Final regulations under section 7701 of the Code add an entity to the list of foreign business entities that are always classified as corporations. This entity is not eligible to check the box to change its classification.

This notice provides adjusted limitations on housing expenses for tax year 2008 for purposes of section 911 of the Code.

This notice provides guidance with respect to state volume limits under section 1400N that are applicable to (1) allocations of the low-income housing tax credit in the Midwestern and Hurricane Ike disaster areas, (2) the issuance of tax-exempt bonds for the Midwestern and Hurricane Ike disaster areas, and (3) the issuance of tax credit bonds for the Midwestern disaster areas. These provisions were enacted as part of the Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008. The notice provides a list of the counties that qualify as Midwestern or Hurricane Ike disaster areas and provides the portion of the state population located in the disaster or other relevant areas for purposes of determining the volume limits applicable to each of these provisions. The notice also provides instructions for reporting the issuance of Midwestern and Hurricane Ike tax-exempt and tax credit bonds.

2009 optional standard mileage rates. This procedure announces 55 cents as the optional rate for deducting or accounting for expenses for business use of an automobile, 14 cents as the optional rate for use of an automobile as a charitable contribution, and 24 cents as the optional rate for use of an automobile as a medical or moving expense for 2009. The procedure also provides rules for substantiating the deductible expenses of using an automobile for business, moving, medical, or charitable purposes. Rev. Proc. 2007-70 and Announcement 2008-63 superseded.

Retirement plans; qualification, list of changes. This notice sets forth a list of changes referred to in Rev. Proc. 2007-44, 2007-2 C.B. 54, pertaining to the statutory, regulatory, and guidance changes needed for certain requests to the Service for opinion, advisory, and determination letters for the 12-month period beginning February 1, 2009.

A list is provided of organizations now classified as private foundations.

Final regulations under section 7701 of the Code add an entity to the list of foreign business entities that are always classified as corporations. This entity is not eligible to check the box to change its classification.

This announcement contains clarification to filing procedures in Publication 1187 for Form 1042-S, Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding, filed electronically. These changes are effective immediately. Rev. Proc. 2008-44 clarified.

This document provides notice of a public hearing on proposed regulations (REG-106251-08, 2008-39 I.R.B. 774) relating to options granted under an employee stock purchase plan as defined in section 423 of the Code. These proposed regulations affect certain taxpayers who participate in the transfer of stock pursuant to the exercise of options granted under an employee stock purchase plan. The public hearing is scheduled for January 15, 2009.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury.

Final regulations and removal of temporary regulations.

This document contains final regulations relating to certain business entities included on the list of foreign business entities that are always classified as corporations for Federal tax purposes. The regulations are needed to make the Federal tax classification of the Bulgarian public limited liability company (aktsionerno druzhestvo) consistent with the Federal tax classification of public limited liability companies organized in other countries of the European Economic Area. The regulations will affect persons owning an interest in a Bulgarian aktsionerno druzhestvo on or after January 1, 2007.

Effective Date: These regulations are effective on November 28, 2008.

Applicability Date: For the dates of applicability of these regulations, see §301.7701-2(e)(7).

S. James Hawes, (202) 622-3860 (not a toll-free number).

Accordingly, 26 CFR part 301 is amended as follows:

The principal author of these regulations is S. James Hawes of the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (International); however, other personnel from the IRS and the Treasury Department participated in their development.

* * * * *

This notice provides adjustments to the limitation on housing expenses for purposes of section 911 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) for specific locations for 2008. These adjustments are made on the basis of geographic differences in housing costs relative to housing costs in the United States.

Section 911(a) of the Code allows a qualified individual to elect to exclude from gross income the foreign earned income and housing cost amount of such individual. Section 911(c)(1) defines the term “housing cost amount” as an amount equal to the excess of (A) the housing expenses of an individual for the taxable year to the extent such expenses do not exceed the amount determined under section 911(c)(2), over (B) 16 percent of the exclusion amount (computed on a daily basis) in effect under section 911(b)(2)(D) for the calendar year in which such taxable year begins ($239.34 per day for 2008, or $87,600 for the full year), multiplied by the number of days of that taxable year within the applicable period described in section 911(d)(1). The applicable period is the period during which the individual meets the tax home requirement of section 911(d)(1) and either the bona fide residence requirement of section 911(d)(1)(A) or the physical presence requirement of section 911(d)(1)(B). Assuming that the entire taxable year of a qualified individual is within the applicable period, the section 911(c)(1)(B) amount for 2008 is $14,016 ($87,600 x .16).

Section 911(c)(2)(A) of the Code limits the housing expenses taken into account in section 911(c)(1)(A) to an amount equal to (i) 30 percent (adjusted as may be provided under the Secretary’s authority under section 911(c)(2)(B)) of the amount in effect under section 911(b)(2)(D) for the calendar year in which the taxable year of the individual begins, multiplied by (ii) the number of days of that taxable year within the applicable period described in section 911(d)(1). Thus, under this general limitation, a qualified individual whose entire taxable year is within the applicable period is limited to maximum housing expenses of $26,280 ($87,600 x .30) in 2008.

Section 911(c)(2)(B) of the Code authorizes the Secretary to issue regulations or other guidance to adjust the percentage under section 911(c)(2)(A)(i) based on geographic differences in housing costs relative to housing costs in the United States. Pursuant to this authority, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Department published Notice 2006-87, 2006-2 C.B. 766, and Notice 2007-25, 2007-12 I.R.B. 760, for 2006, and Notice 2007-77, 2007-40 I.R.B. 735, for 2007, to provide adjustments to the limitation on housing expenses for qualified individuals incurring housing expenses in countries with high housing costs relative to housing costs in the United States.

The following table provides adjusted limitations on housing expenses (in lieu of the otherwise applicable limitation of $26,280) for 2008.

This notice is effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2008.

The principal author of this notice is Paul J. Carlino of the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (International). For further information regarding this notice, contact Mr. Carlino at (202) 622-3840 (not a toll-free call).

This notice contains the 2008 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements (2008 Cumulative List) described in section 4 of Rev. Proc. 2007-44, 2007-28 I.R.B. 54. The 2008 Cumulative List is to be used primarily by plan sponsors of individually designed plans that are in Cycle D. An individually designed plan is in Cycle D if it is a single employer plan where the last digit of the employer identification number of the plan sponsor is 4 or 9, or it is a multiemployer plan under § 414(f).

The list of changes in section VI of this notice does not extend the deadline by which a plan must be amended to comply with any statutory, regulatory, or guidance changes. The general deadline for timely adoption of an interim or discretionary amendment can be found in section 5.05 of Rev. Proc. 2007-44.

Rev. Proc. 2007-44 sets forth procedures for issuing opinion, advisory, and determination letters and describes the five-year remedial amendment cycle for individually designed plans and the six-year remedial amendment cycle for pre-approved plans. In addition, section 5.05 of Rev. Proc. 2007-44 provides the deadline for timely adoption of an interim amendment or discretionary amendment.

Under section 4 of Rev. Proc. 2007-44, the Internal Revenue Service intends to annually publish a Cumulative List to identify statutory, regulatory and guidance changes that must be taken into account in submissions by plan sponsors to the Service for opinion, advisory and determination letters whose submission period begins on February 1st following issuance of the Cumulative List.

