When a business fails to pay its payroll taxes, the consequences can be severe. The IRS has several collection tools at its disposal to collect unpaid payroll taxes. This includes liens, levies, and even criminal charges against the business owners. The IRS recently attempted to expand its collection powers to prevent future non-compliance. In United……
Tag: Tax Procedure
Tee Time on Taxpayers’ Dime: IRS Employee Golfing on the Job
The IRS cannot simply terminate employees as private-sector employers can. IRS employees are often shielded by complex bureaucratic processes that makes it difficult to remove them from their positions. The recent case of Sheiman v. Department of the Treasury, No. 2022-2045 (Fed. Cir. 2024), provides an opportunity to consider the IRS’s challenges in terminating an……
About “Sandbagging” in Tax Litigation
The litigation process requires parties to adhere to various procedural rules. These rules are intended to ensure fairness and efficiency in the court process. One of the most critical aspects of this process is the discovery phase, where parties exchange information and evidence relevant to the case. Some litigants may attempt to gain an unfair……
IRS Can Sidestep Taxpayers’ CDP Rights by Applying Overpayments
Imagine that Congress sets out a remedy to curb IRS abuses. And further consider that after the taxpayer pursues the remedy, the rules allow the IRS to simply sidestep the remedy. So the remedy is no remedy at all. That is what we have in the Zuck v. Commissioner, No. 25125-14L (U.S.T.C. Apr. 6, 2022)……
Tax Form Mixup Can Extend the IRS’s Statute of Limitations
Suppose you file a tax return and, months or years later, you get a letter from the IRS saying that it will not accept the tax return. The IRS letter says that you used the wrong tax form. And maybe even change the facts so that the IRS mailed this letter to you, but you……
Resolving IRS Taxes: What is “Future Income”?
When it comes to tax rules and government administrative guidance, one may expect that the provisions are clear and can be easily applied. However, this is often not the case. Even detailed regulations with explanations may fail to provide readily discernible answers. Applying such rules to common situations can still lead to questionable or incorrect……
Transferring Property to a Spouse to Avoid IRS Collections
Imagine you live in a community property state, like Texas, and jointly own a home with your spouse. You owe back taxes to the IRS and want to protect your share of the home if the IRS tries to seize your assets. You divorce your spouse and transfer your interest in your home to your……
When Can Your Tax Preparer’s Fraud Leave You on the Hook?
Say you hire a tax return preparer and get your tax returns filed, and think that everything is fine. Then years later, say more than a decade later, the IRS shows up and asserts that your tax returns were fraudulent. You did not commit fraud and this is news to you, but the IRS asserts……
When is a Tax Return Not a Tax Return?
The tax code commands the IRS to assess the tax reported to the IRS by a taxpayer on a non-fraudulent tax return. The provision is not optional for the IRS. It is mandatory. However, the tax law does not define what is fraudulent or what counts as a tax return. This begs the question as……