Over the years, I have observed there is only one thing that a taxpayer fears more than being notified by the IRS that their income tax return for a particular taxable year has been selected for audit, and that is being...more
The Tax Court can be an unusually cruel place when it comes to deadlines. This is what a recent taxpayer found out in a Tax Court decision that denied their challenge of an over $4.6 Million dollar tax bill asserted by the...more
An interesting recent Tax Court decision seems to indicate that taxpayers have clear autonomy with regards to judicial review as well as retracting judicial review of “seriously delinquent tax debt.” ...more
In a prior post, I discussed the dangers of playing Battleship with the IRS. Recently, taxpayers made a move and scored a hit with the Tax Court’s recently issued decision in Alon Farhy v. Commissioner, 160 T.C. No. 6 (April...more
Harrington v. Commissioner - In Harrington v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, George S. Harrington (Harrington) challenged tax deficiencies and fraud penalties assessed for tax years 2005 through 2010. Originally...more
Summary: At its core, this 31-page opinion regards married U.S. citizen taxpayers, Leigh Fairbank (Leigh) and Barbara Fairbank (Barbara), challenge to deficiency notices issued for the tax years in issue (2003 through 2009...more
Summary: Since 1982, James William Avery (Avery) was a practicing lawyer, specializing in personal injury law as a solo practitioner primarily in Denver, Colorado for the period 2008–2013 but also some in Indiana during...more
Summary: The IRS issued a Notice of Deficiency (“NOD”) Tanisha Trice for the taxable year 2017. The IRS took issue with her report of income in the form of disability benefits she received from the Social Security...more
Summary: In this non-precedential opinion (see section 7463(b)), the Tax Court addresses deficiencies for disallowed business expenses claimed by taxpayers, Mathew Craddock and Chasta Craddock. Mr. Craddock was employed...more
Summary: This is a deficiency case involving taxpayer Hrach Shilgevorkyan (Petitioner) and the IRS’s disallowance of a mortgage interest deduction for tax year 2012. In 2005 Edvard, Petitioner’s brother, purchased the...more
Summary: In 2017, Robert Lucas worked as a software developer, but he lost his job in that year. To make ends meet, he obtained a distribution of $19,365 from a section 401(k) plan. He had not reached 59 1/2 years old at the...more
Summary: Ernesto Patacsil and Marilyn Patacsil (“Taxpayers”) owned a business that ran group homes for consumers with intellectual or physical maladies in California, being an expensive yet statutorily encouraged...more
Summary: This is a deficiency case and a continuation of the Tax Court’s opinion in Smith v. Commissioner, No. 5191- 20, 159 T.C. (Aug. 25, 2022), which is blogged right here on the ol’ Tax Court in Brief. See...more
Taxpayer and petitioner, Joseph Decrescenzo (“Petitioner”) belatedly filed returns of income for seven years at issue (2007-2013). The IRS determined various differing deficiencies as to the years at issue and notified...more
Tax Litigation: The Week of December 19th, 2022, through December 23rd, 2022 Brooks v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2022-122 | December 19, 2022 |Wells, J. |Docket No. 28206-15 Mamadou v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2022-121 | December 20,...more
Freeman Law’s “The Tax Court in Brief” covers every substantive Tax Court opinion, providing a weekly brief of its decisions in clear, concise prose....more
Tax Litigation: The Week of September 5th, 2022, through September 9th, 2022 Clarkson v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo 2022-22| September 7, 2022 | Lauber, Judge | Dkt. No. 16804-21L...more
Tax Litigation: The Week of August 29th, 2022, through September 2nd, 2022 Sparta Pink Property, LLC v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2022-88 | August 29, 2022 | Lauber, J. | Dkt. No. 12114-20 Domdom v. Comm’r, T.C. Summary Opinion...more
Tax Litigation: The Week of July 11th, 2022, through July 15th, 2022 Whistleblower 972-17W v. Comm’r, 159 T.C. No. 1 | July 13, 2022 | Toro, J. | Dkt. No. 972-17W Ziroli v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2022-75 | July 14, 2022 | Nega,...more
Tax Litigation: The Week of April 4th, 2022, through April 8th, 2022 Middleton v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2022-28 | April 4, 2022 |Kerrigan, J. | Dkt. No. 8158-19L Scholz v. Comm’r, T.C. Summary Opinion 2022-5 |April 4,...more
Tax penalties are always a hot topic here. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a large arsenal when it comes to grounds for asserting penalties on income tax deficiencies, ranging from the common 20% penalty under Internal...more
Tax Litigation: The Week of March 7, 2022, through March 11, 2022 Hacker v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2022-16 | March 8, 2022 | Paris, J. | Dkt. No. 3870-12 Cosio v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2022-18 | March 9, 2022 | Weiler, J. | Dkt....more
The Tax Court’s recent decision in Larson v. Commissioner involved a frequent tax issue in the context of S corporations and control persons: Whether restricted stock of an S-corporation contributed to an employee stock...more