In Notice 2007-94, 2007-51 I.R.B. 1179, the Service published the 2007 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements (2007 Cumulative List).^[1]

This notice is being issued for purposes of the determination letter program for plans submitted for determination letters during the Cycle D submission period. In Rev. Proc. 2005-66, 2005-2 C.B. 509, the Service announced the opening of the initial five-year remedial amendment cycle. In accordance with Rev. Proc. 2007-44, the Service will start accepting determination letter applications for Cycle D plans beginning on February 1, 2009. The 12-month submission period for Cycle D plans will end January 31, 2010.

The 2008 Cumulative List, set forth in section VI of this notice, informs plan sponsors of issues the Service has specifically identified for review in determining whether a plan filing in Cycle D has been properly updated. Specifically, the 2008 Cumulative List reflects law changes under the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), Pub. L. 107-16 (with technical corrections made by the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 (JCWAA)), Pub. L. 104-147, the Pension Funding Equity Act of 2004 (PFEA), Pub. L. 108-218, the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (AJCA), Pub. L. 108-357, the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005 (KETRA), Pub. L. 109-73, the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005 (GOZA), Pub. L. 109-135, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA ’06), Pub. L. 109-280, and the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007, Pub. L. 110-28.

The Service will not consider in its review of any determination letter application, for the submission period that begins February 1, 2009, any:

(1) guidance issued after October 1, 2008;

(2) statutes enacted after October 1, 2008;

(3) qualification requirements first effective in 2010 or later; or

(4) statutory provisions that are first effective in 2009, for which there is no guidance identified in this notice.

The 2008 Cumulative List does not include any items described in (1) through (4) above. However, in order to be qualified, a plan must comply with all relevant qualification requirements, not just those on the 2008 Cumulative List.

Terminating plans must include all law changes in effect at the time of termination. See section 8 of Rev. Proc. 2007-44 regarding plan termination.

Under section 1107 of the PPA ’06, a plan amendment made pursuant to any amendment made by PPA ’06 generally may be retroactively effective, if, in addition to meeting the other applicable requirements, the amendment is made on or before the last day of the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2009 (January 1, 2011 in the case of a governmental plan).

The PPA ’06 provisions formerly appeared separately from the Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements section of the 2006 and 2007 Cumulative Lists. The PPA ’06 provisions are now included in the Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements (which is section VI of this notice) and are identified as “(New).”

Plans submitted in Cycle D must be amended to include the applicable PPA ’06 provisions listed in section VI of this notice. Thus, all plans submitted in Cycle D will receive a determination letter which covers PPA ’06, even if the deadline for amending under section 1107 of PPA ’06 is after January 31, 2010.

As an alternative to submitting a plan in Cycle D, a plan sponsor of a Cycle D plan whose first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2009 ends on or after February 1, 2010, may defer submission of its plan until Cycle E (February 1, 2010 - January 31, 2011). In order to defer submission of such a plan until Cycle E, an application must be timely filed in Cycle E. In such a case, the plan will be treated as having been filed within the plan’s EGTRRA remedial amendment period and will be reviewed on the basis of the 2009 Cumulative List. However, such a plan will be treated as a Cycle E plan solely for this initial cycle, and all subsequent submissions will be made in Cycle D.

Under sections 104(d)(2) and 105(c) of the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 (HEART Act), Pub. L. 110-245, a plan amendment made pursuant to sections 104(a) or 105(b)(1) of the HEART Act generally may be retroactively effective, if, in addition to meeting the other applicable requirements, the amendment is made on or before the last day of the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2010 (January 1, 2012 in the case of a governmental plan).

Plans submitted in Cycle D can be amended, at the option of plan sponsors, to include the applicable HEART Act provisions listed in section VII of this notice. However, the Service will not consider the HEART Act in issuing determination letters for Cycle D plans, and such letters cannot be relied on with respect to the requirements of the HEART Act.

Section 107(a) of the HEART Act extends the applicability of the qualified reservist distribution to individuals ordered or called to duty after December 31, 2007. The Service is treating an amendment made pursuant to section 107 of the HEART Act as if it was included in the amendments described in section 1107 of PPA ’06. See section VI of this notice, # 11, footnote 4, with respect to § 401(k)(2)(B)(i)(V) qualified reservist distributions.

The following list consists of statutory provisions and associated guidance which reflect changes to plan qualification requirements. Miscellaneous guidance is also provided. The Service has identified below plan qualification requirements which were not on the 2007 or earlier Cumulative Lists as “(New)”. Thus, the 2008 Cumulative List contains those plan qualification requirements listed in the 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 Cumulative Lists as well as additional 2008 plan qualification requirements.

The following guidance contains sample or model amendments: Notice 2001-57, 2001-2 C.B. 279 (miscellaneous EGTRRA amendments); Rev. Rul. 2001-62, 2001-2 C.B. 632 (applicable mortality table); Rev. Proc. 2002-29, 2002-1 C.B. 1176 (required minimum distribution amendments); Rev. Proc. 2003-13, 2003-1 C.B. 317 (required language for deemed IRAs); Notice 2005-5 (automatic rollover); and Notice 2006-44, 2006-1 C.B. 889 (Roth § 401(k) plans).

As provided in section V of this notice, plans submitting in Cycle D may be amended for the HEART Act, but the Service will not consider the HEART Act in issuing determination letters. The HEART Act provisions are listed below.

The principal author of this notice is Angelique Carrington of the Employee Plans, Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division. For further information regarding this notice, please contact the Employee Plans taxpayer assistance answering service at 1-877-829-5500 (a toll-free number) or e-mail Ms. Carrington at RetirementPlanQuestions@irs.gov.

This notice informs the States of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wisconsin of those counties that comprise the Midwestern disaster area for purposes of certain provisions of the Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008 (Division C of Public Law 110-343) (Act). In addition, this notice informs these States of the portion of their State population that is located in the Midwestern disaster area for purposes of determining the (1) Midwestern disaster housing amount under § 1400N(c)(1)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code), as applied and modified by section 702 of the Act, (2) maximum aggregate face amount of qualified Midwestern disaster area bonds (Midwestern Disaster Bonds) which may be designated under § 1400N(a)(3)(A) of the Code, as applied and modified by section 702 of the Act, and (3) maximum aggregate face amount of Midwestern tax credit bonds (Midwestern Tax Credit Bonds) which may be designated under § 1400N(l)(4)(C), as applied and modified by section 702 of the Act.

This notice also informs the States of Texas and Louisiana of the counties and parishes that comprise the Hurricane Ike disaster area for purposes of certain provisions of the Act. In addition, this notice informs the States of Texas and Louisiana of their State population portion for purposes of determining the (1) Hurricane Ike Recovery Assistance housing amount under § 1400N(c)(1)(B) of the Code, as applied and modified by section 704(b) of the Act, and (2) maximum aggregate face amount of qualified Hurricane Ike disaster area bonds (Hurricane Ike Bonds) which may be designated under § 1400N(a)(3)(A), as applied and modified by section 704(a) of the Act.

This notice also provides instructions for the reporting of the issuance of Midwestern Disaster Bonds, Midwestern Tax Credit Bonds, and Hurricane Ike Bonds.

The Act provides certain tax benefits for specified counties in certain Midwestern States affected by severe storms, tornados, or flooding, and for specified counties in Texas and parishes in Louisiana affected by Hurricane Ike.

