Many thanks to my seatmate on a recent flight who posed this hypothetical question, worthy of a Harvard Law School Professor: if an artist sells her painting for $1 million, can she then paint an identical copy, donate it to a charity, and claim no income for the tax year, on the assumption that the value of the copy is $1 million (because that’s what she sold the original for)? The answer is “no.” Read more »
As many of you may know, I hold a Certificate of Specialization in Bankruptcy Law and in a Certificate of Specialization in Tax Law from the State Bar of California. You probably also don’t see many California attorneys advertising this. That’s because fewer than five percent of lawyers in California have taken the exam and continuing legal education courses necessary to obtain this certificate. Read more »
An Offer-in-Compromise is a contract between the IRS and a taxpayer to settle a tax debt for less than what is owed. I get lots of calls from folks excited at the prospect of being able to negotiate down what they owe IRS. And then I burst their bubble with the bad news: it is very hard to get an Offer in Compromise (OIC) from the IRS. Read more »
California’s Franchise Tax Board (FTB) publishes a Most Wanted List of delinquent California taxpayers on its website, for both individuals and corporations. The FTB’s Most Wanted List includes the taxpayer’s name, address and amount owed. In order to qualify for placement, a taxpayer must owe the FTB at least $100,000. Read more »
Everything Everywhere All at Once won seven Oscars at the 95th Academy Awards including for Best Picture. The movie begins with the havoc unleashed by IRS Agent Deirdre Beaubeirdra (Jamie Lee Curtis won Best Supporting Actress), when she audits the laundromat of Evelyn & Waymond Wang (Michelle Yeoh won Best Actress and Ke Huy Kwan won Best Supporting Actor. But are the audit scenes realistic? Short answer: yes, but mostly no. Here’s how the movie differs from a real-life IRS audit. Read more »
You received an audit notice from the IRS. Or maybe you’ve already been audited and hate the result. Or you ignored audit notices, and now the IRS has put a lien on your house and levied your accounts. Here’s the top five reasons to hire a tax attorney, rather than handle a tax problem on your own. Read more>>
Most people don’t know that the IRS is broken into two, almost separate halves: the Assessment Division and the Collections Division. So what? Who cares about the IRS’s Org Chart? You should care. Because that division has a lot of implications for taxpayers. Read more>>
Rising real estate prices create tax problems for owners selling property. While it’s great to sell at high prices, it’s also discouraging to pay big capital gains taxes on the proceeds. That “gain” – the difference between sales proceeds and the adjusted basis in the property (the amount paid for it originally) can be deferred with Section 1031 exchanges. But the rules are complex. Read more>>
You just received a notice from the IRS that you’re being audited. I’m sorry: it’s a stressful experience. But, now that you’re in it, here are the most important things to keep in mind. Read more>>
There’s no shortage of bureaucratic bungling and ineptitude by the IRS. My problem isn’t coming up with stupidities from the IRS, it’s choosing which one to feature because the Tax Trolls are so busy coming up with hijinks and shenanigans. Read more>>
