Under a new federal law enacted in 2021 (the “American Rescue Plan” or the “New Law”), Venmo, Pay Pal, Cash App, Etsy, eBay and other e-commerce platforms are now required to send individual users income tax Form 1099-K for...more
Many Canadians own US-situs real estate, whether it is in New York, Florida, California or elsewhere in the US. It is often a surprise (or a “trap for the unwary”) to Canadian clients (or for that matter, any non-US client)...more
In a recently-issued Revenue Ruling (Rev Rul 2023-02), the IRS has held that the basis of the assets in an irrevocable grantor trust, where the assets are not included in the grantor’s gross estate for federal estate tax...more
On February 28, 2023, in a significant tax case, Bittner v. US, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a U.S. person who fails to file his or her FBAR on a non-willful basis only is subject to a single penalty on the failure to...more
Many of our clients are charitably inclined, and incorporate charitable planning into their overall estate planning. This can be as simple as making gifts to charities during life or via specific bequests in a Will....more
When business owners have partners and consider their succession planning, the topic of a buy-sell agreement comes up. This post discusses the possible use of an “insurance-only LLC” as part of a buy-sell....more
9/16/2022
/ Buy-Sell Agreements ,
Buyouts ,
Cross-Selling ,
Deceased ,
IRS ,
Life Insurance ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Partnerships ,
Redemption Agreement ,
Shareholders ,
Step-Up Basis ,
Trustees
In our busy practice, we tend to see certain recurring errors. In particular, we see planning errors that arise during the estate administration process after someone dies. Below are a few of these common errors, and, in the...more
We have had several matters recently with “Accidental Americans” – that is, non-US persons who became US tax residents by staying in the US for a sufficient number of days.
This frequently happens in an understandable...more
This short article outlines the requirements for starting an active business in a qualified opportunity zone (“QOZ”).
The US tax legislation that created QOZs was enacted in early 2018, and is intended to encourage...more
In a contested estate situation, family members are mad, often fighting mad. A common client question is, “When are we going to court?” Perhaps surprisingly, our usual answer to this is, “Only when everything else has...more
Closely-held businesses come in all shapes and sizes. Some owners own 100% of their businesses. Some have partners. Some have children in the business. Some do not. A common question that a client asks the business and...more
3/3/2021
/ Asset Protection ,
Business Succession ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Estate Planning ,
Estate Tax ,
Family Businesses ,
Gift Tax ,
Income Taxes ,
Partnerships ,
Succession Planning ,
Surviving Spouse ,
Trusts
Trust and estate planners are still catching their breath from the 2020 year-end and dealing with the wave of gifting transactions that many clients completed. It seems the ink is not dry on those December transactions and...more
On June 10, 2020, in Nelson v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2020-81, the Tax Court ruled in favor of the IRS and against a taxpayer who attempted to use a defined value provision to value a transfer of assets.
The taxpayer’s...more
The global coronavirus pandemic is of course a challenging time. Many businesses have been hard hit and may not recover. Unemployment has skyrocketed. On the other hand, there are many businesses that have been only mildly...more
Businesses dealing with the present economic downturn may find relief from taxation and potential tax refund options under existing tax law as recently amended by the CARES Act....more
In light of the coronavirus pandemic and significant economic downturn, this blog post briefly discusses questions that are commonly being asked right now regarding the income tax treatment of cancellation of indebtedness...more
The coronavirus outbreak, the subsequent passage of the CARES Act by the federal government, and current low interest rates have changed the landscape of charitable contributions and planning in 2020.
Charitable...more
With the worldwide spread of coronavirus, this is an unprecedented and unsettling time. Our health care systems are overwhelmed. Markets have been upended. Social distancing and self-quarantine are terms and practices we...more
Today, the Treasury announced that it will also be pushing back the April 15th deadline to file 2019 income tax returns. As a result, taxpayers will not need to pay income taxes owed for 2019 and will not need to file 2019...more
Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, the Treasury announced Tuesday that it will be pushing back the April 15th deadline to pay income taxes owed for 2019 by 90 days. In other words, until July 15, 2020, no taxpayer will be...more
Seasoned trusts and estates practitioners know certain truths, such as:
Stuff happens.
Some estate tax disputes should not be litigated, but they are anyway.
Sometimes justice is done....more
In a news release on July 26, 2019, the IRS announced that it was sending letters to taxpayers with virtual currency transactions that potentially failed to report income and pay the resulting tax. See IR-2019-132.
The...more
In a closely-watched decision, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a beneficiary’s residence within a state alone does not subject a trust to such state’s income tax. In North Carolina Dept. of Revenue v. Kimberley...more
6/26/2019
/ Beneficiaries ,
Due Process ,
Estate Tax ,
Exclusive Control ,
Forum State ,
In-State Beneficiaries ,
Income Taxes ,
Minimum Contacts ,
North Carolina Department of Revenue v The Kimberley Rice Kaestner 1992 Family Trust ,
SCOTUS ,
State Taxes ,
Trust Distributions ,
Trustees ,
Trusts
The 2017 Tax Act added a new tax on US shareholders of controlled foreign corporations (“CFCs”), the tax on Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (“GILTI”). GILTI often includes active business income and thus has a widespread...more
On April 12, 2019, New Jersey enacted the “Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act.” (P.L. 2019, Ch. 59). The bill authorizes an adult resident of New Jersey, who has capacity and whose attending physician has determined to...more