Magnanimous Obama Proposes Retirement Savings Incentives

REVENOOER RANTS – 2/8/16 Lest we be chastised for not giving credit where credit is due, we have to hand it to Obama for recently announcing much needed retirement incentives which will be included in his 2017 budget to be announced this week.  The simple fact is that, unlike the situation in our parents’ generation,

Tax Court Reiterates Employee/Independent Contractor Distinction

Seems like an issue which just won’t go away – the question of whether a worker bee is an employee, or an independent contractor.  Makes a big difference in how the bloke reports his expenses.  If he’s an employee, those expenses go on Schedule A as itemized deductions, and are likely to be subjected to

Cat Grabs IRS’ Tongue

Seems the Revenooers plan to go silent – they just don’t want to talk to you anymore. The National Taxpayer Advocate, in her recent report to Congress, notes that for the past year and a half, IRS has devoted significant resources to creating a “future state” plan which details how the agency will operate in

Watch out for “Hillarytax”

So, here we go – head first into another election year!  And you Hillary fans, out there, should not forget her recent promise to go even beyond Obama’s desired tax schemes, and “to make sure the effective tax rate paid by millionaires reflects a truly fair tax system,” according to one of her aide’s recently.

IRS Hangs Tough On IRA 60 Day Rollover Rule

We’ve reported, many times, about various situations in which beleaguered taxpayers have been unable to meet the requisite 60 day IRA rollover rule (to avoid treating the dough coming out of the IRA in the first instance to be taxable), and IRS has bent over – showing its “kinder and gentler” side and not slapping

Revenooers Comin’ After High Earners!

And the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) doesn’t like the IRS’ “MO”. In its most recent audit report, last week, TIGTA notes that IRS has taken steps to improve its audit coverage of high-income taxpayers.  But it should reevaluate whether the threshold of $200,000 for its High-Income and High-Wealth strategy results in an

No Penalty Despite Taxpayer’s 5th Amendment Claim

  Some folks we’ve run into have a hard time with the questions on the individual tax return regarding the existence of foreign bank accounts.  “None of their business!” claim some, even though the law says that it sure is. So here comes taxpayer Youssefzadeh who asserted his 5th amendment protection against self-incrimination in objecting

Don’t Forget to Sign the Darned Return!

So you go through all the hassle of getting your records together and getting that return assembled, but at the eleventh hour, you send that joint return to the Revenooers without having your spouse sign the darned thing. Bad Karma – as learned the hard way by taxpayers Mr. and Mrs. Reifler, who the Tax

When is IRA Contribution Deductible?

Not really a trick question – the law permits deduction of an IRA contribution in the tax year it is actually made – with one little modification:  you can still deduct your 2015 contribution, f’rinstance, if you deposit it no later than April 15, 2016. So here come taxpayers Mr. and Mrs.  Stephen J. Dunn

Lois Lerner Skates

No surprise here – Obama’s Justice Department declared, just the other day, that IRS (in the person of the now famous Lois Lerner) really did nothing nefarious in its myriad investigations and scrutiny of various nonprofit “Tea Party” groups relative to their tax exemption applications.  Obama’s boys have decided that there will be no charges

Good News/Bad News From Low Inflation Rate

If there’s anything good that may have come from Obama’s actions (or inactions, as the case may be) lately it’s the fact that inflation is little or none in the last year or so. The bad news, of course, is that Social Security recipients can expect zero in the way of a raise, next year,

Some Recent Development Which May Affect You

So, we’re into the last quarter of the tax year – no time like the present to start your tax planning, and enhance your awareness of some recent changes in the rules.  A few items of importance, starting with some provisions of the recently enacted “Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of

Busy September Tax Court

The Tax Court was quite busy in September – particularly in hammering taxpayers with a “nice try, but no cigar” conclusion to their cases.  Three in particular: In Ronald C. Fish v. Commissioner, the taxpayer tried one which has been pled to us on many occasions by beleaguered taxpayers:  deduction on the 1040 of losses

Tangible Asset Expensing Limit Set to Expire

Many folks have come to know and love the Internal Revenue Code’s “Section 179” deduction.  Under this rule, tangible personal property which would otherwise be capitalized and depreciated over several years can be written off in full in the year the property is purchased and placed in service. And indeed, the deduction has been quite

“Kiddie Tax” Nuisance

Recall that some dependent children must file a Form 8615 with their tax return, and subject unearned (generally, investment) income to income taxation at his parents’ tax rate.  The form must be filed for any child who meets all of the following conditions: The child had more than $2,000 of unearned income. The child is

Judge Hammers Obama On Privacy Fishing Expedition

  A Federal judge, last week, ordered the Revenooers to turn over the records of any requests from the White House which may have sought taxpayer private info in recent times. Judge Amy Berman Jackson said IRS cannot simply refuse on the basis of confidentiality laws. “This court questions whether Section 6103 (of the Internal

Court Slaps Private Foundation: Private Inurement

A recent decision of a district court in the District of Columbia agreed with the Revenooers, who actually revoked the tax exempt status of a foundation because some of its activities resulted in extraordinary benefits (“private inurement,” to use the vernacular of the bureaucrats) to the entity’s founder’s family. Seems a decedent’s estate gave about

Ninth Circuit Liberalizes Mortgage Deductibility For Unmarrieds

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (our jurisdiction) recently reversed the Tax Court and potentially handed unmarried mortgage debtors a significant windfall. The panel’s decision involved the debt limit provisions – recall that the Internal Revenue Code has long allowed taxpayers to deduct interest on up to $1 million of home acquisition debt and $100,000

“Beware of Scammers”, Warn Revenooers

Apparently taking note of ever-increasingly blatant tactics foisted upon we and thee by scammers, IRS recently issued a new warning to taxpayers. These thieves, you see, pop up by telephone, emails and letters on authentic-looking letterhead, in an effort to trick taxpayers into providing personal financial information, or scare folks into making a payment to

IRS Commish Seat Getting Hotter

If you listen to U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan, anyway. Judicial Watch recently announced that Sullivan has threatened to hold IRS Commissioner Koskinen (and Justice Department attorneys!) in contempt of court after IRS failed to produce status reports and recently obtained emails of Lois Lerner.

Hillary Coming After Your Capital Gains!

Hold on to your wallets, you Dems out there.  Here comes Hillary – after all of us, actually, and not just you! Last week she made known her plan to significantly increase the tax on long term capital gains for we and thee!  It’s currently 20% (plus, of course, the Obama exaction of another 3.8%

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IRS Sorry State Of Affairs

In her mid-year report to Congress, National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson came up with a real tear-jerker, noting that “With funding down about 17 percent on an inflation-adjusted basis since FY 2010, and with the IRS having had to implement large portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

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Ninth Circuit Slams Pot Dispensary On Deductions

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently hammered the marijuana industry (once again) in holding that a taxpayer was precluded by the Internal Revenue Code from deducting any expenses related to its legal marijuana dispensary business. Generally, a business may deduct from its gross income all of the ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred

Importance Of Keeping IRS Informed Of Your Current Address

  So you think you can move around and keep one step ahead of the IRS, thus avoiding receipt of their occasional nasty grams which most of us get at one time or another. But it’s not that simple, and you keep the Revenooers in the dark at your peril! The Internal Revenue Code repeatedly

History

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History One

There are many variations of passages of Lorem Ipsum available, but the majority have suffered alteration in some form, by injected humour, or randomised words which don’t look even slightly believable. If you are going to use a passage of Lorem Ipsum, you need to be sure there isn’t anything embarrassing hidden in the middle

History Two

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History Three

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