Majority of Insurers Not Up to Speed with Additional Tax Reform Guidance

A flash poll conducted by Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP (Baker Tilly) indicates over 50 percent of insurers do not feel their company is staying up to date with the additional guidance that has been released since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

“The TCJA presents a lot of gray areas in the U.S. tax code that are often subject to interpretation,” Carrie Small, CPA, MST, partner and leader of Baker Tilly’s insurance tax practice, said. “However, it is important to note that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) indicated they will be reasonable with enforcement of the TCJA as long as tax payers make a good faith effort to comply.”

“There are many items that are being considered for additional guidance, updates or technical corrections needed as a result of tax reform,” Michael Gehr, CPA, MST, senior tax manager with Baker Tilly’s financial services practice, said. “The fact that the IRS has made its top 17 regulation projects in its priority guidance plan all related to tax reform speaks loudly for the amount of uncertainty that was created from the TCJA.”