Substantiate Those Deductions, But Not with Falsified Documents!

We have written numerous articles over the years about substantiating deductions, whether they be charitable donations or business expenses or any other type of deduction.[1] As noted by the Supreme Court, deductions “are a matter of legislative grace, and taxpayers bear the burden of proving their entitlement to any deduction claimed.”[2] A recent Tax Court…
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Conveyance Without a Deed – A Mississippi Case

In a recent case out of the Court of Appeals for the State of Mississippi, the Court held that a writing titled an “Article of Agreement” (the “Agreement”) was sufficient to convey an interest in real estate to the decedent’s sisters.[1] The primary issue to be decided by the Court was whether the Agreement executed…
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The Wake of Loper Bright: Have the Floodgates Been Opened?

In a recent article, my colleague Gray Edmondson covered the recent Supreme Court case, Loper Bright[1], and the demise of the Chevron Doctrine.[2] The Loper Bright case was handed down by the Supreme Court on June 28, 2024. As Gray explains in his article, the Chevron case has to do with determining the validity of…
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Excluding Gain on the Sale of Your Principal Residence

Under IRC §121, gain on the sale of a principal residence of up to $250,000 (or $500,000 for spouses, see below) may be excluded from gross income. This may seem pretty straightforward, and many times it is, but it also has numerous requirements in order to apply, as well as numerous exceptions that may apply.…
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The Corporate Transparency Act is Here: What You Need to Know

For the the most recent updates from FinCEN, see https://fincen.gov/boi/newsroom Update (3/4/2025): On February 27, 2025, FinCEN announced that it will not issue any fines or penalties or take any other enforcement actions against any companies based on any failure to file or update beneficial ownership information (BOI) reports pursuant to the Corporate Transparency Act…
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Insurance Arrangement Found to be Split Dollar Insurance Arrangement

Split dollar life insurance arrangements can take on a number of forms, and the exact structure of the arrangement determines the tax consequences, which can become complicated quickly. In a recent case out of the District Court of Ohio, the court held that an insurance arrangement between a single member C corporation, Peter E. McGowan…
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Chief Counsel Advice Memorandum Debunks Tax Avoidance Scheme Using Trust

In a recent Chief Counsel Advice Memorandum[1] (“CCM”), the office of the IRS Chief Counsel debunks the income taxation, or lack thereof, found in promotional materials promoting a structure known as a “Non-grantor, irrevocable, complex, discretionary, spendthrift trust”, with a note that the structure may be referred to by several other similar but slightly different…
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The Importance of a Properly Prepared Form 709 Gift Tax Return

In a prior article, I wrote about the importance of properly prepared Form 706 Estate Tax Return, discussing a Private Letter Ruling (“PLR”) that highlighted some common mistakes made on the Form 706.[1] In that article, I discussed issues related to the marital deduction and the allocation of a decedent’s unused Generation Skipping Transfer Tax…
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