Section 702(a) of the Act provides that, subject to the modifications described in section 702 of the Act, certain provisions of or relating to the Code shall apply to any Midwestern disaster area in addition to the areas to which such provisions otherwise apply. Section 702(a)(1) provides, in part and with certain modifications, that § 1400N(a), § 1400N(c), and § 1400N(l) of the Code shall apply to the Midwestern disaster area.

Section 702(b) of the Act defines the term “Midwestern disaster area” to mean an area (1) with respect to which a major disaster has been declared by the President on or after May 20, 2008, and before August 1, 2008, under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) by reason of severe storms, tornados, or flooding occurring in any of the States of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, and (2) determined by the President to warrant individual or individual and public assistance from the Federal government under the Stafford Act for damages attributable to the severe storms, tornados, or flooding.

Under section 702(c) of the Act, any reference in the relevant provisions of § 1400N of the Code to the Gulf Opportunity Zone (GO Zone) is treated as a reference to any Midwestern disaster area and any reference to the GO Zone within a State is treated as a reference to all Midwestern disaster areas within the State.

Section 704(a) of the Act provides that, with certain modifications, § 1400N(a) of the Code shall apply to any Hurricane Ike disaster area in addition to any other area referenced in § 1400N(a). Section 704(b) of the Act provides, with certain modifications, that § 1400N(c) shall apply to any Hurricane Ike disaster area in addition to any other area referenced in § 1400N(c).

Section 704(c) of the Act defines the term “Hurricane Ike disaster area” to mean an area in the State of Texas or Louisiana (1) with respect to which a major disaster has been declared by the President on September 13, 2008, under section 401 of the Stafford Act by reason of Hurricane Ike, and (2) determined by the President to warrant individual or individual and public assistance from the Federal government under the Stafford Act for damages attributable to Hurricane Ike.

The counties located in the Midwestern disaster area are:

Although section 702(b) of the Act references the States of Kansas, Michigan, and Minnesota as Midwestern States, no county in these three States has been determined to warrant individual or individual and public assistance under the Stafford Act for damages attributable to severe storms, tornados, or flooding. Accordingly, this notice does not apply to these States.

The counties and parishes located in the Hurricane Ike disaster area are:

The most recent census estimate of the resident population released by the U.S. Census Bureau that reflects the portion of State population that is in (1) the Midwestern disaster area, or (2) the Texas counties of Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Jefferson, and Orange, and the Louisiana parishes of Calcasieu and Cameron, is the July 1, 2007, Annual Estimates of the Population for Counties released by the U.S. Census Bureau on March 20, 2008, in Press Release CB08-47.

Pending further guidance from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding the applicable forms to be used for information reporting, issuers of Midwestern Disaster Bonds, Midwestern Tax Credit Bonds and Hurricane Ike Bonds should report the issuance on IRS Form 8038, Information Return for Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bond Issues, with modifications as described below:

Midwestern Disaster Bonds. Issuers of Midwestern Disaster Bonds should report the issuance of bonds as follows:

Midwestern Tax Credit Bonds. Issuers of Midwestern Tax Credit Bonds should report the issuance on Line 20c of IRS Form 8038 and enter “Midwestern Disaster Tax Credit Bonds” on the line provided.

Hurricane Ike Bonds. Issuers of Hurricane Ike Bonds should report the issuance of bonds as follows:

The principal authors of this notice are Christopher J. Wilson, Office of the Associate Chief Counsel (Passthroughs and Special Industries) and Carla Young, Office of the Associate Chief Counsel (Financial Institutions and Products). For further information regarding the low-income housing tax credit, contact Mr. Wilson at (202) 622-3040. For further information regarding tax-exempt or tax credit bonds, contact Ms. Young at (202) 622-3980 (not toll-free calls).

This revenue procedure updates Rev. Proc. 2007-70, 2007-50 I.R.B. 1162, and Announcement 2008-63, 2008-28 I.R.B. 114, and provides optional standard mileage rates for employees, self-employed individuals, or other taxpayers to use in computing the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical, or moving expense purposes. This revenue procedure also provides rules under which the amount of ordinary and necessary expenses of local travel or transportation away from home that are paid or incurred by an employee are deemed substantiated under § 1.274-5 of the Income Tax Regulations if a payor (the employer, its agent, or a third party) provides a mileage allowance under a reimbursement or other expense allowance arrangement to pay for the expenses. Use of a method of substantiation described in this revenue procedure is not mandatory and a taxpayer may use actual allowable expenses if the taxpayer maintains adequate records or other sufficient evidence for proper substantiation. The Internal Revenue Service prospectively adjusts the business and medical and moving standard mileage rates annually (to the extent warranted).

.01 Standard mileage rates

.02 Determination of standard mileage rates. The business and medical and moving standard mileage rates reflected in this revenue procedure are based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile conducted on behalf of the Service by an independent contractor. The charitable contribution standard mileage rate is provided in § 170(i) of the Internal Revenue Code.

.01 Section 162(a) allows a deduction for all the ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on any trade or business. Under that provision, an employee or self-employed individual may deduct the cost of operating an automobile to the extent that it is used in a trade or business. However, under § 262, no portion of the cost of operating an automobile that is attributable to personal use is deductible.

.02 Section 274(d) provides, in part, that no deduction is allowed under § 162 with respect to any listed property (as defined in § 280F(d)(4) to include passenger automobiles and any other property used as a means of transportation) unless the taxpayer complies with certain substantiation requirements. Section 274(d) further provides that regulations may prescribe that some or all of the substantiation requirements do not apply to an expense that does not exceed an amount prescribed by the regulations.

.03 Section 1.274-5(j), in part, grants the Commissioner of Internal Revenue the authority to establish a method under which a taxpayer may use mileage rates to substantiate, for purposes of § 274(d), the amount of the ordinary and necessary expenses of using a vehicle for local transportation and transportation to, from, and at the destination while traveling away from home.

.04 Section 1.274-5(g), in part, grants the Commissioner the authority to prescribe rules relating to mileage allowances for ordinary and necessary expenses of using a vehicle for local transportation and transportation to, from, and at the destination while traveling away from home. Pursuant to this grant of authority, the Commissioner may prescribe rules under which the allowances, if in accordance with reasonable business practice, will be regarded as (1) equivalent to substantiation, by adequate records or other sufficient evidence, of the amount of the travel and transportation expenses for purposes of § 1.274-5(c), and (2) satisfying the requirements of an adequate accounting to the employer of the amount of the expenses for purposes of § 1.274-5(f).

.05 Section 62(a)(2)(A) allows an employee, in determining adjusted gross income, a deduction for the expenses allowed by Part VI (§ 161 and following), subchapter B, chapter 1 of the Code, paid or incurred by the employee in connection with the performance of services as an employee under a reimbursement or other expense allowance arrangement with a payor.

.06 Section 62(c) provides that an arrangement will not be treated as a reimbursement or other expense allowance arrangement for purposes of § 62(a)(2)(A) if it—

(1) does not require the employee to substantiate the expenses covered by the arrangement to the payor, or

(2) provides the employee with the right to retain any amount in excess of the substantiated expenses covered under the arrangement.

Section 62(c) further provides that the substantiation requirements described therein do not apply to any expense to the extent that, under the grant of regulatory authority in § 274(d), the Commissioner has provided that substantiation is not required for the expense.

