Is an IRS Audit Report an Informal Claim for Refund?

Raising A Tax Issue For The First Time In Court

Amended returns generally have to be filed to recoup overpayments of tax. What counts as a refund claim is open to interpretation, as the courts have allowed a myriad of written documents to qualify. But what about the IRS report itself? If it includes a taxpayer-favorable adjustment, is the report itself an informal refund claim?…

Does an IRS Appeals Protest Count as a Refund Claim?

Raising A Tax Issue For The First Time In Court

Taxpayers generally have to submit refund claims to recoup taxes paid to the IRS. The law generally says that these claims have to be in writing, but not necessarily on the IRS’s official forms. Taxpayers submit a number of documents to the IRS. Written protests submitted to the IRS are an example. Can such a…

The Dilemma: File A Timely or An Accurate Tax Return?

Court Clarifies Inventory Capitalization Rules For Producers

If you have an ongoing dispute with the IRS for one or more years and the outcome of that dispute will impact the current year, can you take a wait-and-see approach for filing the current year’s tax return?    Or should you wait to file an amended tax return after the audit? The Namakain v.…

Amending Tax Returns for FTC and NOL Carrybacks

Amending Tax Returns For Ftc And Nol Carrybacks

The time limits for filing amended tax returns can present a number of difficult questions.  This is particularly true when tax attributes, such as foreign tax credits and net operating loss deductions, are carried back to prior years.  The carryback to one prior year can result in carrybacks to one or more years prior to…

U.S. Foreign Tax Credit Not Impacted by Repayment of Foreign Tax Refund

U.s. Foreign Tax Credit Not Impacted By Repayment Of Foreign Tax Refund

The tax assessment and collection process in most foreign countries is markedly different than the process in the U.S. These differences can present a number of challenges for U.S. citizens who reside in foreign countries. In Sotiropoulos v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2017-75, the court considered one of these challenges, namely, how does one determine whether…

Taxpayer Retains Right to Tax Refund Claims Despite Bankruptcy Discharge

S Corporation Owner Subject To Self-employment Tax

The bankruptcy-tax rules can present a number of opportunities. In Martin v. United States, Case No. 3:13-CV-03130 (C.D. Ill 2017), the court concludes that the taxpayers retained the right to sue the IRS for substantial tax refunds for taxes that were overpaid prior to their bankruptcy, despite having discharged their debts in bankruptcy. Bankruptcy &…

Partnership Return Corrected by Amended Return

Can Lump Sum Cash Payment Qualify As Alimony?

In U.S. v. Stewart, No. 15-20596, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the taxpayer was not entitled to a tax refund that was based on a corrected Schedule K-1 received from a partnership the taxpayer owned. The question on appeal was whether a partnership tax return can be corrected by filing an amended…

Proving that You Mailed a Tax Return to the IRS

Proving That You Mailed A Tax Return To The Irs

How do you prove that you mailed a tax return to the IRS?  This may sound like a simple question to answer.  It isn’t.  The have been and continue to be disputes involving this very issue.  The recent In Re McGrew, No. 13-00149 (Bank. N.D. IA 2016) provides an example. Facts & Procedural History McGrew filed…

NOL Triggers Refund for Earlier Year Adjustments

Irs Tax Lien Did Not Attach To Trust Property

The tax loss carryback can result in some interesting math. The difficulties come in when one thinks about how to take one number, a loss, from a latter year, and apply that loss back to a former year. This may sound simple enough. It is one number that is being carried back. That part is…