Business travel expenses are deductible. These are expenses for business trips and work trips, such as car and truck expenses, airfare and hotels and lodging. It can also include travel meals. Those looking to deduct business trip expenses are running a risk as the IRS frequently disallows these expenses on audit. It does so even…
Category: Recordkeeping
Recordkeeping
Requirements for taxpayers to maintain records and documentation related to their tax returns and financial transactions. Give us a call to see how we can help, (713) 909-4906.
Travel Expenses Allowed for Repetitive Pattern of Travel
The IRS frequently challenges travel expenses. These expenses have a higher substantiation requirement, which the IRS uses to disallow every expense no matter how reasonable or how certain it is that the expense was incurred. But what if it was exceedingly certain that the expense was incurred and there is a method for computing the…
Can IRS Rely on Third Party Reports to Identify Taxable Income?
If a third party collects monies for you and send you a report reflecting the monies but the reports show too much income, should you be taxed on the higher income or what you actually received? The Ghadiri-Asli v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2019-142, case addresses this. Facts & Procedural History The taxpayer is a physician.…
Court Considers Medical Marijuana Company Substantiation
Medical marijuana companies face a number of challenges. The Section 280E limitation on business deductions is one example. There have been a number of court cases that address this limitation. The Feinberg v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2017-211, case addresses a medical marijuana company’s efforts to substantiate cost of goods sold in light of the Section…
Court Says Employer Entitled to Worker’s IRS Records
When the IRS determines that independent contractors are taxed as employees, it is up to the employer to show that the IRS determination is incorrect. One way to do this is to show that the workers paid tax even though the employer did not withhold the tax. In Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Commissioner, 148 T.C.…
How Long Do You Keep Your Tax Records?
Taxpayers often ask how long they have to keep their tax records. Many taxpayers only keep records for three to six years. In Reyonoso v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2016-185, the court considered a case that turned on whether the taxpayer could produce records to support that he had made a mark-to-market election nearly twenty years…
Limits on IRS’s Ability to Ask for Records Multiple Times
If the IRS conducts an audit for one year and reviews records, but fails to keep the records and then conducts an audit for a second year, is the taxpayer obligated to provide a second copy of the records the IRS failed to keep from the first year? The court addressed this in United States v.…
Truck Driver Expenses Not Subject to Higher Substantiation
The absence of records results in the disallowance of tax deductions and credits on audit. This is particularly true for expenses that are subject to the higher substantiation requirement in Section 280F, such as travel expenses. In Baker v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2014-122, the court considered whether a truck driver’s transportation expenses are subject to the…
Truck Expenses Not Deductible Due to Inadequate Mileage Log
In Houchin v. Commissioner, T.C. Summary Opinion 2014-29, the U.S. Tax Court concluded that truck expenses were not deductible as the mileage log did not note the locations the taxpayer traveled to. Facts & Procedural History Mr. Houchin worked as a truck driver, but was unemployed in 2010. He collected unemployment compensation. Mr. Houchin also…
Car and Truck Expenses Allowed Based on Mileage Not Actual Costs, Absent Records
In Aivatzidis v. Commissioner, T.C. Summary Opinion 2013-105, the U.S. Tax Court concluded that a professional driver could deduct expenses based on mileage, but not for actual expenses. This case provides an example of why drivers should compute car and truck expenses based on mileage if they do not have sufficient records. Facts & Procedural…