.07 Under § 1.62-2(c), a reimbursement or other expense allowance arrangement satisfies the requirements of § 62(c) if it meets the requirements of business connection, substantiation, and returning amounts in excess of expenses as specified in the regulations. If an arrangement meets these requirements, all amounts paid under the arrangement are treated as paid under an accountable plan and are excluded from income and wages. If an arrangement does not meet these requirements, all amounts paid under the arrangement are treated as paid under a nonaccountable plan and are included in the employee’s gross income, must be reported as wages or compensation on the employee’s Form W-2, and are subject to the withholding and payment of employment taxes. Section 1.62-2(e)(2) specifically provides that substantiation of certain business expenses in accordance with rules prescribed under the authority of § 1.274-5(g) will be treated as substantiation of the amount of the expenses for purposes of § 1.62-2. Under § 1.62-2(f)(2), the Commissioner may prescribe rules under which an arrangement providing mileage allowances is treated as satisfying the requirement of returning amounts in excess of expenses, even though the arrangement does not require the employee to return the portion of the allowance that relates to miles of travel substantiated and that exceeds the amount of the employee’s expenses deemed substantiated pursuant to rules prescribed under § 274(d), provided the allowance is reasonably calculated not to exceed the amount of the employee’s expenses or anticipated expenses and the employee is required to return any portion of the allowance that relates to miles of travel not substantiated.

.08 Section 1.62-2(h)(2)(i)(B) provides that if a payor pays a mileage allowance under an arrangement that meets the requirements of § 1.62-2(c)(1), the portion, if any, of the allowance that relates to miles of travel substantiated in accordance with § 1.62-2(e), that exceeds the amount of the employee’s expenses deemed substantiated for the travel pursuant to rules prescribed under § 274(d) and § 1.274-5(g), and that the employee is not required to return, is subject to withholding and payment of employment taxes. See §§ 31.3121(a)-3, 31.3231(e)-1(a)(5), 31.3306(b)-2, and 31.3401(a)-4 of the Employment Tax Regulations. Because the employee is not required to return this excess portion, the reasonable period of time provisions of § 1.62-2(g) (relating to the return of excess amounts) do not apply to this excess portion.

.09 Under § 1.62-2(h)(2)(i)(B)(4), the Commissioner may provide special rules regarding the timing of withholding and payment of employment taxes on mileage allowances.

.10 Under §1.62-2(k), if a payor’s reimbursement or other expense allowance arrangement, such as a mileage allowance, evidences a pattern of abuse of the rules of § 62(c) and §1.62-2, all payments under the arrangement will be treated as made under a nonaccountable plan. See Rev. Rul. 2006-56, 2006-2 C.B. 874, for an example of one type of abuse of § 62(c) and §1.62-2.

.01 Standard mileage rate. The term “standard mileage rate” means the applicable amount provided by the Service for optional use by employees or self-employed individuals in computing the deductible costs of operating automobiles (including vans, pickups, or panel trucks) they own or lease for business purposes, or by taxpayers in computing the deductible costs of operating automobiles for charitable, medical, or moving expense purposes.

.02 Transportation expenses. The term “transportation expenses” means the expenses of operating an automobile for local travel or transportation away from home.

.03 Mileage allowance. The term “mileage allowance” means a payment under a reimbursement or other expense allowance arrangement that is:

(1) paid with respect to the ordinary and necessary business expenses incurred, or that the payor reasonably anticipates will be incurred, by an employee for transportation expenses in connection with the performance of services as an employee of the employer,

(2) reasonably calculated not to exceed the amount of the expenses or the anticipated expenses, and

(3) paid at the applicable standard mileage rate, a flat rate or stated schedule, or in accordance with any other Service-specified rate or schedule.

.04 Flat rate or stated schedule. A mileage allowance is paid at a flat rate or stated schedule if it is provided on a uniform and objective basis with respect to the expenses described in section 4.03 of this revenue procedure. The allowance may be paid periodically at a fixed rate, at a cents-per-mile rate, at a variable rate based on a stated schedule, at a rate that combines any of these rates, or on any other basis that is consistently applied and in accordance with reasonable business practice. Thus, for example, a periodic payment at a fixed rate to cover the fixed costs (including depreciation (or lease payments), insurance, registration and license fees, and personal property taxes) of driving an automobile in connection with the performance of services as an employee of the employer, coupled with a periodic payment at a cents-per-mile rate to cover the variable costs (including gasoline and all taxes thereon, oil, tires, and routine maintenance and repairs) of using an automobile for those purposes, is an allowance paid at a flat rate or stated schedule. Likewise, a periodic payment at a variable rate based on a stated schedule for different locales to cover the costs of driving an automobile in connection with the performance of services as an employee is an allowance paid at a flat rate or stated schedule.

.01 In general. The standard mileage rate for transportation expenses is 55 cents per mile for all miles of use for business purposes.

.02 Use of the business standard mileage rate. A taxpayer may use the business standard mileage rate with respect to an automobile that is either owned or leased by the taxpayer. A taxpayer generally may deduct an amount equal to either the business standard mileage rate times the number of business miles traveled or the actual costs (both fixed and variable) paid or incurred by the taxpayer that are allocable to traveling those business miles.

.03 Business standard mileage rate in lieu of fixed and variable costs. A deduction using the business standard mileage rate is computed on a yearly basis and is in lieu of all fixed and variable costs of the automobile allocable to business purposes (except as provided in section 9.06 of this revenue procedure). Items such as depreciation (or lease payments), maintenance and repairs, tires, gasoline (including all taxes thereon), oil, insurance, and license and registration fees are included in fixed and variable costs for this purpose.

.04 Parking fees, tolls, interest, and taxes. Parking fees and tolls attributable to use of the automobile for business purposes may be deducted as separate items. Likewise, interest relating to the purchase of the automobile as well as state and local personal property taxes may be deducted as separate items, but only to the extent allowable under § 163 or § 164, respectively. Section 163(h)(2)(A) expressly provides that interest is nondeductible personal interest if it is paid or accrued on indebtedness properly allocable to the trade or business of performing services as an employee. Section 164 expressly provides that state and local taxes that are paid or accrued by a taxpayer in connection with an acquisition or disposition of property are treated as part of the cost of the acquired property or as a reduction in the amount realized on the disposition of the property. If the automobile is operated less than 100 percent for business purposes, an allocation is required to determine the business and nonbusiness portion of the taxes and interest deduction allowable.

.05 Depreciation. For owned automobiles placed in service for business purposes, and for which the business standard mileage rate has been used for any year, depreciation is considered to have been allowed at the rate of 16 cents per mile for 2003 and 2004, 17 cents per mile for 2005 and 2006, 19 cents per mile for 2007, and 21 cents per mile for 2008 and 2009, for those years in which the business standard mileage rate was used. If actual costs were used for one or more of those years, these rates do not apply to any year in which actual costs were used. The depreciation described above reduces the basis of the automobile (but not below zero) in determining adjusted basis as required by § 1016.

.06 Limitations.

(1) The business standard mileage rate may not be used to compute the deductible expenses of (a) automobiles used for hire, such as taxicabs, or (b) five or more automobiles owned or leased by a taxpayer and used simultaneously (such as in fleet operations).

(2) The business standard mileage rate may not be used to compute the deductible business expenses of an automobile leased by a taxpayer unless the taxpayer uses either the business standard mileage rate or a fixed and variable rate allowance (FAVR allowance) (as provided in section 8 of this revenue procedure) to compute the deductible business expenses of the automobile for the entire lease period (including renewals). For a lease commencing on or before December 31, 1997, the “entire lease period” means the portion of the lease period (including renewals) remaining after that date.

