TIGTA Report on IRS Estate and Gift Tax Examinations... [ read ]
On September 28th, the Treasury Inspector General of Tax Administration (TIGTA) issued a report recommending changes to fix the procedures the IRS uses to select estate and gift tax returns for examination.
IRS Extends Hurricane Tax Relief to Dallas and Tarrant Counties... [ read ]
Hurricane Harvey tax relief has been extended to taxpayers residing in Dallas and Tarrant counties.
Do Hurricane Harvey Victims Have Additional Time to File FBARs (Form 114)?... [ read ]
I recently explored in a separate Blog post whether partners that live outside the disaster area qualify for additional time to make tax payments and file returns if the partnerships are located inside the disaster area. A similarly burning question is whether hurricane victims have additional time to file FBARs (Form 114), the filing obligation for which arises under Title 31 rather than Title 26 of the United States Code and which have an extended due date of October 15, 2017. The proverbial jury was out on this issue until today, when FinCEN delivered a verdict.
Do Partners Who Reside Outside a Disaster Area Qualify for Tax Relief if the Partnership's Business is Located Inside the Disaster Area?... [ read ]
When disaster strikes, the IRS may permit taxpayers additional time to make tax payments and file returns provided they qualify as "affected" taxpayers in counties that have been designated as federal disaster areas. IRC Sec. 7805A. While it is clear that partnerships with a principal place of business inside the disaster area qualify as affected taxpayers, what about the partners of those partnerships who live outside the disaster area? Do they qualify for tax relief? As is often the answer in the tax world, it depends.
New IRS Ruling Reveals that Not All Captives are Bad... [ read ]
On August 21, 2017, the Tax Court handed the IRS a critical victory in the first ever case deciding an IRS challenge to an IRC section 831(b) microcaptive insurance arrangement. This decision follows an over three year enforcement push by the IRS against the small captive insurance industry, an initiative that ensnarled captive managers and taxpayers alike as well as landed microcaptives on the IRS' dirty dozen lists. But a ruling issued just days before that decision reveals that the IRS is not seeking to disavow all captive insurance arrangements – perhaps just cull out some of the bad apples.
In the First Case Ever Decided Involving IRC Section 831(b) Microcaptive Insurance Planning, the Tax Court Delivers the IRS a Critical First Win... [ read ]
On August 21, 2017, the Tax Court handed the IRS a critical victory in the first ever case deciding an IRS challenge to an IRC section 831(b) microcaptive insurance arrangement. This decision follows an over three year enforcement push by the IRS against the small captive insurance industry, an initiative that ensnarled captive managers and taxpayers alike as well as landed microcaptives on the IRS' dirty dozen lists. But a ruling issued just days before that decision reveals that the IRS is not seeking to disavow all captive insurance arrangements – perhaps just cull out some of the bad apples.
When "Mostly" is Not Enough Part One: IRS Issues New Warning to Taxpayers of When Compliance is not "Substantial"... [ read ]
In recent months, the IRS has fired two separate shots across the proverbial bow, highlighting the dangers of "incomplete" or "inadequate" reporting as it relates to imposition of penalties and the elongation of the statute of limitations. This blog post explores an International Practice Unit issued by IRS Exam detailing when compliance is not "substantial" and therefore international information return penalties apply.
When "Mostly" is Not Enough Part Two: IRS Issues New Warning to Taxpayers of When Disclosure is Not "Adequate"... [ read ]
In recent months, the IRS has fired two separate shots across the proverbial bow, highlighting the dangers of "incomplete" or "inadequate" reporting as it relates to imposition of penalties and the elongation of the statute of limitations. This blog post explores a Legal Advice memorandum wherein the IRS ruled that a gift tax return did not adequately disclose a gift and therefore the return did not start limitations period.
Section 2704 Proposed Regulations Identified for Burden Reduction in IRS Report... [ read ]
I last provided an update on the proposed regulations under I.R.C. Section 2704 (the 2704 Proposed Regulations) on January 31, 2017, in which I covered President Trump's then recent Executive Orders and their potential to halt to the controversial 2704 Proposed Regulations. Since then, President Trump has called on the Treasury to identify burdensome tax regulations, and the fate of the 2704 Proposed Regulations (at least under the Trump administration) may be known as soon as September.
MLR Blog Post- U.S. Tax Court Decision Deals Blow to IRS on Taxation of U.S. Partnership Interests Held by Foreign Persons... [ read ]
At last year's Annual Meadows Collier Tax Conference, my colleague, Stephen Beck, and I discussed some of the more recent hot topics in international tax law. During our discussions, we spoke of the current ambiguity in U.S. tax law as it relates to the sale of a U.S. partnership interest by a foreign person. For decades, the IRS has argued that the sale of such partnership interests should be subject to U.S. tax if the partnership was engaged in a U.S. trade or business. See Rev. Rul. 91-32, 1991-1 C.B. 107.
