Business Strategies

Every year, tax courts hear more than 600 federal tax cases, mostly by the U.S. Tax Court. The vast majority are trial court decisions, again, mostly from the U.S. Tax Court, but also district courts throughout the U.S. Independent of the IRS, the court hears cases relating to income, estate, and gift tax and its rulings can be used as precedent for better interpreting the laws. It practically can provide a roadmap as to what the judges are looking for in defense of a taxpayer’s claim or position. Among the Tax Court decisions, most are memorandum and summary opinions focused on figuring out facts so practitioners can apply the proper law. Annually, we might see fewer than 50 regular Tax Court decisions involving a new interpretation of the tax law. But this still leaves a lot of potentially significant cases in attempting to identify the top 10federal tax cases dating back to the start of our modern income tax in 1913. Which are the most significant? That all depends on you and what you are trying to learn from each case. When it comes to tax planning, read on to learn about the top 10 cases of all time.

It seems so simple, right? You open an account and as you complete the paperwork, you enter something on the line labeled “Beneficiary,” and that’s that. But how many accounts are there? What about other assets? What about, well, life? Because life happens, it can have odd effects on the distribution of assets. This is a cautionary tale of unintended consequences and a reminder to review your beneficiary designations, if not annually, at least every time you experience a major life event. Consider a retired couple one of whom has a large 401(k) (or similar) account. Both have Social Security and true pensions, as well. Typically, the Social Security and pension benefits will end with the death of the individual. The 401(k), however, remains and the listed beneficiary is the spouse. The beneficiary spouse dies before the spouse with the 401(k). Upon the death of her spouse, the account holder creates a will using a popular online tool, which does not advise her to review beneficiary designations on her bank, brokerage, and retirement accounts. Keep reading to learn what to check, when, and how to avoid what goes wrong.

The Employee Retention Credit is worth big bucks. Qualifying companies can get significant relief money – sometimes millions of dollars. So, it was no surprise to me when I heard some outlandish eligibility statements such as “the national emergency declaration counts” or even some “every business gets it” claims. There is a lot of desire to qualify out there and plenty of credit consultants looking to make money. But recently I have heard a different argument from multiple sources which has intrigued me. The argument is dressed up much better and almost looks legitimate. Here is a summary of how the line of thinking goes: OSHA rules mandate compliance with CDC guidelines creating partial suspension eligibility for ERC. I call it the “OSHA argument.” That thinking has not set well with some – particularly as the argument results in qualification for every business for all of 2020 and 2021. Red states have had little or no restrictions in 2021 and even deep blue states generally lifted their restrictions in the spring of 2021. But conveniently, the OSHA argument would mean state and local orders do not need to be reviewed at all as a national order is in place. For a consultant charging a percentage of the ERC, they can sell this service now to everyone and avoid the headache of eligibility discussions. Let’s take a closer look at this argument and reasons why it does not work.

Companies that specialize in the Credit for Increasing Research Activities (also known as the R&D tax credit) sell hard to our clients. During tax season they are online looking for businesses who may qualify for this credit—especially startups. They cast an extremely wide net that has the potential for a lot of bycatch. While it’s true that the R&D credit is often overlooked by small businesses and their return preparers, it’s not as easy to qualify for the credit as some of these companies want small business owners to believe. Savvy tax professionals can help to ensure that their qualifying business clients receive the benefit of this credit while avoiding situations that would make them ineligible for it.

There are some significant lessons in the recent decision in the case of Estate of Michael Connelly. Sorry to spoil the surprise, but what I think the big one is is that co-owners of S corporations (and other sorts of entities) should consider a cross-purchase rather than redemption when they have a buy/sell agreement. That is particularly true if life insurance funds the arrangement. Keep reading to find out why.

The pandemic forced businesses to adapt in many ways. The economic recovery has highlighted supply chain issues exacerbated by strong demand and leading to overall inflation. Businesses are now continuing to adapt to higher prices. If you have inventory, you perhaps can realize tax benefits to help with this inflationary effect through the Last-In, First-Out inventory method (LIFO). LIFO inventory methods are hardly a new tax concept, but taxpayers often may have ignored them due to complexity or periods of marginal inflation. This strategy deserves a second look during a year of high inflation. Read on to learn more about this tax savings strategy and the simplified calculation methods available.

The limited liability corporation or LLC is one of the most popular entity choices for small business owners. And for good reason. An LLC is relatively simple to form and, as the name suggests, it provides a limited amount of liability protection for business owners. Nevertheless, some business owners are often unaware that an LLC has no inherent tax advantages (because, as our readers know, the Feds disregard it for tax purposes) over other types of entities (or even no entity at all). You should always be encouraged to make your entity choice based on a variety of factors, including both potential tax treatment and the administrative burden associated with it. How do you use an LLC to save tax, and better yet ensure it isn’t costing you more than it needs to? Keep reading to find out.

Ever since TCJA passed, taxpayers in high income tax states have been wincing each time they see the $10,000 limitation appearing on Schedule A. But while the law included this $10,000 state tax deduction limit for individuals , it did not include a limit for partnerships, S, or C corporations. To clarify the deduction’s limitation, the IRS issued a notice blessing an entity-level tax and accordingly, many states have implemented such a tax. This allows you the ability to bypass the $10,000 limit on Schedule A and deduct the state taxes paid as a business expense. As of this writing, 19 states have passed what are known as “pass-through entity taxes,” but there are pros and cons to using this loophole. If you are the owner of a pass-through entity and pay more than $10,000 each year in state taxes, this workaround may increase the state tax deduction beyond the limit. Keep reading to learn how.