It is common for a parent to create a joint bank account with the intent that someone accesses the account to pay for their funeral or last expenses. Who owns this account once the parent dies? What about other bank accounts that are held jointly? Does the joint owner, surviving spouse or someone else inherits…
TX-LW Blogs
IRS Says Congress’ Penalty Relief Not Available
To be viable, businesses have to pay for their operations and, after-tax, produce a profit or return. The tax burden can make it very difficult to produce a profit. This is particularly true when sales taxes and payroll taxes are considered. The sales tax is imposed on the transfer of property (and in some states……
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……
Avoid IRS Interest With Credit Elects
A tax attorney might say that you should never go into an iffy transaction naked. This refers to a tax position that covers a real or perceived tax liability from a transaction. This is a corporate tax concept. Larger corporations often have a longer view when it comes to business tax planning. Given their time……
Contribution to Corporation, then Sale of the Corporation
Most income tax planning involves questions about income, deductions or credits, character, or timing, or some combination of these questions. When viewed from these categories, even simple transactions can present tax planning opportunities. The contribution of property to a corporation by its shareholder is an example. A contribution triggers taxable income to the shareholder. Our……
Charter Boat Expenses are Miscellaneous Itemized Deductions
We live in a complex society. Even common activities can be exceedingly complex. Take a charter boat operation, for example. One has to consider the various laws for registering the boat; laws that dictate where and when the boat can operate; the laws governing the crew and its activities; and financing and loan and insurance……
How Long Does Probate Take in Texas
Yahoo! Finance ran an article entitled “How Long Does Probate Take.” The article sets out several circumstances that can slow down the probate process. The article is not Texas-specific, so many of the circumstances do not really apply for probates in Texas or are more nuanced than mentioned in the article. The article provides an…
Tax Planning for Demolished Buildings
It is often said that bad things happen in threes. This is a nice way of saying that too many bad things have happened in quick succession, so hopefully, the person will not suffer further calamities in the short term. Tax attorneys view calamities in terms of tax losses and/or net operating losses. As tax……
Pfizer: Vaccine Safe for Children
Parents of elementary school students in the Houston area felt welcome relief on Monday when Pfizer announced its vaccine is safe and effective for the 5- to 11-year-old age group. The findings represent a key step toward inoculating a younger population that so far is unprotected from the virus. Right now, only children 12 and…