Tax Form Mixup Can Extend the IRS’s Statute of Limitations

Suppose you file a tax return and, months or years later, you get a letter from the IRS saying that it will not accept the tax return. The IRS letter says that you used the wrong tax form. And maybe even change the facts so that the IRS mailed this letter to you, but you…

Bookkeeper Liable for Trust Fund Recovery Penalty

IRS employees are tasked with making decisions. These decisions dictate who owes taxes and penalties and who does not. These decisions are usually made in the context of well trodden areas and by employees who make the same type of decisions over and over. This is due to the volume of disputes that are created…

Hospital Administrator Owes Trust Fund Penalty

Employment taxes can be deadly for businesses. Once a business gets behind, it can be impossible to catch up. Those operating a failing or struggling business may feel that using employment taxes as a short-term loan from the IRS is justified. The thinking may be that they are needed to keep employees employed, to save…

Fixing Trust Fund Recovery Penalties

Fixing Trust Fund Recovery Penalties

The public may not be fully cognizant of this, but, the IRS is in the business of processing information and making decisions. It accomplishes this by siloing work on tax returns and accounts. The siloed work is intended to allow the IRS to process and make consistent decisions based on a very large volume of…

Loaning Money to Business Triggers Trust Fund Penalty

Court Says Partnership Is Worth Less, Not Entirely Worthless

You work hard to build a business, you find success over the years, and then you find out that your long term accountant did not remit payroll taxes and you owe a significant balance.  What do you do?  The recent McClendon v. United States, No. 17-20174 (5th Cir. 2018) case provides some answers. The Facts & Procedural…

Check Signing Activity Not Sufficient for Trust Fund Penalty

Check Signing Activity Not Sufficient For Trust Fund Penalty

The IRS will often assert trust fund recovery penalties against anyone who signs checks written on the business checking account. The court addressed this in Shaffran v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2017-35, concluding that some check signing activity alone is not sufficient to impose a trust fund recovery penalty. The case provides some insight as to…

No Reasonable Cause Defense for Some Trust Fund Penalties

Post Office Tracking Data Can Result In Tax Disputes

The IRS is serious about unpaid employment taxes. The trust fund recovery penalty can be used to collect these taxes. This penalty makes a business tax liability a personal liability. With most penalties, the penalty can be abated for reasonable cause. But what about the trust fund penalty? Can it be abated for reasonable cause?…

Judicial Review for Trust Fund Recovery Penalties

Tax Court Expands Innocent Spouse Relief For Divorced Taxpayers

Taxpayers who are assessed trust fund recovery penalties need to take note of the U.S. Tax Court’s recent decision in Anderson v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2016-219. The decision highlights a potential foot fault they may make when trying to resolve their trust fund recovery penalties at the IRS administrative level. Facts and Procedural History The…

Stay-at-Home Mom Not Liable for Trust Fund Recovery Penalty

Stay-at-home Mom Not Liable For Trust Fund Recovery Penalty

The IRS has the ability to assess a trust fund recovery penalty against those who are responsible for withholding payroll taxes for employees if they fail to withhold and pay over the taxes to the IRS. Then penalty is equal to the amount of the withheld but unpaid tax. Liability for the penalty falls on…

Failing Business Triggers Trust Fund Penalties

Failing Business Triggers Trust Fund Penalties

Taxes are often neglected when a business is having financial difficulties. This can have serious repercussions for the business and the individuals who are responsible for having taxes withheld and remitted to the IRS. The IRS has the ability to assess trust fund recovery penalties against these individuals, which essentially makes the business tax liability…