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Articles to help individuals and businesses evaluate their options for dealing with tax issues.

Employee Retention Credit Voluntary Disclosure Program Ends March 22, 2024

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a refundable tax credit for certain eligible business and tax-exempt organizations that had employees and were affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ERC Voluntary Disclosure Program is meant to help employers pay back the money they received after incorrectly filing for ERC claims. Businesses who incorrectly claimed the ERC […]

Anticipating Tax Litigators…And the IRS (Part 2 of 2): Tax Strategy Tips

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has had a long backlog that, due in part to funding received in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, it only began to catch up on in mid-2023. In the meantime, the IRS’s backlogs and delays might have lulled taxpayers into a false sense of security. […]

Anticipating Tax Litigation… And the IRS (Part 1 of 2): Tax Filing and Maintenance Tips

Despite the relative rarity of an individual taxpayer’s file being brought to United States Tax Court or even audited, many taxpayers nevertheless fear the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) coming after them. This is not without good reason. Responding to an IRS audit alone can be time consuming and involves obtaining and compiling numerous documents. That […]

When Winning Isn’t “Prevailing”: Success in Bankruptcy Court Does Not Translate to Attorneys’ Fees

In June 2016, William Canada, Jr. took the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to bankruptcy court and won. Mr. Canada successfully challenged the IRS’s claim for a $40 million penalty, pursuant to IRC §6707, for failing to report tax shelter transactions under IRC §6111. Per IRC §6707, the IRS imposes a penalty on anyone who fails […]

IRS Acted “Against Equity or Good Conscience” to Deny Hardship Due to Depression

On April 20, 2017, the United States Tax Court (Court) held in favor the petitioners, John C. Trimmer and Susan Trimmer (together, the Trimmers) against the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, regarding the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS’s) authority to consider a hardship waiver and the notion that the IRS’s authority on the hardship waiver is not […]

What’s in a Name?: The ABA Attempts to Define “Cryptocurrency”

Until relatively recently, the number of individuals who bought and sold cryptocurrencies (crypto) and other digital assets was fairly small. Over the last few years, however, that number has continued to grow exponentially. As a result, there has been an increasing number of calls for government regulation on how individuals’ and businesses’ actions on crypto […]

Is The IRS Going to the Moon?: President Biden’s Executive Order on Digital Assets

On March 9, 2022, President Biden signed an executive order setting out his administration’s strategy regarding digital assets: Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets (Executive Order). The Executive Order is broadly concerned with protecting investors and consumers, guarding against illicit activity, and ensuring financial stability, both in the U.S. and in global markets. The […]

A Qualified Offer the IRS Could Refuse

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), like any self-respecting bureaucracy, sometimes makes mistakes. When those mistakes occurs, a taxpayer can make a “qualified offer,” which might lead to a settlement and obviate the need for a drawn out court battle. If the case nevertheless goes to Tax Court, and the taxpayer prevails in their case, they […]

A Sordid Tale of Donkeys and Horses: Tax Court Style – Part Two

On December 16, 2021, the United States Tax Court issued a memorandum opinion in the case of Skolnick v. Commissioner (see Docket Nos. 24649-16, 24650-16, 24980-16), which was related to the deduction of business expenses for an animal breeding operation. This opinion was the second of two recently issued on the matter. You can find […]

A Sordid Tale of Donkeys and Horses: Tax Court Style – Part One

The following tale is the first in a two part series relating to a couple of recent decisions from the United States Tax Court. Both decisions center around the often-litigated topic of a taxpayer’s profit-motive and whether those taxpayers should have been the allowed the losses stemming from their breeding businesses. On December 21, 2021, […]

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