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

Announcement 2003-35(PDF, 33K)
This document sets forth an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (REG-100420-03) and asks for comments on a possible safe harbor the IRS and the Treasury Department are considering that would allow a financial statement-tax conformity approach to valuation of certain securities and commodities for purposes of section 475 of the Code. This approach would be elective and would have certain requirements that must be met before the safe harbor could be used, including recordkeeping and record production requirements. The ANPRM also seeks comments on any other alternative valuation methodology.

Rev. Rul. 2003-43(PDF, 41K)
Health plans. This ruling sets forth the rules regarding the use of debit and credit cards to reimburse participants in self-insured medical reimbursement plans. Rev. Rul. 2002-80 distinguished.

Rev. Rul. 2003-50(PDF, 22K)
LIFO; price indexes; department stores. The March 2003 Bureau of Labor Statistics price indexes are accepted for use by department stores employing the retail inventory and last-in, firstout inventory methods for valuing inventories for tax years ended on, or with reference to, March 31, 2003.

Rev. Rul. 2003-51(PDF, 34K)
Transfer to corporation. This ruling provides guidance regarding the control requirement under section 351 of the Code involving successive transfers of property and stock. Rev. Ruls. 70-140, 70-522, 79-70, and 79-194 distinguished.

T.D. 9055(PDF, 33K)
Final regulations under section 3406 of the Code clarify the method of determining whether a payer has received two IRS notices that a payee's taxpayer identification number (TIN) is incorrect, for purposes of backup withholding. This document also contains regulations under section 6724 which clarify when an information return filer must solicit a payee's TIN in response to a penalty notice based on an incorrect TIN if a notice under section 3406(a)(1)(B) was already received with respect to the same tax year.

Notice 2003-32(PDF, 28K)
Weighted average interest rate update. The weighted average interest rate for May 2003 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 are set forth.

T.D. 9056(PDF, 45K)
Final regulations under section 408 of the Code provide a new method to be used for calculating the net income attributable to an IRA contribution that is distributed as a returned contribution pursuant to section 408(d)(4) or recharacterized pursuant to section 408A(d)(6). These regulations will affect IRA owners and IRA trustees, custodians, and issuers.

Announcement 2003-34(PDF, 30K)
A list is provided of organizations now classified as private foundations.

Notice 2003-31(PDF, 30K)
This notice announces that the Treasury Department and the Service intend to propose regulations providing guidance under section 501(m) of the Code, which will define the term "commercialtype insurance" and address how section 501(m) applies to organizations described in sections 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4), including health maintenance organizations. This notice also requests comments on the content of the regulations to be proposed. Finally, this notice announces that, in light of the regulations project, the Service is withdrawing from the Internal Revenue Manual the sections of Part 7.8.1, Chapter 27, Exempt Organizations Examination Guidelines Handbook, Health Maintenance Organizations that relate to section 501(m) of the Code.

EXCISE TAX

Announcement 2003-33(PDF, 19K)
The Service announces the availability of new Form 8876, Excise Tax on Structured Settlement Factoring Transactions. Use this form to report and pay the 40% excise tax imposed under section 5891 of the Code on the factoring discount of a structured settlement factoring transaction.

Rev. Proc. 2003-37(PDF, 31K)
This procedure describes documentation and information a taxpayer that uses the fair market value method of apportionment of interest expense may prepare and make available to the Service upon request in order to establish the fair market value of the taxpayer's assets to the satisfaction of the Commissioner as required by section 1.861-9T(g)(1)(iii) of the regulations. It also sets forth the procedure to be followed in the case of elections to use the fair market value method.