TAXLITIGATOR Blog

Forfeiture of Currency for Failure to File Form 8300 By Krista Hartwell

This post addresses the circumstances under which the government may forfeit currency for failure to file IRS Form 8300, Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business. Any person engaged in a trade or business who receives $10,000 or more in cash from a transaction (in the course of their trade […] Read More…

Read More

TEFRA Update-Just When You Thought TEFRA Couldn’t Get Any More Complicated by Edward M. Robbins, Jr.

[On November 2, 2015, President Obama signed into law H.R. 1314, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (the “Budget Act”). This document outlines the key provisions (new procedural rules for partnership audits and adjustments, and amendments to sections 704(e) and 761(b)) relating to the determination of who is a partner in a partnership relating to […] Read More…

Read More

Statute of Limitations on Collection of an Estate Tax Liability when a Section 6166 Election Is in Place by LACEY STRACHAN

Generally, payment of estate tax is due nine months after the date of death of a decedent.[i]  However, there is an election that can be made under certain circumstances to defer payment of all or a portion of estate tax due, where part or all of the estate tax is attributable to interests in certain […] Read More…

Read More

Who Qualifies as a Real Estate Professional for Tax Purposes? by CORY STIGILE

In Brown v. Commissioner, T.C. Summary Op. 2015-62 (October 15, 2015), the Tax Court held that the taxpayers’ losses from rental activities were non-passive. The case illustrates how the Tax Court will review the real estate professional test as well as the separate material participation tests to determine if rental activities are non-passive. The taxpayer […] Read More…

Read More

Goodby Home Concrete: Overstated Basis is an Omission of Income By ROBERT S. HORWITZ

On July 31, 2015, Congress enacted H.R. 3236, Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015. The bill was introduced in the House and the Senate on July 28, sponsored by Representative Shuster of Pennsylvania, with Representatives Ryan of Wisconsin and Miller of Florida as co-sponsors. It was passed without any amendments. […] Read More…

Read More

Civil Tax Penalty Defenses: Reasonable Cause & Reliance

The Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) contains a Penalty Handbook intended to serve as the foundation for addressing the administration of penalties by the IRS. It is the “one source of authority for the administration of penalties. . .”[1] and provides a “fair, consistent, and comprehensive approach to penalty administration.” As such, the IRM is often […] Read More…

Read More

When Can a Bad Debt Be Deducted for Tax Purposes? by LACEY STRACHAN

The Internal Revenue Code Section 166 allows taxpayers a deduction for debts that have become uncollectible, if certain requirements are met.  These requirements were evaluated by the Tax Court recently in the case Cooper v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2015-191 (September 28, 2015), which denied a couple a deduction for a bad debt, on the grounds […] Read More…

Read More

First Time Abatement of Civil Tax Penalties

The Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) contains a Penalty Handbook intended to serve as the foundation for addressing the administration of penalties by the IRS. It is the “one source of authority for the administration of penalties. . .”[i] and provides a “fair, consistent, and comprehensive approach to penalty administration.” As such, the IRM is often […] Read More…

Read More

Statute of Limitations for Collecting a Tax Liability from a Transferee of the Taxpayer by Lacey Strachan

If the IRS is unable to collect a tax liability from a taxpayer, state laws may allow the IRS to collect the liability from a third party in certain situations where the taxpayer has transferred assets to another person. Although liability of a transferee for a transferor’s tax debt is based on state law, the […] Read More…

Read More

We All Love Snow Days—Even the Tax Court, by STEVEN TOSCHER

Growing up all of us loved a “snow day”—school was closed and we had the day off. Our general affinity to snow days played out in a recent U.S. Tax Court order in Guralnik v. Commissioner, Tax Court Docket No. 4358-15 (August 24, 2015), which held that a petition seeking redetermination on a notice of […] Read More…

Read More

Sensitive Issue Tax Examinations – the “Eggshell Audit”

Representation of clients involved in an audit or dispute with the Internal Revenue Service require the exercise of considerable judgment, discretion, and caution. There are often unknown, potentially sensitive issues that might unexpectedly arise during the course of any audit. Throughout, the representative must balance their duties to their client with the representative’s ethical and […] Read More…

Read More

Subordination Of Mortgage is Required Before Conservation Easement Donation by KRISTA HARTWELL

NINTH CIRCUIT HOLDS SUBORDINATION OF MORTGAGE ON PROPERTY IS REQUIRED BEFORE DONATION TO TAKE A CHARITABLE DEDUCTION FOR A CONSERVATION EASEMENT DONATION –  Krista Hartwell In Minnick v. Commissioner, the Ninth Circuit held that deductions for conservation easement donations are permissible only if any mortgage on the property was subordinated to the easement at the […] Read More…

Read More