Tag: Houston Tax Attorney

With advance tax planning, it is often possible to avoid the Texas franchise tax. If the tax does apply, it can often be minimized by a close reading and application of the rules. The recent Sunstate Equipment Co., LLC vs. Comptroller of Public Accounts, No. 17-0444 (Tex. 2020) case provides an opportunity to consider when……

To determine whether the IRS can levy or take property, one has to consider what property the taxpayer owns. State law dictates what property the taxpayer owns. The property laws in most states are similar, which makes applying Federal tax collection law relatively easy. But then there is Louisiana law. Louisiana law differs in many……

The IRS has been focusing on tax return preparer audits. The aim of these audits is to impose penalties on tax return preparers. The IRS typically provides a means for tax preparers to appeal these penalties administratively, but there are cases where it doesn’t provide this opportunity. In those cases the IRS will assess the……

The tax consequence of a transaction often depends on how one characterizes or describes the transaction. Business synergies are often cited as the rationale for merger and acquisition deals. In a M&A deal, are “business synergies” a separate asset for tax purposes? Can you list “business synergies” as a separate asset and then take a……

If you buy, subdivide and sell real estate, can you seller-finance the sales and report the gain over a long period of time? The answer is generally yes, but advance planning is needed. The court addresses this in Joyner Family Limited Partnership v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2019-159. Facts & Procedural History The taxpayers purchased land……

The IRS has announced several new compliance campaigns focusing on S corporations. This is needed as the audit rate for S corporation is extremely low. The most recent IRS compliance campaign focuses on shareholder stock basis issues for S corporation… Read More The post The IRS Recent Focus on S Corp Owners appeared first on Houston…

Taxpayers often overlook “partial asset dispositions.” Their tax advisers do too. This may be due to it being a depreciation issue that seems unimportant. It may also be that the partial asset disposition is a relatively new concept. Regardless, partial… Read More The post Records Needed for Partial Asset Dispositions appeared first on Houston Tax Attorneys:…

The attorney-client privilege projects confidential communications with attorneys. It allows the attorney to avoid disclosing protected communications. But what if the attorney voluntarily discloses information and the disclosure is to the IRS about a tax matter? The court addresses this… Read More The post Voluntary Disclosure to IRS of Privileged Communication appeared first on Houston Tax…

If a taxpayer forms a legal entity and it is taxed as a C corporation, can the IRS disregard the legal existence of the corporation and assess the corporation’s tax to the owner? The court addresses this in Russell v.… Read More The post Can the IRS Ignore the Legal Existence of a Corporation? appeared first…

What happens if you sell an asset and are to receive payments in the future, but your accountant fails to elect the installment method? Do you have to report the full amount of the gain in the year of sale?… Read More The post The Timing Trap: Failed Installment Sales appeared first on Houston Tax Attorneys:…