SECTION 2. BACKGROUND

.01 Section 501(a) of TEAMTRA added § 24(d)(4) of the Code to provide

ing a telephone number, address, and email address (if appropriate).

3. Submission of notice to PBGC and DOL

A notice provided pursuant to section 204(c)(2)(A)(ii) of WRERA must be submitted to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and the Department of Labor. The notice should be sent to the following addresses:

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Multiemployer Program Division 1200 K Street, N.W., Suite 930 Washington, D.C. 20005

U. S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security

Administration Public Disclosure Room, N–1513 200 Constitution Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20210

Alternatively, the notice may be submitted electronically to multiemployerprogram@pbgc.gov and to wreranotice@dol.gov .

WRERA notices received by the Department of Labor will be available for public inspection at the Public Disclosure Room, and accessible electronically at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa .

VI. EFFECT OF WRERA ELECTION ON FORM 5500, SCHEDULE MB AND SCHEDULE R FILINGS

A Form 5500, Annual Report/Return of Employee Benefit Plan, that is filed for a multiemployer plan must be accompanied by Schedule MB, Multiemployer Defined Benefit Plan and Certain Money Purchase Plan Actuarial Information, and by Schedule R, Retirement Plan Information. Schedule MB requires the actuary for a multiemployer plan to report the plan’s section 432 status. The instructions indicate that Schedule MB should be completed based on the actuary’s certification of the status, and that the actuary should include supporting documentation for the certification. If a multiemployer plan is in endangered or critical status, the instructions indicate that the plan sponsor must submit with Schedule R a summary of the multiemployer plan’s funding im

provement or rehabilitation plan, or an update of the plan, as applicable.

As described above, an election under section 204 of WRERA affects whether a funding improvement or rehabilitation plan must be adopted or updated. Schedules MB and R and the related instructions for plan years beginning in 2008 have already been issued and do not address the effect of an election under section 204 of WRERA. However, such an election can be made with respect to a plan year beginning between October 1, 2008, and December 31, 2008. Therefore, the instructions for the 2008 Schedule MB and Schedule R must be revised to address the reporting for a multiemployer plan with a plan year beginning between October 1, 2008, and December 31, 2008, for which an election is made under section 204 of WRERA.

Under the revised instructions:

is reported on Schedule MB is the status of the multiemployer plan as certified by the plan actuary without taking into account an election under section 204 of WRERA.

tachment to the Schedule R which provides information about the election under section 204 of WRERA, and its effect on the plan’s section 432 status and on the requirement to adopt a funding improvement plan or rehabilitation plan.

VII. PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT

The collections of information contained in this notice have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507(c)).

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of information displays a valid OMB control number. The OMB approval number for this notice is 1545–2141.

The collections of information in this notice are in sections IV, V, and VI. The information is required in order to implement an election under sections 204 and 205 or WRERA and to provide the required notice of the election. The collections of information are mandatory for

April 20, 2009 860 2009–16 I.R.B.

of credit under § 24 that may be refundable is $3,000.

.05 Hope and Lifetime Learning Cred- its .

(1) For taxable years beginning in 2009, the Hope Scholarship Credit under § 25A(b)(1) is an amount equal to 100 percent of qualified tuition and related expenses not in excess of $2,000 plus 25 percent of those expenses in excess of $2,000, but not in excess of $4,000. Accordingly, the maximum Hope Scholarship Credit allowable under § 25A(b)(1) for taxable years beginning in 2009 is $2,500.

(2) For taxable years beginning in 2009, a taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income in excess of $80,000 ($160,000 for a joint return) is used to determine the reduction under § 25A(d)(2)(A)(ii) in the amount of the Hope Scholarship Credit otherwise allowable under § 25A(a)(1). For taxable years beginning in 2009, a taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income in excess of $50,000 ($100,000 for a joint return) is used to determine the reduction under § 25A(d)(2)(A)(ii) in the amount of the Lifetime Learning Credit otherwise allowable under § 25A(a)(2).

