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Lynn Nichols of NicholsPatrick CPE delivers this week’s federal tax podcast.  For all of your tax CPE needs, please click here.  For a recap of the fiscal cliff actions or inactions and what you need to know for tax season, please consider this 2-hour webinar: The Landscape for the Tax Professional: Now and In the Not Too Distant Future.

This week's podcast includes:

• IRS Changes Applicability Date for Temporary 263(a) Regs
• Easement Contribution Deduction Denied - Mortgage Not Subordinated
• Breach of Contract Claims Against Insurance Company Dismissed
• State Court Order Invalid To Release Exemption Claim
• Form 8332 Releasing Claims to Child Tax Credit and Exemption Is Valid
• No Dependency Exemption or Child Tax Credit for Noncustodial Parent
• Conditions in Marital Settlement Agreement Bar Dependency Exemptions
• Individual's Suit Challenging Worker Classification Dismissed
• (‘Doc’ numbers are citations to the listed item in Tax Analysts’ Tax Notes Today. We rely on, and recommend, Tax Notes Today and Tax Analysts’ Federal Research Library as essential tools for the tax professional.  www.taxanalysts.com )

1. IRS Changes Applicability Date for Temporary 263(a) Regs  (T.D. 9564; 77 F.R. 74583-74586; 12/17/2012)
   The IRS has amended temporary regulations on the deduction and capitalization of   tangible assets, moving the applicability date from tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2012, to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2014, and letting taxpayers choose to apply the temporary regs for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2012. [Doc 2012-25806]
   
   
2. Easement Contribution Deduction Denied - Mortgage Not Subordinated (Walter C. Minnick et ux. v. Commissioner; T.C. Memo. 2012-345; 12/17/2012)
   The Tax Court, upholding accuracy-related penalties, held that a couple wasn't entitled to a charitable contribution deduction for an easement donation because the bank's mortgage on the property was not subordinated to the conservation easement when it was granted as required under reg. section 1.170A-14.    [Doc 2012-25984]
   
   
3. Breach of Contract Claims Against Insurance Company Dismissed (Wing C. Chau M.D. et al. v. Aviva Life and Annuity Co.; 12/14/2012)
   A U.S. district court dismissed breach of contract claims filed by a group of physicians and dentists and their professional corporations against a life insurance company for allegedly issuing insurance policies with promises of tax benefits that were not provided, finding that the company didn't breach any terms of the contracts at issue. [Doc 2012-25933]
   
   
4. State Court Order Invalid To Release Exemption Claim (Billy Edward Armstrong et ux. v. Commissioner; 139 T.C. No. 18; 12/19/2012)
   The Tax Court, denying a couple's dependency exemption deduction, held that a state court order giving the husband the right to claim the deduction for his son didn't comply with section 152(e)(2)(A) because it didn't declare that his former wife wouldn't claim the child as a dependent; the court declined to uphold an accuracy-related penalty. [Doc 2012-26264]
   
   
5. Form 8332 Releasing Claims to Child Tax Credit and Exemption Is Valid (Rachel George v. Commissioner; 139 T.C. No. 19; 12/19/2012)
   The Tax Court granted the IRS partial summary judgment, holding that a mother's     release of claims to dependency tax exemptions for her daughter was valid and that she was not entitled to the exemption or to a child tax credit and finding that the Form 8332 she signed was valid. [Doc 2012-26266]
   
   
6. No Dependency Exemption or Child Tax Credit for Noncustodial Parent (David Matthew Hanson et ux. v. Commissioner; T.C. Memo. 2012-352; 12/19/2012)
   The Tax Court held that a noncustodial parent and his wife weren't entitled to claim a dependency exemption deduction or child tax credit for the husband's child from a prior marriage because a copy of the divorce settlement, attached to the return at issue, didn't constitute a release of the former wife's claim to the exemption. [Doc 2012-26272]
   
   
7. Conditions in Marital Settlement Agreement Bar Dependency Exemptions (Gabriel Villagrana v. Commissioner; T.C. Memo. 2012-354; 12/20/2012)
   The Tax Court held that an individual was not entitled to dependency exemptions for his five children from a dissolved marriage, finding that the right to the exemptions was conditional in the marital settlement agreement, based on his being current on child support payments and therefore did not conform to the substance of Form 8332. [Doc 2012-26397]
   
   
8. Individual's Suit Challenging Worker Classification Dismissed (Nick Spagnolo v. IRS; UDSC HI; No. 1:12-cv-00255; 12/18/2012)
   A U.S. district court, finding that an individual lacked standing, dismissed his suit against the IRS challenging his classification as an independent contractor rather than employee of three telephone directory delivery companies and seeking to have his former employers pay employment taxes on his behalf so he could receive disability benefits. [Doc 2012-26314]