Category: Tax

New business ventures will typically incur losses in the first year or years. These losses can sometimes be used to offset the business owner’s other income. In a way, this tax loss offset and the tax savings is akin to an interest-free loan from the Federal government. Congress has imposed some limitations on this type…Continue…

When it comes to the IRS and audits, there are times when a taxpayer may feel like they can’t win. This is often true. If you have been reading this site for some time, you may recall our article involving Five Audits in Ten Years and the court concluding that this many audits in such…Continue…

Each state has its own laws. This includes laws that say how one gets married and how one gets divorced. State laws provide a method for accomplishing both acts. The laws of foreign countries usually have similar laws and processes. Religious bodies and affiliations have similar rules and processes. This raises some interesting questions as…Continue…

The IRS makes decisions about tax returns, back taxes, etc. These decisions may be made by one or more persons within the IRS. These decisions may be made by IRS employees whose job functions and missions are not the same. This is most evident in the context of IRS audits. The IRS auditor’s mission is…Continue…

There are quite a few avenues available to resolve tax disputes with the IRS. We have previously considered these options for resolving tax cases in a prior article. The number of avenues available can make it difficult to navigate the IRS bureaucracy. This plus the slow pace at which the IRS works makes it very…Continue…

Our gift tax rules impose a tax on certain transfers. This gift tax is required given our income tax rules. Absent a gift tax, taxpayers could simply sidestep income taxes by making non-taxable gifts to everyone rather than paying for goods and services. So what happens when a business makes a gift? Does the recipient…Continue…

If you have a right to receive $1 in the future, is that right an asset? Our tax laws would generally say that it is. What if you cannot assign the right to receive the $1 and you cannot accelerate the payment? At what point is the right to receive the $1 not an asset…Continue…

If you receive a tax refund and the IRS later asks you to repay the refund, what do you do? Do you keep the refund or repay it? This can be a very difficult question to answer. This is particularly true if you believe that you have a legitimate basis for and entitlement to the……

There are several issues that the IRS frequently challenges on audit. For individual taxpayers, this includes moving expenses. Taxpayers are entitled to deduct moving expenses. Our tax laws impose several limitations on what expenses can be deducted and when. The recent Doyle v. Commissioner, Docket No. 6532-20S (2021) case provides an opportunity to consider these…Continue…

With a cash basis taxpayer, the general rule is that the taxpayer recognizes gross income when money is received. But what if the taxpayer holds money on account for others? This is a common practice. These transfers may include deposits, advances, etc. It can even include funds held in trust for the benefit of a…Continue…