In a recent case out of the United States Court of Federal Claims, the Court held that the plaintiff was not required to pay the full amount of the assessed Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBAR”) penalty in order for the Court to have jurisdiction over a suit for refund.[1] The Court of…
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Introduction Last year I discussed President Joe Biden’s Proposed Tax Policy For Individuals, Charles J. Allen discussed the tax plans of the democratic presidential candidates, and Josh Sage discussed some of Biden’s potential changes. We are now a few months into President Biden’s tenure and the first ripples of tax reform can be felt by…
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In the recent Complex Media[1] case, the Tax Court addressed a taxpayer’s ability to recast the form of a transaction under the “substance over form” doctrine. Since taxpayers typically control the form their transactions take, tax decisions routinely stick taxpayers with the consequences of that form. Some courts have precluded taxpayers from even raising substance…
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As it turns out, fashion design will not usually constitute qualified research for the purposes of qualifying for the research credit under Section 41 of the Internal Revenue Code. In a recent case from the Tax Court, taxpayer, Leon Max, failed to convince a sympathetic court that expenses related to his fashion design process should…
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When an individual files for bankruptcy, they are released from personal liability for certain specified types of debts. However, for public policy reasons, Congress has determined that certain debts can’t be discharged by filing for bankruptcy.[1] One of the most well-known non-dischargeable liabilities is student loan debt.[2] The recent U.S. Bankruptcy Court case, In re…
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In a recent decision, the Tax Court held that the taxpayer failed to qualify for an exception from the 10% additional tax applicable to an early withdrawal from a retirement account.[1] Generally, any distribution from a retirement account to the original plan participant who established the retirement account prior to the date when such plan…
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In the recent case of Lateesa Ward, TC Memo 2020-32, the Tax Court addressed a regular tax planning and reporting issue – reasonable compensation to an S corporation shareholder. The issue is important for at least a couple of primary reasons. First, as opposed to dividends, wages paid to the S corporation shareholder are subject…
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On March 3, 2021, the Tax Court issued a new opinion in Pankratz v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo 2021-26. This case is a good reminder of some of the good faith and reasonable reliance rules to avoid penalties. The opinion, authored by Judge Holmes, was a typical Holmes’ opinion. It told a detailed story of the…
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It is quite common in transactions for the seller to accept a promissory note with payments over time rather than being paid the full purchase price up front. In this situation, if the taxpayer were to be taxed on the full amount of income at the time of the transaction, but not be paid the…
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Many know the old adage of “it’s the thought that counts” when it comes to gifting. According to a recent Tax Court opinion, when it comes to charitable contributions, what the recipient receives is significantly more important than what is given by the donor. Charles Allen previously discussed this issue in his article on the…
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