Donating the rights to change the facade of a building can qualify for a charitable tax deduction. The donation helps ensure that the historical significance of the building is not compromised. But what if you retain the right to change the roof to the building? Can you still qualify for a facade easement deduction? The…
Category: Federal Income Tax
Federal Income Tax
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Can Lump Sum Cash Payment Qualify as Alimony?
For taxpayers who pay alimony to an ex-spouse, the tax deduction for the alimony payment is usually quite large. It can significantly reduce their tax. But can a lump sum payment made in cash qualify for tax-deductible alimony? The court addressed this in Muñiz v. Commissioner, No. 15-14478 (11th Cir. 2016). Facts & Procedural History Muñiz…
Using an Installment Sale in Related Party Deal to Avoid Federal Tax
What if you could transfer depreciable assets from one legal entity that you own to another legal entity that you own, without reporting the gain from the sale until some future year, and still step up the tax basis in the assets due to the sale and taking increased depreciation deductions in the current year…
IRS Will Not Follow Court’s Holding for Customer Rewards Program
The IRS issued AOD 2016-03 to indicate that it will not follow the Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Giant Eagle, Inc. v. Commissioner, 822 F.3d 666 (3rd Cir. 2016), rev’g T.C. Memo 2014-146. The issue is whether costs for a rewards program are deductible in the year the rewards are earned by the…
Is a Lawsuit Award Payment Taxable?
If you receive payments from a lawsuit settlement award, are the payments excluded from Federal income tax? What if the payments are for claims of emotional distress or physical sickness? The Tishkoff v. Commissioner, T.C. Summary Opinion 2016-65, case provides an opportunity to consider these rules. Facts & Procedural History The taxpayer worked for Wells Fargo…
The Impact of Filing a CPA Malpractice Case
The YA Global Investments, L.P. v. RSM McGladrey, Inc.Docket No. A-2152-15T3 (2016), case addresses the difficult situation whereby a taxpayer sues their CPA firm in state court for incorrect tax advice, while at the same time arguing that the tax advice and position is correct in the U.S. Tax Court. This situation arises given the…
Charitable Deduction With a Defective Valuation
There are a number of cases where taxpayers have had to pay more tax than they should due to technical foot faults. These cases often come up when the IRS auditors believe that their job is to look for strict compliance (100%) rather than substantial compliance (something more akin to 80%). This brings us to…
Payments Were Alimony Despite Missing Language Agreement
Payments Made to Ex-Spouse Were Alimony Despite Missing Language in Divorce Agreement Tax issues are often the last thing that spouses consider when going through a divorce. In other cases, one spouse plans for the tax issues and the other does not. This appears to have been the situation in Leslie v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo.…
Payment for Failed Real Estate Deal, Capital or Ordinary Gain?
How is a termination payment for a failed real estate deal taxed? Does it trigger capital or ordinary gain? The court recently addressed this in CRI-Leslie, LLC v. Commissioner, 147 T.C. 8. Facts & Procedural History The taxpayer owned a Radison-branded hotel in Florida. It entered into a contract to sell the hotel to a third…
Evidence for Excluding Settlement Award from Income
Settlement payments paid to compensate a taxpayer for his physical sickness or injury are not taxable. Can you prove physical sickness or injury by showing that the payments were not for an economic harm? The court addressed this in George v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2016-156. Facts & Procedural History The taxpayer was a car salesman in…