The recent Tax Court decision in Farhy demonstrates that clever and novel arguments can carry the day in complex tax litigation matters. In that case, the taxpayer stipulated that he: (1) had Form 5471 filing obligations...more
4/13/2023
/ Failure-to-File ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Lack of Authority ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Tax Abatement ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Penalties ,
Tax Returns
When is Written Managerial Approval Required?
In 1998, Congress sought to provide additional protections to taxpayers through passage of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act (the “Act”). Buried within...more
In the federal income tax world, there are effectively two functions within the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). First, the IRS examines tax years and tax returns to determine whether the taxpayer has reported the correct...more
If you have unreported foreign accounts, you are not alone. Every year, I speak with hundreds of clients with tax non-reporting issues (e.g., FBARs, Form 8938, Form 3520, Form 3520-A, etc.). The good news: the IRS offers...more
2/24/2023
/ FBAR ,
Foreign Bank Accounts ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
International Tax Issues ,
IRS ,
Legal Representatives ,
Offshore Funds ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning
Introduction -
Much of the current litigation between taxpayers and the United States has centered on the definition of willfulness or whether the non-willful FBAR penalty should apply on a per year or per account basis. ...more
Under federal tax law, there are significant differences between grantor and non-grantor trusts. Grantor trusts are treated as disregarded entities. In layman’s terms, this means that the grantor (i.e., the creator or the...more
Recently, there seems to be some confusion regarding section 643(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and its application to trusts. Indeed, that provision—particularly to those not well-versed in...more
Taxpayers routinely resolve their tax controversy matters without resort to litigation. Indeed, good tax professionals will often seek to avoid costly and time-consuming litigation, if possible, by utilizing various...more
Taxpayers who employ workers have obligations under federal law to withhold and remit federal employment taxes to the IRS. In addition to this withholding and payment requirement, federal law also imposes certain reporting...more
The Administrative Procedure Act.
The Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) contains over one hundred different civil penalties for various acts or failures to act. For example, Section 6707A requires taxpayers, in certain...more
Also Referred to as Internal Revenue Code Section 6672; I.R.C. § 6672; Section 6672; Trust Fund Recovery Penalty -
Background. In certain instances, the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) requires persons to withhold...more
Taxpayers have long utilized trust arrangements for the transfer of wealth to beneficiaries or for the protection of assets from creditors. Generally, there is nothing nefarious about these types of arrangements. Rather,...more
1/14/2022
/ Estate Planning ,
Foreign Trusts ,
Grantor Trusts ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
International Tax Issues ,
IRS ,
Tax Amnesty ,
Tax Evasion ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Returns ,
Voluntary Disclosure
Ordinarily, taxpayers file their income tax returns each year with the IRS and hear nothing more. Rather, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) simply processes the tax return, assesses the reported amount of tax due, and...more
The House Committee of Ways and Means (the “House”) has been busy the last few days. Indeed, the House continues to mark up and work through potential revenue raisers (i.e., tax increases) to help pay for recent legislative...more
10/12/2021
/ Capital Gains Tax ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Foreign Derived Intangible Income (FDII) ,
GILTI tax ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Increases ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Rates
Taxpayers who file false tax returns with the IRS can find themselves in hot water. Indeed, section 7206(1) of the Internal Revenue Code (“Title 26”) makes it a felony to file a false return when the taxpayer knows that the...more
The Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) contains over 150 civil tax penalties for various conduct and non-conduct. One common group of penalties, associated with the late filing of a tax return and the late payment of tax,...more
9/7/2021
/ Amended Complaints ,
Estate Tax ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Gift Tax ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Late Payments ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Reasonable Cause Defense ,
Tax Penalties ,
Tax Returns
To levy on Social Security benefits, the IRS generally issues Form 668-W to the Social Security Administration (“SSA”). After receipt of the Form 668-W, Notice of Levy on Wages, Salary, and Other Income, SSA will withhold...more
This program is the first of Freeman Law’s multi-class course designed to prepare CPAs and Enrolled Agents for the Tax Court’s admissions examination. Participants will receive an overview of the Tax Court and will learn...more
8/19/2021
/ CPAs ,
Estate Tax ,
Federal Rules of Evidence ,
Gift Tax ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Legal Ethics ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Litigation ,
Webinars
Federal tax penalties have always been an IRS priority. But, perhaps more so today than three decades ago. For example, in 1987, the IRS reported that it had assessed penalties of approximately $14 billion. Compare that...more
2/4/2021
/ Failure To Pay ,
Failure-to-File ,
Filing Requirements ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
International Tax Issues ,
IRS ,
Tax Fraud ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Penalties ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Returns
Taxpayers who suffer from physical injuries or physical sickness can generally take advantage of a special provision in the Code that makes such damages non-taxable. See I.R.C. § 104(a)(2). Generally, this can be an easy...more
Over 5 years ago, then President Obama ushered in sweeping changes to the method and manner in which partnerships are audited and partnership tax is assessed and collected through his signing of H.R. 1314, the Bipartisan...more
12/8/2020
/ Audits ,
Bipartisan Budget Act ,
C-Corporation ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Partnerships ,
Proposed Regulation ,
REIT ,
S-Corporation ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Tax Liability ,
U.S. Treasury
Tax professionals are intimately familiar with certain reporting requirements under the Internal Revenue Code. Indeed, a failure to properly and timely report a position on a return where it is otherwise required may result...more
Virtual currency, such as Bitcoin, continues to be a topic of interest for the IRS. Indeed, for the 2019 tax year, the IRS added for the first time a unique question to Schedule 1, Additional Income and Adjustments to...more
11/18/2020
/ Bitcoin ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Failure To Disclose ,
False Statements ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Tax Evasion ,
Tax Returns ,
Virtual Currency