Contributions to IRAs are deductible. If not deductible, the taxpayer has basis in his IRA so that this amount is not taxable when taken out of the IRA. The idea is that the taxpayer probably paid income taxes on the money prior to putting it into the IRA and should not be taxed on it…
Category: Tax
Tax
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What is a Real Estate Trade or Business?
There are a lot of questions about the new Sec. 199A pass thru deduction. One question is whether real estate will qualify as a trade or business. Since it is not defined in Sec. 199A, general tax law will apply. There are a number of court cases on point. The court recently issued its opinion…
Documenting Real Estate Professional Hours
You buy real estate and hold it for rental income. The real estate produces losses. The losses are increased by various items, such as depreciation deductions, interest expense deductions, etc. You spend the year working on your rental properties and at your part-time job. Can you offset the income from your part-time job with your…
Documenting Loans to Closely-Held Corporations
In Norgaard v. United States, No. 16-12107-FDS (D. Mass. 2018), the court addressed whether a personal loan made to a closely held corporation can be deducted as a bad debt when the business goes out of business. The case highlights why it is important to document loans made to corporations. The Facts & Procedural History…
Limited Window of Time to Structure Divorce Settlements
The tax deduction and income provisions for alimony have been repealed for divorce decrees entered into after December 31, 2018 or for earlier divorces where the agreements are modified after that date. This gives married couples and formerly married couples a window of time to structure or restructure their agreements to reduce their overall taxes.…
Misappropriated Money Subject to Tax, Even if No Criminal Violation
The proceeds of criminal activities are taxable income. Money that is embezzled from an employer is taxable to the embezzling employee. But what about money transferred between friends with the agreement that one of them will invest the funds, but he instead uses the funds personally and in doing so did not violate a criminal…
Court: IRS Cannot Apply New Law Based on Conduct Predating the Law
In Rafizadeah v. Commissioner, 150 T.C. No. 1 (2018), the court concluded that the IRS made a late assessment of tax and penalties. The case turns on whether the IRS can benefit from the longer six-year assessment period based on an information return filing that the law did not obligate the taxpayer to make at…
Family Cattle Operation Denied Tax Deductions
In Barnhart Ranch Co. v. Commissioner, No. 16-60834 (5th Cir. 2017), the court considered who was entitled to deduct expenses for cattle that were descended from cattle the taxpayers inherited and other cattle that were subsequently purchased. The case shows how important it is to implement an accounting system to capture income and expenses in…
Payments to Foreign Student Studying in U.S. Subject to Tax
We get quite a few questions from students who are in the U.S. on student visas as to whether their research awards are taxable in the U.S. The answer depends in large part on the terms of the applicable tax treaty and whether the awards are compensation for services or pure grants. The recent Dovzhenok…
No Interest & Penalties on Restitution Assessments
The IRS can assess criminal restitution as if it is a tax tax. But can it assess interest and penalties on the restitution as it would a tax? The IRS policy is to do just that. The court addressed this in Klein v. Commissioner, 149 T.C. 341 (2017), concluding that the IRS policy violates the…