure provides guidance to taxpayers who wish to submit offers in compromise on photocopies or computer-generated copies that are verbatim duplicates of the official Form 656, Offer in Compromise, published bye the Service.

Rev. Proc. 96-57(PDF, 24K)
Automatic extensions for Forms W-2. Automatic extensions of time to file Forms W-2 with the Social Security Administration and to furnish Forms W-2 to employees will be granted to "Qualified Employers."

Rev. Proc. 96-58(PDF, 24K)
Penalties; substantial understatement. Guidance is provided concerning when information shown on a return in accordance with the applicable forms and instructions will be adequate disclosure for purposes of reducing an understatement of income tax under section 6662(d) of the Code.

Rev. Proc. 96-59(PDF, 52K)
1997 cost-of-living adjustments. The Service provides 1997 cost-of-living adjustment factors and their applications to the tax rate tables for individuals and for estates and trusts, the standard deduction amounts, the personal exemption, and several other items that use the adjustment method provided for the tax rate tables.

Rev. Proc. 96-61(PDF, 82K)
1997 Electronic filing program; Form 1040. Participants in the 1997 Electronic Filing Program for the Form 1040 series are informed of their obligations to the Service, taxpayers, and other participants.

Rev. Proc. 96-62(PDF, 64K)
1997 Online filing program; Form 1040. Participants in the 1997 Online Filing Program for the Form 1040 series are informed of their obligations to the Service, taxpayers, and other participants.

Rev. Proc. 96-63(PDF, 62K)
1997 Optional standard mileage rates. This procedure announces 31.5 cents as the optional rate for deducting or accounting for expenses for business use of an automobile, and 10 cents as the optional rate for deducting or accounting for use of an automobile as a medical or moving expense for 1997. It provides rules for substantiating the deductible expenses of using an automobile for business, moving, medical, or charitable purposes. Rev. Proc. 95-54 superseded.

Rev. Proc. 96-64(PDF, 81K)
Per diem allowances. This procedure provides optional rules for deeming substantiated the amount for certain reimbursed traveling expenses of an employee as well as for determining the amount of deductible meals while traveling away from home. Rev. Proc. 96-28 superseded.