(3) The business standard mileage rate may not be used to compute the deductible expenses of an automobile for which the taxpayer has (a) claimed depreciation using a method other than straight-line for its estimated useful life, (b) claimed a § 179 deduction, (c) claimed the special depreciation allowance under § 168(k), or (d) used the Accelerated Cost Recovery System (ACRS) under former § 168 or the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) under current § 168. By using the business standard mileage rate, the taxpayer has elected to exclude the automobile (if owned) from MACRS pursuant to § 168(f)(1). If, after using the business standard mileage rate, the taxpayer uses actual costs, the taxpayer must use straight-line depreciation for the automobile’s remaining estimated useful life (subject to the applicable depreciation deduction limitations under § 280F).

(4) The business standard mileage rate and this revenue procedure may not be used to compute the amount of the deductible automobile expenses of an employee of the United States Postal Service incurred in performing services involving the collection and delivery of mail on a rural route if the employee receives qualified reimbursements (as defined in § 162(o)) for the expenses. See § 162(o) for the rules that apply to these qualified reimbursements.

.01 Charitable. Section 170(i) provides a standard mileage rate of 14 cents per mile for purposes of computing the charitable contribution deduction for use of an automobile in connection with rendering gratuitous services to a charitable organization under § 170.

.02 Medical and moving. The standard mileage rate is 24 cents per mile for use of an automobile (1) to obtain medical care described in § 213, or (2) as part of a move for which the expenses are deductible under § 217.

.03 Charitable or medical and moving standard mileage rates in lieu of variable expenses. A deduction computed using the applicable standard mileage rate for charitable, medical, or moving expense miles is in lieu of all variable expenses (including gasoline and oil) of the automobile allocable to those purposes. Costs for items such as depreciation (or lease payments), insurance, and license and registration fees are not deductible, and are not included in the charitable or medical and moving standard mileage rates.

.04 Parking fees, tolls, interest, and taxes. Parking fees and tolls attributable to the use of the automobile for charitable, medical, or moving expense purposes may be deducted as separate items. Interest relating to the purchase of the automobile and state and local personal property taxes are not deductible as charitable, medical, or moving expenses, but they may be deducted as separate items to the extent allowable under § 163 or § 164, respectively.

.01 In general.

(1) The ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred by an employee in driving an automobile owned or leased by the employee in connection with the performance of services as an employee of the employer are deemed substantiated (in an amount determined under section 9 of this revenue procedure) when a payor reimburses those expenses with a mileage allowance using a flat rate or stated schedule that combines periodic fixed and variable rate payments that meet all the requirements of section 8 of this revenue procedure (a FAVR allowance).

(2) The amount of a FAVR allowance must be based on data that (a) is derived from the base locality, (b) reflects retail prices paid by consumers, and (c) is reasonable and statistically defensible in approximating the actual expenses employees receiving the allowance would incur as owners of the standard automobile.

.02 Computation of FAVR allowance.

(1) FAVR allowance. A FAVR allowance includes periodic fixed payments and periodic variable payments. A payor may maintain more than one FAVR allowance. A FAVR allowance that uses the same payor, standard automobile (or an automobile of the same make and model that is comparably equipped), retention period, and business use percentage is considered one FAVR allowance, even though other features of the allowance may vary. A FAVR allowance also includes any optional high mileage payments; however, optional high mileage payments are included in the employee’s gross income, are reported as wages or other compensation on the employee’s Form W-2, and are subject to withholding and payment of employment taxes when paid. See section 9.05 of this revenue procedure. An optional high mileage payment covers the additional depreciation for a standard automobile attributable to business miles driven and substantiated by the employee for a calendar year in excess of the annual business mileage for that year. If an employee is covered by the FAVR allowance for less than the entire calendar year, the annual business mileage may be prorated on a monthly basis for purposes of the preceding sentence.

(2) Periodic fixed payment. A periodic fixed payment covers the projected fixed costs (including depreciation (or lease payments), insurance, registration and license fees, and personal property taxes) of driving the standard automobile in connection with the performance of services as an employee of the employer in a base locality, and must be paid at least quarterly. A periodic fixed payment may be computed by (a) dividing the total projected fixed costs of the standard automobile for all years of the retention period, determined at the beginning of the retention period, by the number of periodic fixed payments in the retention period, and (b) multiplying the resulting amount by the business use percentage.

(3) Periodic variable payment. A periodic variable payment covers the projected variable costs (including gasoline and all taxes thereon, oil, tires, and routine maintenance and repairs) of driving a standard automobile in connection with the performance of services as an employee of the employer in a base locality, and must be paid at least quarterly. The rate of a periodic variable payment for a computation period may be computed by dividing the total projected variable costs for the standard automobile for the computation period, determined at the beginning of the computation period, by the computation period mileage. A computation period can be any period of a year or less. Computation period mileage is the total mileage (business and personal) a payor reasonably projects a standard automobile will be driven during a computation period and equals the retention mileage divided by the number of computation periods in the retention period. For each business mile substantiated by the employee for the computation period, the periodic variable payment must be paid at a rate that does not exceed the rate for that computation period.

(4) Base locality. A base locality is the particular geographic locality or region of the United States in which the costs of driving an automobile in connection with the performance of services as an employee of the employer are generally paid or incurred by the employee. Thus, for purposes of determining the amount of fixed costs, the base locality is generally the geographic locality or region in which the employee resides. For purposes of determining the amount of variable costs, the base locality is generally the geographic locality or region in which the employee drives the automobile in connection with the performance of services as an employee of the employer.

(5) Standard automobile. A standard automobile is the automobile selected by the payor on which a specific FAVR allowance is based.

(6) Standard automobile cost. The standard automobile cost for a calendar year may not exceed 95 percent of the sum of (a) the retail dealer invoice cost of the standard automobile in the base locality, and (b) state and local sales or use taxes applicable on the purchase of the automobile. Further, the standard automobile cost may not exceed $27,200.

(7) Annual mileage. Annual mileage is the total mileage (business and personal) a payor reasonably projects a standard automobile will be driven during a calendar year. Annual mileage equals the annual business mileage divided by the business use percentage.

(8) Annual business mileage. Annual business mileage is the mileage a payor reasonably projects a standard automobile will be driven by an employee in connection with the performance of services as an employee of the employer during the calendar year, but may not be less than 6,250 miles for a calendar year. Annual business mileage equals the annual mileage multiplied by the business use percentage.

(9) Business use percentage. A business use percentage is determined by dividing the annual business mileage by the annual mileage. The business use percentage may not exceed 75 percent. In lieu of demonstrating the reasonableness of the business use percentage based on records of total mileage and business mileage driven by the employees annually, a payor may use a business use percentage that is less than or equal to the following percentages for a FAVR allowance that is paid for the following annual business mileage:

(10) Retention period. A retention period is the period in calendar years selected by the payor during which the payor expects an employee to drive a standard automobile in connection with the performance of services as an employee of the employer before the automobile is replaced. The period may not be less than two calendar years.

(11) Retention mileage. Retention mileage is the annual mileage multiplied by the number of calendar years in the retention period.

(12) Residual value. The residual value of a standard automobile is the projected amount for which it could be sold at the end of the retention period after being driven the retention mileage. The Service will accept the following safe harbor residual values for a standard automobile computed as a percentage of the standard automobile cost:

.03 FAVR allowance in lieu of fixed and variable costs.

