The price of a forever stamp increased from $0.58 to $0.63 on January 1, 2023. A tax pro posted this fact as a public service announcement on Facebook. Of course, tax pros being tax pros, someone chimed in, “Do I have to recognize a capital gain upon disposition of my forever stamp?” And of course, someone (me) felt obliged to answer, “It depends.” A direct message followed this bit of tax drollery on Twitter that says, “In theory, if I’m holding stamps as an investment, they would be a capital asset.” And so it begins…
Lessons Learned from the Tax Court: The Root of the Issue
Matt Metras, EA
When is a business really a business? As Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said in 1964, “I know it when I see it.” The US Tax Court, however, maintains a slightly less subjective standard. The Roots were pretty sure they were running a bona fide business; the IRS, however, didn’t share the sentiment. And since we’re reading about them in a segment called “Lessons Learned,” one should assume it did not go the way the Roots would have liked.