.06 Earned Income Credit . (1) In general . For taxable years beginning in 2009, the following amounts are used to determine the earned income credit under § 32(b). The “earned income amount” is the amount of earned income at or above which the maximum amount of the earned income credit is allowed. The “threshold phaseout amount” is the amount of adjusted gross income (or, if greater, earned income) above which the maximum amount of the credit begins to phase out. The “completed phaseout amount” is the amount of adjusted gross income (or, if greater, earned income) at or above which no credit is allowed. The threshold phaseout amounts and the completed phaseout amounts shown in the table below for married taxpayers filing a joint return include the $5,000 increase provided in § 32(b)(3)(B)(i) for taxable years beginning in 2009.

a temporary increase in the refundable portion of the child tax credit for taxable years beginning in 2008. Under § 24(d)(1)(B)(i), the amount that may be refundable is determined using a value that is adjusted annually for inflation. For taxable years beginning in 2008, § 24(d)(4) provided that $8,500 is the value used in § 24(d)(1)(B)(i) instead of the inflation adjusted value.

.02 Section 1003 of ARRTA amended § 24(d)(4) of the Code to provide a temporary increase in the refundable portion of the child tax credit for taxable years beginning in 2009 or 2010. Under § 24(d)(1)(B)(i), the amount that may be refundable is determined using a value that is adjusted annually for inflation. For taxable years beginning in 2009 or 2010, § 24(d)(4) provides that $3,000 is the value used in § 24(d)(1)(B)(i) instead of the inflation adjusted value.

.03 Section 1004 of ARRTA added new § 25A(i) to the Code (the American Opportunity Tax Credit) to provide temporary increases in the amount of the Hope Scholarship Credit and the threshold phaseout amounts for the credit. Section 25A(i)(1) provides that, for taxable years beginning in 2009 or 2010, the Hope Scholarship Credit is equal to 100 percent of the amount of qualified tuition and related expenses not in excess of $2,000 plus 25 percent of those expenses in excess of $2,000, but not in excess of $4,000. Section 25A(i)(4) provides that, for taxable years beginning in 2009 or 2010, the amount of the Hope Scholarship Credit begins to phase out for taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income exceeds $80,000 ($160,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return). The credit is completely phased out at $90,000 ($180,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return).

.04 Section 1002 of ARRTA added § 32(b)(3) to the Code to provide a temporary increase in the earned income credit for certain taxpayers. Under § 32(b)(3)(A), for taxable years beginning in 2009 or 2010, the maximum amount of the earned income credit for taxpayers with three or more qualifying children is 45 percent of the earned income amount for the taxable year. For taxable years beginning in 2009, under § 32(b)(3)(B)(i) the amount added to the threshold phase

out amounts and the completed phaseout amounts for married taxpayers filing a joint return is $5,000. For taxable years beginning in 2010, the $5,000 amount under § 32(b)(3)(B)(i) is adjusted for inflation.

.05 Section 1151 of ARRTA amended § 132(f)(2) of the Code to provide a temporary increase in the amount excludable from gross income for certain employer provided transportation fringe benefits. For months beginning after February 17, 2009, and before January 1, 2011, the monthly limitation under § 132(f)(2)(A) for transportation in a commuter highway vehicle and any transit pass is the same as the amount in effect under § 132(f)(2)(B) for qualified parking, which is $230 per month for 2009.

.06 Section 1202 of ARRTA amended § 179(b)(7) of the Code to extend the 2008 dollar limitations under §§ 179(b)(1) and (2) to 2009 taxable years. For taxable years beginning in 2009, § 179(b)(1) provides that a taxpayer may elect to expense up to $250,000 of § 179 property placed in service during that year. Under § 179(b)(2), the $250,000 amount in § 179(b)(1) is reduced by the amount by which the cost of § 179 property placed in service during that year exceeds $800,000.