(1) A reimbursement computed using a FAVR allowance is in lieu of the employee’s deduction of all the fixed and variable costs paid or incurred by an employee in driving the automobile in connection with the performance of services as an employee of the employer, except as provided in section 9.06 of this revenue procedure. Items such as depreciation (or lease payments), maintenance and repairs, tires, gasoline (including all taxes thereon), oil, insurance, license and registration fees, and personal property taxes are included in fixed and variable costs for this purpose.

(2) Parking fees and tolls attributable to an employee driving the standard automobile in connection with the performance of services as an employee of the employer are not included in fixed and variable costs and may be deducted as separate items. Similarly, interest relating to the purchase of the standard automobile may be deducted as a separate item, but only to the extent that the interest is an allowable deduction under § 163.

.04 Depreciation.

(1) A FAVR allowance may not be paid with respect to an automobile for which the employee has (a) claimed depreciation using a method other than straight-line for its estimated useful life, (b) claimed a § 179 deduction, (c) claimed the special depreciation allowance under § 168(k), or (d) used ACRS under former § 168 or MACRS under current § 168. If an employee uses actual costs for an owned automobile that has been covered by a FAVR allowance, the employee must use straight-line depreciation for the automobile’s remaining estimated useful life (subject to the applicable depreciation deduction limitations under § 280F).

(2) Except as provided in section 8.04(3) of this revenue procedure, the total amount of the depreciation component for the retention period taken into account in computing the periodic fixed payments for that retention period may not exceed the excess of the standard automobile cost over the residual value of the standard automobile. In addition, the total amount of the depreciation component may not exceed the sum of the annual § 280F limitations on depreciation (in effect at the beginning of the retention period) that apply to the standard automobile during the retention period.

(3) If the depreciation component of periodic fixed payments exceeds the limitations in section 8.04(2) of this revenue procedure, that section will be treated as satisfied in any year during which the total annual amount of the periodic fixed payments and the periodic variable payments made to an employee driving 80 percent of the annual business mileage of the standard automobile does not exceed the amount obtained by multiplying 80 percent of the annual business mileage of the standard automobile by the business standard mileage rate for that year (under section 5.01 of the applicable revenue procedure).

(4) The depreciation included in each periodic fixed payment portion of a FAVR allowance paid with respect to an automobile reduces the basis of the automobile (but not below zero) in determining adjusted basis as required by § 1016. See section 8.07(2) of this revenue procedure for the requirement that the employer report the depreciation component of a periodic fixed payment to the employee.

.05 FAVR allowance limitations.

(1) A FAVR allowance may be paid only to an employee who substantiates to the payor for a calendar year at least 5,000 miles driven in connection with the performance of services as an employee of the employer or, if greater, 80 percent of the annual business mileage of that FAVR allowance. If the employee is covered by the FAVR allowance for less than the entire calendar year, these limits may be prorated on a monthly basis.

(2) A FAVR allowance may not be paid to a control employee (as defined in § 1.61-21(f)(5) and (6), excluding the $100,000 limitation in paragraph (f)(5)(iii)).

(3) An employer may not pay a FAVR allowance if at any time during a calendar year a majority of the employees covered by the FAVR allowance are management employees.

(4) An employer may not pay a FAVR allowance to any employee unless at all times during a calendar year at least five employees in total are covered by FAVR allowances provided by the employer.

(5) A FAVR allowance may be paid only with respect to an automobile (a) owned or leased by the employee receiving the payment, (b) the cost of which, as a new vehicle (whether or not purchased new by the employee), was at least 90 percent of the standard automobile cost taken into account for purposes of determining the FAVR allowance for the first calendar year the employee receives the allowance with respect to that automobile, and (c) the model year of which does not differ from the current calendar year by more than the number of years in the retention period.

(6) A FAVR allowance may not be paid with respect to an automobile leased by an employee for which the employee has used actual expenses to compute the deductible business expenses of the automobile for any year during the entire lease period. For a lease commencing on or before December 31, 1997, the “entire lease period” means the portion of the lease period (including renewals) remaining after that date.

(7) The insurance cost component of a FAVR allowance must be based on the rates charged in the base locality for insurance coverage on the standard automobile during the current calendar year without taking into account rate-increasing factors such as poor driving records or young drivers.

(8) A FAVR allowance may be paid only to an employee whose insurance coverage limits on the automobile with respect to which the FAVR allowance is paid are at least equal to the insurance coverage limits used to compute the periodic fixed payment under that FAVR allowance.

.06 Employee reporting. Within 30 days after an employee’s automobile is initially covered by a FAVR allowance, or is again covered by a FAVR allowance if coverage has lapsed, the employee by written declaration must provide the payor with the following information: (1) the make, model, and year of the employee’s automobile, (2) written proof of the insurance coverage limits on the automobile, (3) the odometer reading of the automobile, (4) if owned, the purchase price of the automobile or, if leased, the price at which the automobile is ordinarily sold by retailers (the gross capitalized cost of the automobile), and (5) if owned, whether the employee has claimed depreciation with respect to the automobile using any of the depreciation methods prohibited by section 8.04(1) of this revenue procedure or, if leased, whether the employee has computed deductible business expenses with respect to the automobile using actual expenses. The information described in (1), (2), and (3) of the preceding sentence also must be supplied by the employee to the payor within 30 days after the beginning of each calendar year that the employee’s automobile is covered by a FAVR allowance.

.07 Payor recordkeeping and reporting.

(1) The payor or its agent must maintain written records setting forth (a) the statistical data and projections on which the FAVR allowance payments are based, and (b) the information provided by the employees pursuant to section 8.06 of this revenue procedure.

(2) Within 30 days of the end of each calendar year, the employer must provide each employee covered by a FAVR allowance during that year with a statement that, for automobile owners, lists the amount of depreciation included in each periodic fixed payment portion of the FAVR allowance paid during that calendar year and explains that by receiving a FAVR allowance the employee has elected to exclude the automobile from the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System pursuant to § 168(f)(1). For automobile lessees, the statement must explain that by receiving the FAVR allowance the employee may not compute the deductible business expenses of the automobile using actual expenses for the entire lease period (including renewals). For a lease commencing on or before December 31, 1997, the “entire lease period” means the portion of the lease period (including renewals) remaining after that date.

.08 Failure to meet section 8 requirements. If an employee receives a mileage allowance that fails to meet one or more of the requirements of section 8 of this revenue procedure, the employee may not be treated as covered by any FAVR allowance of the payor during the period of the failure. Nevertheless, the expenses to which that mileage allowance relates may be deemed substantiated using the method described in sections 5, 9.01(1), and 9.02 of this revenue procedure to the extent the requirements of those sections are met.

.01 If a payor pays a mileage allowance in lieu of reimbursing actual transportation expenses incurred or to be incurred by an employee, the amount of the expenses that is deemed substantiated to the payor is either:

(1) for any mileage allowance other than a FAVR allowance, the lesser of the amount paid under the mileage allowance or the applicable standard mileage rate in section 5.01 of this revenue procedure multiplied by the number of business miles substantiated by the employee; or

(2) for a FAVR allowance, the amount paid under the FAVR allowance less the sum of (a) any periodic variable rate payment that relates to miles in excess of the business miles substantiated by the employee and that the employee fails to return to the payor although required to do so, (b) any portion of a periodic fixed payment that relates to a period during which the employee is treated as not covered by the FAVR allowance and that the employee fails to return to the payor although required to do so, and (c) any optional high mileage payments.

