Description: Legislation imposing new restrictions on a wide range of compensation arrangements was signed into law on October 22, 2004. The American Jobs Creation ActAJCA adds a new section 409A to the Internal Revenue Code, which imposes restrictions on funding, distributions, and elections to participate in nonqualified deferred compensation plans.

Description: Examines the Treasury Department and IRS guidance in determining whether a financial arrangement qualifies as insurance under federal tax law. It concerns the concepts of fortuity, homogeneity, and risk distribution, among others.

Description: This article begins with a brief review of the treatment of QAB charges under the Code and the guidance the Internal Revenue Service the “Service” has issued regarding the manner in which taxpayers should account for QAB charges Part I. It then describes Rev. Rul. 2005-6’s three alternatives for addressing improper accounting for QAB charges Part II. It also includes a discussion about an Alternative C closing agreement.

Description: This article describes Health Savings Accounts HSAs and the tax and other aspects of these funds.

Description: Articles on IRS private letter rulings on combination products, IRS treatment of reinsurance under section 845, and IRS waivers for failed contracts under section 7702.

Description: Read the June 2016 issue of Taxing Times.

Description: The article describes recently proposed regulations on the deduction of partially-worthless debts under section 166. It also provides background on the comments submitted by the insurance industry in response to the proposed regulations and additional guidance issued by Treasury and the IRS following the publication of the proposed regulations.

Description: Read the June 2020 issue of Taxing Times published by the Taxation Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: On June 30, 2015, the U.S. Tax Court reaffirmed the viability of the Investor Control Doctrine in Webber v. Commissioner. The case serves as a valuable example of what not to do with regard to the investment of assets supporting a variable life insurance contract purchased through a private placement transaction. In the end, however, the Webber court leaves a lot of questions unanswered—most significantly, the elusive answer to how to define investor control. This article examines the Investor Control Doctrine, as explained and applied by the U.S. Tax Court in Webber, and considers some of the open questions that remain after June 30, 2015.

Description: The chair of the Taxation Section Council provides a summary of the section's mission and initiatives for the upcoming year.