Tax and estate planning update

To our friends who are tax and estate planning professionals, I hope you're off to a great start in 2022. Well, 2022 tax season is upon us, so I thought I'd share a few (hopefully) relevant and timely tax-related articles. 

What's New for 2022 in Federal Taxes, by Paul Bonner, The Tax Adviser
2022 dawns with the advent of at least one new tax provision, lapses of a number of others, and at least a couple of sets of required regulatory rules.

Customer Service at the IRS Is So Bad, Even Tax Pros Are Fed Up, by David Hood, Allyson Versprille, and Kaustuv Basu, Bloomberg
As tax season approaches, the agency is short-staffed, underfunded, and so overwhelmed with calls that even a phone number for VIPs is a bust.

IRS Updates Guidance on Substantially Equal Period Payments Exception to 10% Additional Tax, Thomson Reuters
In Notice 2002-6, the IRS updates and clarifies its guidance on the substantially equal periodic payments exception, superseding both the previous guidance for qualified retirement plans and guidance that applied the same requirements to non-qualified annuity contracts. 

New 2022 IRS Life Expectancy Table Available Here, by Sarah Brenner, JD, Ed Slott
The IRS has released new life expectancy tables for calculating required minimum distributions (RMDs) for 2022. The most commonly used tables are the Uniform Lifetime and the Single Life Expectancy Tables.  The Uniform Lifetime Table is used by most IRA owners who need to take 2022 lifetime RMDs. The Single Life Expectancy Table is used by IRA beneficiaries who must take an annual RMD for 2022.

Medicare Do-Over Season, by Mary Beth Franklin, Investment News
Those who missed enrolling in the program when they were first eligible get a second chance during Medicare's general enrollment period, which runs from Jan. 1 through March 31 each year.

How Your Parents' Debt Could Outlive Them, by Liz Weston, AP News
Adult children typically don’t have to pay their parents’ bills, but there are exceptions. And even when a child doesn’t have to pay directly, debt could reduce what they inherit.

Non-Fungible Tokens - What Every Estate Planner Needs to Know, Gerry W. Beyer, Leimberg Information Services
You need subscription to access this article, but here is an excerpt: 
Q: If I plan on advising clients about NFTs, is there anything else you would recommend that I do? A: Yes, I recommend that you create a digital wallet and create an NFT. You will learn a great deal by going through the process yourself... Here are the basics steps you can take....