In May of this year the U.S. Tax Court issued a memorandum of opinion on the value of several assets included in the Estate of Michael Jackson (“Estate”) for federal estate tax purposes.[1] This opinion comes more than a decade after Jackson’s death in June of 2009 and provides some resolution (albeit subject to appeal)…
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So, we did not write on the first District Court case which was a loss for CIC Services, LLC (“CIC”) and Ryan, LLC(“Ryan”), the Plaintiffs. But, a Supreme Court decision gave the Plaintiffs another bite at the apple. This case involves Notice 2016-66 (“Notice”), the older-sibling notice to Notice 2017-10, in which micro-captive insurance transactions…
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In a recent Tax Court case, a taxpayer was denied a contribution deduction for income paid into a sole proprietorship profit-sharing plan when the Court determined that such income had not been derived from the trade or business with respect to which the plan was established.[1] Rather, the income was paid to the taxpayer under…
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This article will be the final in a series of articles covering the installment method of reporting income. In our first article of the series, we discussed §453 and the basics of the installment method of income tax reporting.[1] As noted in the article, the installment method of reporting income can be a powerful tax…
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Last week, Charles Allen wrote about Blossom Day Care Centers, Inc. (“Blossom”) and its owners regarding their employment tax case.[1] Frequently, we write articles intending to remind readers of the importance of substantiation, especially in the income tax world. In reviewing Charles Allen’s article, I kept finding myself wondering about the income tax implications of…
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On January 1, 2021, the Senate voted to override former President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (“NDAA”), which included the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”).[1] The CTA requires certain U.S. businesses, absent an exemption, to file beneficial ownership information with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), in an attempt…
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In a recent case involving taxpayers Ronnie S. Baum and Teresa K. Baum, the IRS disallowed many deductions, including deductions for theft losses and worthless securities.[1] This case is a quick and helpful reminder of some common deduction rules. Fact Summary This case relates to events occurring between years 2010 and 2019. The tax years…
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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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As taxpayers are preparing their 2020 income tax returns, several will face questions related to remote working. Can they deduct employment related expenses for new furniture, new equipment, and other items to facilitate working remotely? Can they take a home office deduction? In what state(s) should they file income tax returns? These questions are nothing…
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When starting a new business, an important consideration to is to determine at what point expenses become deductible as a business expense under §162[1] as opposed to being classified as startup expenditures which must be amortized over 15 years under §195[2]? In general, expenses eligible to be deducted as an ordinary and necessary expense of…
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