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Lynn Nichols of Nichols Patrick CPE delivers the latest update in the federal tax area.  For all of your CPE needs before the June 30 reporting period, see www.ficpa.org/cpe.  The podcast covers the following:

1. OPR Planning add Staff and Open Regional Offices - (Tax Notes Today; Article by Shamik Trivedi; 5/7/2012)
   The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility is ramping up its hiring for 2012 and 2013     and expects to be fully staffed by 2014, according to OPR Director Karen Hawkins. 
   
   OPR Careful About Charging Practitioner Misconduct - (Tax Notes Today; Article by Jeremiah Coder; 5/9/2012)
   OPR Director Karen Hawkins said May 8 that her office is "protective of initiating complaints" against alleged practitioner misconduct under Circular 230.
   
   
2. Final Regs on Allocation of Mortgage Insurance Premiums - (T.D. 9588; 77 F.R. 26698-26699; 5/7/2012)
   Final regulations explain how individuals may allocate prepaid qualified mortgage insurance premiums to determine the amount of the prepaid premium that is treated as qualified residence interest each tax year under section 163(h)(4)(F).
   
   
3. Tax Foundation Says Taxes Paid Exceed Housing, Food, Clothing Costs - (Tax Foundation Bullletin #299; 5/3/2012)
   Taxpayers in 2012 will pay $152 billion more in taxes than they will spend on housing, food, and clothing, a sign that taxes "have increased considerably in recent decades" compared with the basic costs of living and that the portion of private expenditures funded through government outlays has expanded. 
   
   
4. Beneficiary Who Acquired Home From Trust Not Eligible for Home Buyer Credit - (Bruce Devon Runyan v. Comm.; T.C. Summ. Op. 2012-42; 5/7/2012)
   The Tax Court, in a summary opinion, held that an individual isn't entitled to a first-time home buyer credit for a residence he acquired from a trust of which he was a beneficiary, finding that the property wasn't purchased for purposes of the section 36(a) credit because he acquired it from a related person.
   
   
5. Taxpayer Not Required to Recognize Gain on Installment Notes Until Disposition - (FAA 20121701F; 3/21/2012; rel. 4/27/2012)
   In partially redacted field attorney advice, the IRS concluded that a taxpayer is not required to recognize income from discharge of indebtedness, gain deferred under its installment sale, or gain on a disposition of an installment obligation.
   
   
6. Payments Received by Medical Professionals Under State Program Aren't Loan Repayments or Debt Forgiveness - (PMTA** 2012-001; 9/24/2011; rel. 5/8/2012).
   In partially redacted program manager technical assistance, the IRS concluded that    payments individuals receive from state-run medical professionals programs, including tuition reimbursement and incentives, are includable in their gross incomes under section 61(a) as compensation for services and are not excludable under section 108(f)(4).      (**Program Manager Technical Assistance)
   
   
7. Bad Debt Deduction Denied, Deficiency Determination Upheld - (George Saadian v. Comm.; T.C. Summ. Op. 2012-44; 5/10/2012)
   The Tax Court, in a summary opinion sustaining a deficiency determination, held that an individual was not entitled to a bad debt deduction for an unpaid loan he made to a relative who failed to repay it before his death, finding that if the debt became worthless, it did so prior to the year in which he claimed the deduction.