AICPA Releases Priority Guidance Plan on SECURE 2.0 Act

The American Institute of CPAs recently submitted a letter to the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) prioritizing certain provisions of SECURE 2.0 in need of immediate guidance to assist taxpayers with tax compliance. Among the ten recommendations provided in the letter are the following:

• Section 301, addressing the recovery of retirement plan overpayments, including clarification of how the effective date rules should be applied to certain actions (e.g., overpayment) occurring before the date of enactment.
   
• Section 110, addressing the treatment of student loan payments as elective deferrals for purposes of matching contributions, including clarifying whether the term “qualified student loan payment” includes loans paid for the education of spouses and dependents. Also, we suggest permitting employers to allow self-certification subject to employer provided criteria, including evidence of the loan and repayments.
   
• Section 127, addressing the treatment of emergency savings accounts linked to individual account plans, including clarifying whether contributions to emergency savings accounts are taken into account for purposes of the section 402(g) limitation on retirement plan elective deferrals excluded from taxable income. We also suggest permitting employers to impose restrictions.

Additionally, the AICPA has requested that any guidance issued allows for a good faith interpretation of the law, by taxpayers, in the interim timeframe between when the law was passed, and guidance provided.