Federal rates; adjusted federal rates; adjusted federal long-term rate and the long-term exempt rate. For purposes of sections 382, 642, 1274, 1288, and other sections of the Code, tables set forth the rates for March 2009.

This notice provides supplements to the actuarial tables prescribed under section 7520 of the Code. Recently, the section 7520 interest rate fell below 2.2%. The notice furnishes extensions to the existing tables for interest rates below 2.2%.

This notice provides supplements to the actuarial tables prescribed under section 7520 of the Code. Recently, the section 7520 interest rate fell below 2.2%. The notice furnishes extensions to the existing tables for interest rates below 2.2%.

This notice provides supplements to the actuarial tables prescribed under section 7520 of the Code. Recently, the section 7520 interest rate fell below 2.2%. The notice furnishes extensions to the existing tables for interest rates below 2.2%.

This notice invites public comments regarding guidance to be provided to persons who will be required to file information returns under section 6050W of the Code. Section 6050W requires information returns to be made for each calendar year by merchant acquiring entities and third party settlement organizations with respect to payments made in settlement of payment card transactions and third party payment network transactions occurring in that calendar year. This requirement to make information returns applies to returns for calendar years beginning after December 31, 2010. Interested parties are invited to submit comments by March 18, 2009.

This announcement contains updates and corrections to Publication 1220, Specifications for Filing Forms 1098, 1099, 5498, and W-2G, Electronically, including formatting information for Form 8935, Airline Payments Report.

This revenue ruling provides various prescribed rates for federal income tax purposes for March 2009 (the current month). Table 1 contains the short-term, mid-term, and long-term applicable federal rates (AFR) for the current month for purposes of section 1274(d) of the Internal Revenue Code. Table 2 contains the short-term, mid-term, and long-term adjusted applicable federal rates (adjusted AFR) for the current month for purposes of section 1288(b). Table 3 sets forth the adjusted federal long-term rate and the long-term tax-exempt rate described in section 382(f). Table 4 contains the appropriate percentages for determining the low-income housing credit described in section 42(b)(1) for buildings placed in service during the current month. However, under section 42(b)(2), the applicable percentage for non-federally subsidized new buildings placed in service after July 30, 2008, and before December 31, 2013, shall not be less than 9%. Finally, Table 5 contains the federal rate for determining the present value of an annuity, an interest for life or for a term of years, or a remainder or a reversionary interest for purposes of section 7520.

This notice provides supplements to the actuarial tables prescribed under § 7520 of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 7520 requires the Secretary to prescribe actuarial tables for valuing annuities, terms certain, reversions, and remainders. The interest rates required for these computations is 120% of the mid-term Applicable Federal Rate for the month of valuation (or, for transfers for charitable purposes, the interest rate for either of the two months preceding the month of valuation). In T.D. 8886, the Secretary prescribed the tables needed for valuations after April 30, 1999. This Treasury Decision contains regulations under sections 664, 2031, and 7520, and provides tables with interest rates starting at 4.2%. In addition, these regulations refer taxpayers to IRS Publications 1457, 1458, and 1459 for factors at interest rates from 2.2% to 22.0%. Recently, 120% of the mid-term Applicable Federal fell below 2.2%. None of the published tables provides factors for the interest rates below 2.2%. This notice furnishes extensions to the existing tables for interest rates below 2.2%.

Table S provided below extends Table S as furnished in § 20.2031-7(d)(7) of the Federal Estate Tax Regulations.

Table B provided below extends Table B furnished in § 20.2031-7(d)(6) of the Federal Estate Tax Regulations.

Table J provided below extends Table J as furnished in § 20.2031-7(d)(6) of the Federal Estate Tax Regulations.

Table K provided below extends Table K as furnished in § 20.2031-7(d)(6) of the Federal Estate Tax Regulations.

Table D provided below extends Table D as furnished in § 1.664-4(e)(6) of the Federal Income Tax Regulations.

This notice invites public comments regarding guidance to be provided to payment settlement entities and other affected persons concerning new requirements with respect to the reporting of payments made in settlement of payment card and third party network transactions. The new reporting requirements are in section 6050W of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code), which was added by section 3091 of the Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008, Div. C of Pub. L. No. 110-289, 122 Stat. 2653 (the Act). Section 6050W requires information returns to be made for each calendar year by merchant acquiring entities and third party settlement organizations with respect to payments made in settlement of payment card transactions and third party payment network transactions occurring in that calendar year. This requirement to make information returns applies to returns for calendar years beginning after December 31, 2010.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (the Service) intend to issue guidance on compliance with the new reporting requirements. To assist them in drafting guidance under the new provisions, they are requesting comments from all affected persons.

Under new section 6050W, any payment settlement entity making payment to a participating payee in settlement of reportable payment transactions must make a return for each calendar year to be filed with the Service, and furnish a statement to the participating payee, setting forth the gross amount of such reportable payment transactions, as well as the name, address, and taxpayer identification number (TIN) of the participating payees.

