Tag: Houston Tax Attorney

If you hire a competent tax advisor and end up having a late filed return, you may be able to avoid penalties for the late filing. But this is a defense. It is something that you, the taxpayer, have to… Read More The post Reasonable Cause: Proving Reliance on a Tax Advisor appeared first on Houston…

The IRS often turns a deaf ear to taxpayers who miss a filing deadline due to some action or inaction by their CPA or tax preparer. This is the case for late filing tax penalties. But what about a late… Read More The post Is Reliance on a CPA Sufficient for a Late Filed Tax Form?…

If the IRS wrongfully denies your refund claim and you are successful in litigating the matter in court, you are entitled to recoup some of your court costs. But what about the taxpayer’s tax attorney’s travel costs? And what if… Read More The post Taxpayer Cannot Recoup Attorney Travel Costs appeared first on Houston Tax Attorneys:…

Cashing a tax refund check that was triggered by filing a false tax return is a crime. It is theft of government money. Theft of government money is different than tax evasion. The recent United States v. Box, No. 18-13935… Read More The post Cashing a Tax Refund Check for a False Return is a Crime…

Sec. 6701 imposes a penalty for assisting another person in understating their tax liability. The Sec. 6701 penalty is not subject to a statute of limitations. The IRS can assess these penalties at any time, even years and decades after… Read More The post CPA Penalized for Knowledge of Understatement appeared first on Houston Tax Attorneys:…

There are some circumstances where information has to be reported to the IRS, even though the information does not trigger a tax. But the potential problem can be that the information reporting triggers an IRS audit or other consequences. The… Read More The post Reporting Debt Discharged in a Court Settlement to the IRS appeared first…

A taxpayer can generally avoid paying income tax on gain from the sale of property if the sale is an involuntary conversion. This typically involves a government act that takes or destroys the taxpayer’s property. There are a number of different types of property and takings that can qualify? But what about a local TV…

If a couple files a joint return and pays tax on the income they earn, but after they divorce it turns out that one of the spouses has to repay monies received in error, can the other spouse recoup their portion of the prior tax paid on the income? The claim of right doctrine may…

With tax litigation, it is often best to raise every argument possible. But what if the law seems clear on an issue and then, during the course of the tax dispute, another court issues an opinion making the law less clear? If this isn’t discovered or realized soon enough, should the taxpayer be precluded from…

Taxpayers are free to structure payments for services rather than for something other than services. This can save self-employment taxes. But can a taxpayer carve out part of their service income by asserting that some part of the income is not from a business? The Slaughter v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2019-65, case addresses this in…