.02 If the amount of transportation expenses is deemed substantiated under the rules provided in section 9.01 of this revenue procedure, and the employee actually substantiates to the payor the elements of time, place (or use), and business purpose of the transportation expenses in accordance with paragraphs (b)(2) (travel away from home) and (b)(6) (listed property, which includes passenger automobiles and any other property used as a means of transportation) of § 1.274-5T, and paragraph (c) of § 1.274-5, the employee is deemed to satisfy the adequate accounting requirements of § 1.274-5(f) as well as the requirement to substantiate by adequate records or other sufficient evidence for purposes of § 1.274-5(c). See also § 1.62-2(e)(1) for the rule that, in order to satisfy the substantiation requirement of an accountable plan, an arrangement must require business expenses to be substantiated to the payor within a reasonable period of time.

.03 An arrangement providing mileage allowances will be treated as satisfying the requirement of § 1.62-2(f)(2) with respect to returning amounts in excess of expenses as follows:

(1) For a mileage allowance (other than a FAVR allowance) paid only at a cents-per-mile rate, the requirement to return excess amounts is treated as satisfied if the employee is required to return within a reasonable period of time (as defined in § 1.62-2(g)) any portion of the allowance that relates to miles of travel not substantiated by the employee, even though the arrangement does not require the employee to return the portion of the allowance that relates to the miles of travel substantiated and that exceeds the amount of the employee’s expenses deemed substantiated. For example, assume a payor provides an employee an advance mileage allowance of $120.00 based on an anticipated 200 business miles at 60 cents per mile (at a time when the business standard mileage rate is 55 cents per mile), and the employee substantiates 120 business miles. The requirement to return excess amounts is treated as satisfied if the employee is required to return the portion of the allowance that relates to the 80 unsubstantiated business miles ($48.00) even though the employee is not required to return the portion of the allowance ($6.00) that exceeds the amount of the employee’s expenses deemed substantiated under section 9.01 of this revenue procedure ($66.00) for the 120 substantiated business miles. However, the $6.00 excess portion of the allowance is treated as paid under a nonaccountable plan as discussed in section 9.05.

(2) For a mileage allowance (other than a FAVR allowance) paid other than only at a cents-per-mile rate, the requirement to return excess amounts is treated as satisfied if the employee is required to return within a reasonable period of time (as defined in § 1.62-2(g)) any portion of the allowance that exceeds the product of the standard mileage rate and the number of miles of travel substantiated by the employee. For example, assume a payor provides an employee an advance mileage allowance of $400 per month plus 20 cents per mile based on an anticipated 2000 miles for a total of $800 (at a time when the business standard mileage rate is 55 cents per mile), and the employee substantiates 1000 business miles. The requirement to return excess amounts is treated as satisfied if the employee is required to return $250, the portion of the allowance that exceeds the product of the standard mileage rate and the miles substantiated ($550).

(3) For a FAVR allowance, the requirement to return excess amounts is treated as satisfied if the employee is required to return, within a reasonable period of time (as defined in § 1.62-2(g)), (a) the portion (if any) of the periodic variable payment received that relates to miles in excess of the business miles substantiated by the employee, and (b) the portion (if any) of a periodic fixed payment that relates to a period during which the employee was not covered by the FAVR allowance.

.04 An employee is not required to include in gross income the portion of a mileage allowance received from a payor that is less than or equal to the amount deemed substantiated under section 9.01 of this revenue procedure, provided the employee substantiates in accordance with section 9.02. See § 1.274-5T(f)(2)(i). Assuming that the remaining requirements for an accountable plan provided in § 1.62-2 are satisfied, that portion of the allowance is treated as paid under an accountable plan, is not reported as wages or other compensation on the employee’s Form W-2, and is exempt from withholding and payment of employment taxes. See § 1.62-2(c)(2) and (c)(4).

.05 An employee is required to include in gross income the portion of a mileage allowance received from a payor that exceeds the amount deemed substantiated under section 9.01 of this revenue procedure, provided the employee substantiates in accordance with section 9.02 of this revenue procedure. See § 1.274-5T(f)(2)(ii). In addition, the excess portion of the allowance is treated as paid under a nonaccountable plan, is reported as wages or other compensation on the employee’s Form W-2, and is subject to withholding and payment of employment taxes. See § 1.62-2(c)(3)(ii), (c)(5), and (h)(2)(i)(B).

.06 If an employee’s substantiated expenses are less than the employee’s actual expenses, the following rules apply:

(1) Except as otherwise provided in section 9.06(2) of this revenue procedure with respect to leased automobiles, if the amount of the expenses deemed substantiated under the rules provided in section 9.01 of this revenue procedure is less than the amount of the employee’s business transportation expenses, the employee may claim an itemized deduction for the amount by which the business transportation expenses exceed the amount that is deemed substantiated, provided the employee substantiates all the business transportation expenses (not just the excess over the business standard mileage rate), includes on Form 2106, Employee Business Expenses, the deemed substantiated portion of the mileage allowance received from the payor, and includes in gross income the portion (if any) of the mileage allowance received from the payor that exceeds the amount deemed substantiated. See § 1.274-5T(f)(2)(iii). However, for purposes of claiming this itemized deduction, substantiation of the amount of the expenses is not required if the employee is claiming a deduction that is equal to or less than the applicable standard mileage rate multiplied by the number of business miles substantiated by the employee minus the amount deemed substantiated under section 9.01 of this revenue procedure. The itemized deduction is subject to the 2-percent floor on miscellaneous itemized deductions provided in § 67.

(2) An employee whose business transportation expenses with respect to a leased automobile are deemed substantiated under section 9.01(1) of this revenue procedure (relating to an allowance other than a FAVR allowance) may not claim a deduction based on actual expenses under section 9.06(1) unless the employee does so consistently beginning with the first business use of the automobile after December 31, 1997. An employee whose business transportation expenses with respect to a leased automobile are deemed substantiated under section 9.01(2) of this revenue procedure (relating to a FAVR allowance) may not claim a deduction based on actual expenses.

.07 An employee may deduct an amount computed pursuant to section 5.01 of this revenue procedure only as an itemized deduction. This itemized deduction is subject to the 2-percent floor on miscellaneous itemized deductions provided in § 67.

.08 A self-employed individual may deduct an amount computed pursuant to section 5.01 of this revenue procedure in determining adjusted gross income under § 62(a)(1).

.09 If a payor’s reimbursement or other expense allowance arrangement evidences a pattern of abuse of the rules of § 62(c) and the regulations thereunder, all payments under the arrangement will be treated as made under a nonaccountable plan. See § 1.62-2(k) and Rev. Rul. 2006-56. Thus, the payments are included in the employee’s gross income, are reported as wages or other compensation on the employee’s Form W-2, and are subject to withholding and payment of employment taxes. See § 1.62-2(c)(3), (c)(5), and (h)(2), and section 10.03 of this revenue procedure.

.01 The portion of a mileage allowance (other than a FAVR allowance), if any, that relates to the miles of business travel substantiated and that exceeds the amount deemed substantiated for those miles under section 9.01(1) of this revenue procedure is treated as paid under a nonaccountable plan and is subject to withholding and payment of employment taxes. See § 1.62-2(h)(2)(i)(B).