Section 6050W(c) provides that a “reportable payment transaction” means any payment card transaction and any third party network transaction. Section 6050W(b)(1) provides that a “payment settlement entity” means: (A) in the case of a payment card transaction, a merchant acquiring entity; and (B) in the case of a third party network transaction, a third party settlement organization. Section 6050W(d)(1)(A) provides that a “participating payee” means: (i) in the case of a payment card transaction, any person who accepts a payment card as payment; and (ii) in the case of a third party network transaction, any person who accepts payment from a third party settlement organization in settlement of such transaction. Section 6050W(d)(1)(C) provides that “person” includes any governmental unit (and any agency or instrumentality thereof). However, section 6050W(d)(1)(B) provides that a “participating payee” does not include any person with a foreign address except as provided by the Secretary in regulations or other guidance.

With respect to reporting on payment card transactions, section 6050W(b)(2) provides that the term “merchant acquiring entity” means the bank or other organization with the contractual obligation to make payment to participating payees in settlement of payment card transactions. Section 6050W(c)(2) provides that a “payment card transaction” means any transaction in which a payment card is accepted as payment. Section 6050W(d)(2) defines “payment card” as any card that is issued pursuant to an agreement or arrangement that provides for: (A) one or more issuers of such cards; (B) a network of persons unrelated to each other, and to the issuer, who agree to accept such cards as payment; and (C) standards and mechanisms for settling the transactions between the merchant acquiring entities and the persons who agree to accept such cards as payment.

Section 6050W(c)(3) provides that the term “third party network transaction” means any transaction that is settled through a third party payment network. Section 6050W(d)(3) defines “third party payment network” as any agreement or arrangement that: (A) involves the establishment of accounts with a central organization by a substantial number of persons who (i) are unrelated to such organization, (ii) provide goods or services, and (iii) have agreed to settle transactions for the provision of such goods or services pursuant to such agreement or arrangement; (B) provides for standards and mechanisms for settling such transactions; and (C) guarantees persons providing goods or services pursuant to such agreement or arrangement that such persons will be paid for providing such goods or services. In the case of a third party network transaction, section 6050W(b)(1)(B) provides that the payment settlement entity is the “third party settlement organization,” which is defined in section 6050W(b)(3) as the central organization that has the contractual obligation to make payment to participating payees of third party network transactions.

Section 6050W(d)(3) provides that a third party payment network does not include any agreement or arrangement that provides for the issuance of payment cards. In addition, section 6050W(e) provides that a third party settlement organization is required to report with respect to third party network transactions of any participating payee only if (1) the aggregate amount with respect to such third party network transactions for the year that would otherwise be reported exceeds $20,000, and (2) the aggregate number of such transactions exceeds 200.

Additionally, section 6050W(b)(4)(A) imposes reporting requirements on intermediaries who receive payments from a payment settlement entity and distribute such payments to one or more participating payees. Under section 6050W(b)(4)(A), such intermediaries are treated (i) as participating payees with respect to the payment settlement entity, and (ii) as payment settlement entities with respect to the participating payees to whom the intermediary distributes payments. However, under section 6050W(b)(4)(B), if an electronic payment facilitator or other third party makes payments in settlement of reportable payment transactions on behalf of the payment settlement entity, the electronic payment facilitator or other third party must file the annual information return in lieu of the payment settlement entity.

The Act also amended section 3406(b)(3) to provide that reportable payment transactions subject to information reporting under section 6050W generally are subject to backup withholding requirements. In addition, the Act amended section 6724(d) by adding returns required by section 6050W to the definition of information returns for purposes of penalties for failure to comply with certain information reporting requirements.

Section 6050W(g) grants authority to the Secretary to issue guidance to implement the reporting requirement, including rules to prevent the reporting of the same transaction more than once. Section 6050W and the related amendment to section 6724(d) generally apply to returns for calendar years beginning after December 31, 2010. The amendments to the backup withholding requirements apply to amounts paid after December 31, 2011.

The Treasury Department and the Service request comments on issues that should be addressed in guidance implementing the new requirements with respect to the reporting of payments made in settlement of payment card and third party network transactions. The Treasury Department and the Service request specific comments regarding:

Interested parties are invited to submit comments on this notice by Wednesday, March 18, 2009. Written comments should be submitted to: Internal Revenue Service, CC:PA:LPD:PR (Notice 2009-19), Room 5203, P.O. Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC 20044. Alternatively, comments may be hand delivered between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday to Friday to CC:PA:LPD:PR (Notice 2009-19), Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. Comments may also be transmitted electronically via the following e-mail address: Notice.Comments@irscounsel.treas.gov. Please include “Notice 2009-19” in the subject line of any electronic communications. All comments will be available for public inspection and copying.

The principal author of this notice is Barbara Pettoni of the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Procedure & Administration). For further information regarding this notice, please contact Barbara Pettoni at (202) 622-4910 (not a toll-free call).

As a result of the recent legislation, The Worker, Retiree and Employer Act of 2008, Publication 1220, Specifications for Filing Forms 1098, 1099, 5498 and W-2G, Electronically, revised July 2008, was updated to accommodate Form 8935, Airline Payments Report. The filing requirement begins March 23, 2009, for all payments made prior to the date of enactment, and the due date of future filings is ninety days from the date of payment to the recipient. The forms will be filed through the FIRE (Filing Information Returns Electronically) System. The following format information is necessary to file these forms through the FIRE System.

