Description: We frequently are asked what to do when a company has reported aggregate estimates of tax reserves on the tax return, instead of tax reserves computed precisely according to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code, and the IRS has challenged the reserve deduction. Other sections of this article also cover IRS rulings on the treatment and valuation of an insurance company stock purchased as an asset acquisition and COLI life insurance.

Description: A discussion about foreign currency hedging, foreign insurance excise tax, taxation of credit default swaps and bad debts.

Description: High on the list of the most frequently asked questions by tax professionals working for life insurance companies is whether a change in reserving methodology or assumptions will be subject to the “10-year-spread” requirements of section 807f of the Internal Revenue Code. This article discusses possible answers.

Description: Discusses Schedule UTP, “Uncertain Tax Positions,” issued by the IRS, in detail.

Description: A look at the IRS initiative, the Industry Issue Resolution IIR Program, and its requested use to address the tax treatment of hedges of VA contract guarantees. The IIR Program is designed to address tax issues that are common to many business taxpayers and are frequently disputed.

Description: This article discusses the important lessons for insurance companies that participate in drafting settlement agreements designed to achieve favorable tax treatment of the settlement payments.

Description: A brief discussion of the articles included in the February 2013 issue of Taxing Times.

Description: A continuation of the conversation about principle-based reserves (PBR). Actuaries and an attorney discuss revisit federal-income tax-related issues as they relate to PBR.

Description: In order to encourage health insurance issuers to offer health insurance coverage on the Exchange and on the individual and small group markets, while ameliorating the potential impact on any particular health insurance issuer of providing coverage without pricing for pre-existing conditions or the gender of the insured, the Affordable Care Act includes three risk-sharing programs: the Transitional Reinsurance program, the Risk Corridor program and the Risk Adjustment program (collectively referred to as the “3Rs”). The financial and tax reporting of each health insurance issuer is affected by the implementation of these risk-sharing programs because each health insurance issuer is required to pay for the programs’ costs, and some issuers are or will be eligible for benefits under them.

Description: The article provides an introduction to tax accounting for U.S. life insurance companies, with a focus on NAIC statutory accounting concepts. The author discusses permanent and temporary differences, the current tax provision, and deferred tax accounting requirements, including admissibility testing under SSAP No. 101.