The recent Tax Court decision in Farhy demonstrates that clever and novel arguments can carry the day in complex tax litigation matters. In that case, the taxpayer stipulated that he: (1) had Form 5471 filing obligations...more
4/13/2023
/ Failure-to-File ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Lack of Authority ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Tax Abatement ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Penalties ,
Tax Returns
In the federal income tax world, there are effectively two functions within the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). First, the IRS examines tax years and tax returns to determine whether the taxpayer has reported the correct...more
If you have unreported foreign accounts, you are not alone. Every year, I speak with hundreds of clients with tax non-reporting issues (e.g., FBARs, Form 8938, Form 3520, Form 3520-A, etc.). The good news: the IRS offers...more
2/24/2023
/ FBAR ,
Foreign Bank Accounts ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
International Tax Issues ,
IRS ,
Legal Representatives ,
Offshore Funds ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning
Under federal tax law, there are significant differences between grantor and non-grantor trusts. Grantor trusts are treated as disregarded entities. In layman’s terms, this means that the grantor (i.e., the creator or the...more
Recently, there seems to be some confusion regarding section 643(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and its application to trusts. Indeed, that provision—particularly to those not well-versed in...more
Trusts come in many variations, rendering them often difficult for non-attorneys to follow and comprehend. Indeed, this variation can often be seen in the nomenclature used for trust arrangements, which includes terms such...more
12/7/2022
/ Asset Management ,
Beneficiaries ,
Discretionary Trust ,
Estate Planning ,
Estate Tax ,
Gift Tax ,
Grantor Trusts ,
IRS ,
Revocable Trusts ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning
The Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) requires United States persons (“USPs”) to file FinCEN Forms 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBARs”), for each calendar year in which the aggregate amount(s) in certain...more
The Bank Secrecy Act requires certain taxpayers to submit timely FBARs to the United States reporting their interests in foreign accounts. If a taxpayer has an FBAR filing requirement and misses it, the taxpayer can be...more
Taxpayers routinely ask me if they can go to jail for not paying their federal income taxes. Admittedly, the bar is not that high for felony tax evasion—the government must only prove three elements: (i) willfulness; (ii)...more
Join leading tax experts from across the globe, as we discuss tax trends that are reshaping international taxation -
AN EXPERIENCE UNLIKE ANY OTHER -
Find yourself on the cutting-edge of international tax law, with...more
8/31/2022
/ Continuing Legal Education ,
Cross-Border ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement ,
Foreign Derived Intangible Income (FDII) ,
GILTI tax ,
Income Taxes ,
International Tax Issues ,
IRS ,
Multinationals ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Penalties ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Reform ,
Transfer Pricing ,
Webinars
Interests in or transactions with foreign trusts can cause headaches for federal income tax purposes. Depending on the interest or transactions at issue, U.S. citizens or residents may have to file a Form 3520, a Form...more
Section 6721 provides the IRS with authority to impose civil penalties against taxpayer-employers who fail to timely file correct information returns (e.g., Forms W-2/W-3 and Forms 940/941). Under section 6721’s three-tiered...more
IRS Tax Penalties and the Tax Professional Reliance Defense - No one wants to pay federal taxes. And this truism applies more so with respect to federal tax penalties. Accordingly, clients often call upon their tax...more
Worker Classification and Section 530 Relief - Employers are required to pay employment taxes to the IRS. Generally, these payments consist of two portions: the employee’s portion of FICA and income taxes and the employer’s...more
As our previous firm Insights discuss, there is a numbered notice for almost any communication the IRS provides to a taxpayer. See, e.g., CP518 and CP504. In some cases, the taxpayer may safely review a communication...more
The IRS’s Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures continue to be a valuable tool for taxpayers who are not in compliance with all of their United States income tax reporting obligations associated with foreign activities....more
Section 6751(b) and Assessable - Penalties Section 6751(b) of the Code has been a potent weapon for taxpayers since the Second Circuit held in Chai that certain penalties are not valid without written managerial approval. ...more
Introduction. On May 17, 2021, the United States Supreme Court handed the IRS a significant loss when it concluded that CIC Services, LLC (“CIC”) could continue its lawsuit against the IRS for violations of the...more
Taxpayers who employ workers have obligations under federal law to withhold and remit federal employment taxes to the IRS. In addition to this withholding and payment requirement, federal law also imposes certain reporting...more
Generally, when a taxpayer makes an overpayment of tax, the IRS refunds the overpayment to the taxpayer. But this is not always the case. For example, the IRS has the statutory authority to credit (or offset) an overpayment...more
The concept of “willfulness” is an important one in the FBAR civil penalty context. Indeed, a taxpayer’s willful failure to file a timely and accurate FBAR may result in significant penalties: the higher of 50-percent of...more
In civil and in criminal cases, the Government must generally act within a certain prescribed time to take action against taxpayers. In legal parlance, this period of time is known as the “statute of limitations.” The...more
2/8/2022
/ Criminal Liability ,
Foreign Bank Accounts ,
Government Investigations ,
Income Taxes ,
Indictments ,
IRS ,
Jury Instructions ,
OVDP ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Tax Evasion ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning
Willful FBAR Penalties - The Schwarzbaum case has received a lot of attention in the last few years from tax professionals. For example, in 2020, the district court concluded—contrary to some other federal court...more
Also Referred to as Internal Revenue Code Section 6672; I.R.C. § 6672; Section 6672; Trust Fund Recovery Penalty -
Background. In certain instances, the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) requires persons to withhold...more
Ordinarily, taxpayers file their income tax returns each year with the IRS and hear nothing more. Rather, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) simply processes the tax return, assesses the reported amount of tax due, and...more