All the fields in both the Payer ‘A’ Record and the Payee ‘B’ Record are required when reporting Form 8935.

For Form 1099-R, the following correction is made to the ‘Form 1099-R Distribution Code Chart 2008’: distribution code H can be used alone or with code 4.

If you have questions, regarding this announcement or the filing of Form 8935, Airline Payments Report, please call toll-free 1-800-866-455-7438.

The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) announces recent disciplinary sanctions involving attorneys, certified public accountants, enrolled agents, enrolled actuaries, enrolled retirement plan agents, and appraisers. These individuals are subject to the regulations governing practice before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which are set out in Title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 10, and which are published in pamphlet form as Treasury Department Circular No. 230. The regulations prescribe the duties and restrictions relating to such practice and prescribe the disciplinary sanctions for violating the regulations.

The disciplinary sanctions to be imposed for violation of the regulations are:

Disbarred from practice before the IRS—An individual who is disbarred is not eligible to represent taxpayers before the IRS.

Suspended from practice before the IRS—An individual who is suspended is not eligible to represent taxpayers before the IRS during the term of the suspension.

Censured in practice before the IRS—Censure is a public reprimand. Unlike disbarment or suspension, censure does not affect an individual’s eligibility to represent taxpayers before the IRS, but OPR may subject the individual’s future representations to conditions designed to promote high standards of conduct.

Monetary penalty—A monetary penalty may be imposed on an individual who engages in conduct subject to sanction or on an employer, firm, or entity if the individual was acting on its behalf and if it knew, or reasonably should have known, of the individual’s conduct.

Disqualification of appraiser—An appraiser who is disqualified is barred from presenting evidence or testimony in any administrative proceeding before the Department of the Treasury or the IRS.

Under the regulations, attorneys, certified public accountants, enrolled agents, enrolled actuaries, and enrolled retirement plan agents may not assist, or accept assistance from, individuals who are suspended or disbarred with respect to matters constituting practice (i.e., representation) before the IRS, and they may not aid or abet suspended or disbarred individuals to practice before the IRS.

Disciplinary sanctions are described in these terms:

Disbarred by decision after hearing, Suspended by decision after hearing, Censured by decision after hearing, Monetary penalty imposed after hearing, and Disqualified after hearing—An administrative law judge (ALJ) conducted an evidentiary hearing upon OPR’s complaint alleging violation of the regulations and issued a decision imposing one of these sanctions. After 30 days from the issuance of the decision, in the absence of an appeal, the ALJ’s decision became the final agency decision.

Disbarred by default decision, Suspended by default decision, Censured by default decision, Monetary penalty imposed by default decision, and Disqualified by default decision—An ALJ, after finding that no answer to OPR’s complaint had been filed, granted OPR’s motion for a default judgment and issued a decision imposing one of these sanctions.

Disbarment by decision on appeal, Suspended by decision on appeal, Censured by decision on appeal, Monetary penalty imposed by decision on appeal, and Disqualified by decision on appeal—The decision of the ALJ was appealed to the agency appeal authority, acting as the delegate of the Secretary of the Treasury, and the appeal authority issued a decision imposing one of these sanctions.

Disbarred by consent, Suspended by consent, Censured by consent, Monetary penalty imposed by consent, and Disqualified by consent—In lieu of a disciplinary proceeding being instituted or continued, an individual offered a consent to one of these sanctions and OPR accepted the offer. Typically, an offer of consent will provide for: suspension for an indefinite term; conditions that the individual must observe during the suspension; and the individual’s opportunity, after a stated number of months, to file with OPR a petition for reinstatement affirming compliance with the terms of the consent and affirming current eligibility to practice (i.e., an active professional license or active enrollment status). An enrolled agent or an enrolled retirement plan agent may also offer to resign in order to avoid a disciplinary proceeding.

Suspended by decision in expedited proceeding, Suspended by default decision in expedited proceeding, Suspended by consent in expedited proceeding—OPR instituted an expedited proceeding for suspension (based on certain limited grounds, including loss of a professional license and criminal convictions).

OPR has authority to disclose the grounds for disciplinary sanctions in these situations: (1) an ALJ or the Secretary’s delegate on appeal has issued a decision on or after September 26, 2007, which was the effective date of amendments to the regulations that permit making such decisions publicly available; (2) the individual has settled a disciplinary case by signing OPR’s “consent to sanction” form, which requires consenting individuals to admit to one or more violations of the regulations and to consent to the disclosure of the individual’s own return information related to the admitted violations (for example, failure to file Federal income tax returns); or (3) OPR has issued a decision in an expedited proceeding for suspension.

Announcements of disciplinary sanctions appear in the Internal Revenue Bulletin at the earliest practicable date. The sanctions announced below are alphabetized first by the names of states and second by the last names of individuals. Unless otherwise indicated, section numbers (e.g., § 10.51) refer to the regulations.