(1) In the case of a mileage allowance paid as a reimbursement, the excess described in section 10.01 of this revenue procedure is subject to withholding and payment of employment taxes in the payroll period in which the payor reimburses the expenses for the business miles substantiated. See § 1.62-2(h)(2)(i)(B)(2).

(2) In the case of a mileage allowance paid as an advance, the excess described in section 10.01 of this revenue procedure is subject to withholding and payment of employment taxes no later than the first payroll period following the payroll period in which the business miles with respect to which the advance was paid are substantiated. See § 1.62-2(h)(2)(i)(B)(3). If some or all of the business miles with respect to which the advance was paid are not substantiated within a reasonable period of time and the employee does not return the portion of the allowance that relates to those miles within a reasonable period of time, the portion of the allowance that relates to those miles is subject to withholding and payment of employment taxes no later than the first payroll period following the end of the reasonable period. See § 1.62-2(h)(2)(i)(A).

(3) In the case of a mileage allowance that is not computed on the basis of a fixed amount per mile of travel (for example, a mileage allowance that combines periodic fixed and variable rate payments, but that does not satisfy the requirements of section 8 of this revenue procedure), the payor must compute periodically (no less frequently than quarterly) the amount, if any, that exceeds the amount deemed substantiated under section 9.01(1) of this revenue procedure by comparing the total mileage allowance paid for the period to the standard mileage rate in section 5.01 of this revenue procedure multiplied by the number of business miles substantiated by the employee for the period. Any excess is subject to withholding and payment of employment taxes no later than the first payroll period following the payroll period in which the excess is computed. See § 1.62-2(h)(2)(i)(B)(4).

(4) For example, assume an employer pays its employees a mileage allowance under an arrangement that otherwise meets the requirements of an accountable plan at a rate of 60 cents per mile (when the business standard mileage rate is 55 cents per mile). The employer does not require the return of the portion of the allowance that exceeds the business standard mileage rate for the business miles substantiated (5.0 cents). In June, the employer advances an employee $300.00 for 500 miles to be traveled during the month. In July, the employee substantiates to the employer 400 business miles traveled in June and returns $60.00 to the employer for the 100 business miles not traveled. The amount deemed substantiated for the 400 miles traveled is $220.00 and the employee is not required to return $20.00. No later than the first payroll period following the payroll period in which the 400 business miles traveled are substantiated, the employer must withhold and pay employment taxes on $20.00.

.02 The portion of a FAVR allowance, if any, that exceeds the amount deemed substantiated for those miles under section 9.01(2) of this revenue procedure is subject to withholding and payment of employment taxes. See § 1.62-2(h)(2)(i)(B).

(1) Any periodic variable rate payment that relates to miles in excess of the business miles substantiated by the employee and that the employee fails to return within a reasonable period, or any portion of a periodic fixed payment that relates to a period during which the employee is treated as not covered by the FAVR allowance and that the employee fails to return within a reasonable period, is subject to withholding and payment of employment taxes no later than the first payroll period following the end of the reasonable period. See § 1.62-2(h)(2)(i)(A).

(2) Any optional high mileage payment is subject to withholding and payment of employment taxes when paid.

.03 If a mileage allowance arrangement has no mechanism or process to determine when an allowance exceeds the amount that may be deemed substantiated and the arrangement routinely pays allowances in excess of the amount that may be deemed substantiated without requiring actual substantiation of all the expenses or repayment of the excess amount, the failure of the arrangement to treat the excess allowances as wages for employment tax purposes causes all payments made under the arrangement to be treated as made under a nonaccountable plan under §1.62-2(k). Therefore, all payments made under the arrangement are subject to withholding and payment of employment taxes. See Rev. Rul. 2006-56 and § 9.09 of this revenue procedure.

This revenue procedure is effective for (1) deductible transportation expenses paid or incurred on or after January 1, 2009, and (2) mileage allowances or reimbursements paid to an employee or to a charitable volunteer (a) on or after January 1, 2009, and (b) with respect to transportation expenses paid or incurred by the employee or charitable volunteer on or after January 1, 2009.

Rev. Proc. 2007-70 and Announcement 2008-63 are superseded.

The principal author of this revenue procedure is Bernard P. Harvey of the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Income Tax and Accounting). For further information regarding this revenue procedure, contact Mr. Harvey at (202) 622-4930 (not a toll-free call).

This announcement clarifies instructions in Publication 1187, Specifications for Filing of Form 1042-S, Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding, Electronically. For all ‘City’ address fields in the Transmitter ‘T’ Record, the Withholding Agent ‘W’ Record, and the Recipient ‘Q’ Record, only enter alpha characters and those special characters identified within the instructions. Do not input any numeric or foreign characters in these fields. Entering numeric or foreign characters in ‘City’ address fields will cause your file to be rejected. Use this announcement in conjunction with Publication 1187, revised August 2008 and Announcement 2008-95, 2008-42 I.R.B. 964, to format your Form 1042-S information for Tax Year 2008.

If you have questions concerning the filing of Form 1042-S, Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding, please contact the Internal Revenue Service ECC-MTB toll-free at 866-455-7438 within the U.S. or 304-263-8700 outside the U.S.

If an organization listed above submits information that warrants the renewal of its classification as a public charity or as a private operating foundation, the Internal Revenue Service will issue a ruling or determination letter with the revised classification as to foundation status. Grantors and contributors may thereafter rely upon such ruling or determination letter as provided in section 1.509(a)-7 of the Income Tax Regulations. It is not the practice of the Service to announce such revised classification of foundation status in the Internal Revenue Bulletin.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury.

Notice of public hearing on proposed rulemaking.

This document provides notice of a public hearing on proposed regulations (REG-106251-08, 2008-39 I.R.B. 774) relating to options granted under an employee stock purchase plan as defined in section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code. These proposed regulations affect certain taxpayers who participate in the transfer of stock pursuant to the exercise of options granted under an employee stock purchase plan.

The public hearing is being held on Thursday, January 15, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. The IRS must receive outlines of the topics to be discussed at the public hearing by Thursday, December 18, 2008.

The public hearing is being held in the IRS Auditorium, Internal Revenue Service Building, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20224.

Send Submissions to CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG-106251-08), room 5205, Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC 20044. Submissions may be hand-delivered Monday through Friday to CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG-106251-08), Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, or sent electronically via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov (IRS-REG-106251-08).

Concerning the regulations, Thomas Scholz (202) 622-6030; concerning submissions of comments, the hearing and/or to be placed on the building access list to attend the hearing Funmi Taylor at (202) 622-7180 (not toll-free numbers).

The subject of the public hearing is the notice of proposed rulemaking (REG-106251-08) that was published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 (73 FR 43875).

The rules of 26 CFR 601.601(a)(3) apply to the hearing. Persons who wish to present oral comments at the hearing that submitted written comments by October 27, 2008, must submit an outline of the topics to be addressed and the amount of time to be denoted to each topic (Signed original and eight (8) copies)

A period of 10 minutes is allotted to each person for presenting oral comments. After the deadline for receiving outlines has passed, the IRS will prepare an agenda containing the schedule of speakers. Copies of the agenda will be made available, free of charge, at the hearing or in the Freedom of Information Reading Room (FOIA RR) (Room 1621) which is located at the 11^th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, entrance, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.

Because of access restrictions, the IRS will not admit visitors beyond the immediate entrance area more than 30 minutes before the hearing starts. For information about having your name placed on the building access list to attend the hearing, see the “FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT” section of this document.