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The IRS issued Notice 2023-60 on Friday, providing Tax Guidance For Religious Exemptions, Hardship Waivers, and other administrative exemptions provided by the IRS, from electronic filing requirements included in final regulations (T.D. 9972) issued in February.

The final regulations reflected changes made by the Taxpayer First Act, P.L. 116-25, intended to increase electronic filing. They generally require persons filing partnership returns, corporate income tax returns, unrelated business income tax returns, withholding tax returns, certain information returns, registration statements, disclosure statements, notifications, actuarial reports, and certain excise tax returns to e-file those returns for tax years ending on or after Dec. 31, 2023.

The final regulations provided an administrative exemption from the electronic filing requirement for filers whose religious beliefs conflict with the requirement. In the most recent notice, the IRS said these filers should file Form 8508, Application for a Waiver from Electronic Filing of Information Returns, to notify the IRS in advance that they qualify for the exemption. Thereafter, filers who qualify for a religious exemption should file returns and other documents on paper in accordance with the applicable paper filing requirements, the IRS said.

T.D. 9972 also authorized the IRS commissioner to grant hardship waivers and to grant other administrative exemptions “to promote effective and efficient tax administration.” The procedure for seeking the waiver and any additional administrative exemptions provided by the IRS — is or will be available in applicable IRS revenue procedures, publications, forms, instructions, or other guidance, including postings on irs.gov.

Notice 2023-60 also obsoletes Notice 2010-13, Form 1120, Form 1120-F, Form 1120S, Form 990, and Form 990-PF Electronic Filing Waiver Request Procedures, which provided guidance on obtaining administrative exemptions for those forms because the new notice makes the previous one unnecessary, the Service said.

Tax Guidance For Religious Exemptions, Hardship Waivers, and others – 2023