TAXLITIGATOR Blog

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Friday, August 28, 2015

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…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Friday, August 21, 2015

The IRS has significantly increased their employment tax enforcement efforts and just released a Fact Sheet (FS-2015-21) explaining how employers can properly determine whether workers should be classified as employees or independent contractors. A wrong decision can result in potentially significant civil penalties or in the event of an intentional mis-classification, those involved might be […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Sunday, August 09, 2015

Medical marijuana is now legal in 23 states and recreational marijuana is legal in four plus the District of Columbia. It is decriminalized in a few more states and low-THC medical marijuana is legal in still others. Marijuana is only illegal in 10 states. In 1991, 78% of Americans believed marijuana should be illegal. Attitudes […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Friday, August 07, 2015

A NEW IRS Reference Guide on the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts is now available to provide assistance to U.S. persons who have the obligation to file the FBAR and to the tax professionals who prepare and electronically file FBAR reports on behalf of their clients. The Guide also supports IRS examiners in […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Monday, August 03, 2015

In BASR Partnership, William F. Pettinati, Sr., Tax Matters Partner v. United States, No. 2014-5037 (Fed. Cir. July 29, 2015), the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that the statute of limitations period is suspended under Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Section 6501(c)(1) only when the IRS establishes that the taxpayer acted with the […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Saturday, August 01, 2015

On July 31, President Obama signed into law H.R. 3236, the “Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015[1],” which, among other issues, modifies the due dates for several common tax returns, overrules the Supreme Court’s Home Concrete decision, requires that additional information be reported on mortgage information statements, and requires consistent […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Wednesday, July 29, 2015

For violations involving the non-willful failure to report the existence of a reportable interest in a foreign financial account, the maximum amount of the FBAR penalty that may be assessed under Title 31, Section 5321(a)(5)(B) shall not exceed $10,000, per year, for up to six calendar years. However, no penalty shall be imposed if such […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Monday, July 27, 2015

Taxpayers who do not need to use the OVDP or the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures to file delinquent or amended tax returns to report and pay additional tax, but who: have not filed one or more required international information returns, have reasonable cause for not timely filing the information returns, are not under a civil […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Saturday, July 18, 2015

Taxpayers who do not need to use either the OVDP or the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures to file delinquent or amended tax returns to report and pay additional tax, but who: have not filed a required Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) (FinCEN Form 114, previously Form TD F 90-22.1), are not under […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Maintain timely, clear communications with the examining agent and the client – confirm statements in writing. Know your case and your client – verify information provided by your client. Establish relevant facts, evaluate reasonableness of assumptions or representations, apply relevant legal authorities in arriving at a conclusion supported by the law and the facts. Advise […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Friday, June 12, 2015

U.S. persons having a financial interest in or signature authority over one or more foreign financial accounts – including a bank account, brokerage account, mutual fund, trust, or other type of foreign financial account – having an aggregate value exceeding $10,000 at any time during 2014 is generally required by the Bank Secrecy Act to […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Tuesday, June 09, 2015

U.S. persons having a financial interest in or signature authority over a foreign financial account, including a bank account, brokerage account, mutual fund, trust, or other type of foreign financial account may be required by the Bank Secrecy Act to report their interest in the account to the IRS by electronically filing by June 30, 2015, […] Read More…