In a recent Tax Court opinion[1], the taxpayer Michael Shaut (“Mr. Shaut”), representing himself, contested the IRS’s determination of a tax deficiency. The court had to decide on several key issues, including whether Mr. Shaut was entitled to deductions for theft loss, legal fees, and net operating losses, as well as whether he was liable…
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We are often contacted by clients, other attorneys, CPA’s, or others, looking to deal with unjust tax outcomes. Often, we are able to assist in avoiding those results. Sometimes, however, tax law simply allows what many see as injustices to occur. This can be the case, for example, when owners of a pass-through entity, S…
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When receiving a bequest, many people question whether they will be subject to income tax.[1] As a basic matter, an individual’s income “does not include the value of property acquired by gift, bequest, devise, or inheritance.”[2] However, that does not mean the individual receiving assets by bequest has no income tax consequences to consider. Those consequences…
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In a recent decision, the Tax Court addressed the complexities of gift tax and qualified terminable interest property (“QTIP”) rules, providing important insights for estate planning professionals and taxpayers alike.[1] The case centered on the interpretation of provisions related to the taxation of transfers between spouses, and in this context, termination of QTIP interests and…
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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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In a recent Tax Court case, the Court determined that the 90-day deadline for filing a petition for redetermination of employment status is not jurisdictional and thus does not prevent the Court from hearing the case.[1] While an all-too-familiar statute pertaining to the jurisdiction of the Tax Court to hear a matter has generally been…
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As tax planning practitioners, we do not typically see issues we deal with daily become the subject of cases before the United States Supreme Court. This term, we had the Connelly[1] case involving estate tax valuation of a decedent’s stock in a corporation funding a redemption buy-sell with corporate-owned insurance. Shortly thereafter, the Supreme Court…
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If you started a business organized as a C corporation, you may be able to avoid some, and possibly all, tax liability when you sell the stock of the C corporation. As previously written upon by Gray Edmondson,[1] Section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) provides for the exclusion of gain on Qualified Small…
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The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a Tax Court opinion dealing with the effect of lifetime transfers by a mother (Mary) to her son (Peter).[1] At issue was the nature of those transfers. On the one hand, Mary Bolles and her estate argued that the transfers constituted loans from Mary to Peter. On…
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On March 25, 2024, the IRS issued Prop. Reg. Section 1.6011-15[1], which designates certain transactions involving charitable remainder annuity trusts (“CRATs”) in tandem with single premium immediate annuity (“SPIA”) products as listed transactions[2]. Last year, I wrote an article in which the Tax Court decided against a taxpayer couple who undertook this exact transaction.[3] Now,…
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