Guest Article

Few things strike fear in our clients’ hearts more than an IRS notice, especially one that says a client's tax return is being examined or audited. While this must be dealt with on a timely basis, it is not a reason for you, the tax professional, or the client to panic. Here, I’ll discuss a range of best practices to ensure the success of your client’s case, plus what to do when things go awry.

When you have to go toe-to-toe with the IRS, make sure you keep the fight clean. The only way to succeed when arguing your case with an auditor is to follow the IRS’s own procedures. And, the primary way to do that is—you guessed it—keeping proper documentation. With this article, you’ll better understand where tax authority is derived, what rules the IRS must stick to, and what rules the IRS accepts.

Scams lurk around every corner year-round, but tax time is when they seem to flourish. The crooks that come out to swipe cash, credit card info, Social Security numbers and other personal details are nothing if not innovative, always ready to use any tech advancement, disaster headline or snake-oil sales tactic to worm their way into people’s wallets. Part of your role these days as a financial pro is to help protect clients against these cons. Here’s the latest to know.

February brings us Groundhog Day, but there are always new developments in Tax Court, as well as refreshers to keep practitioners current.

Well, at least the treasury department is true to form. They have ruined yet another international trip for me, which is the third time if you’re keeping track at home. This time it was a weekend trip to Toronto, which coming from upstate New York is technically “international,” yet somehow substantially closer to home than New York City. Late afternoon on the Friday before New Year’s Eve, the Treasury released another 115 pages of Digital Asset Regulations, along with a 13 page notice for good measure. As we’ve discussed previously on TOTTB, the last set of regs punted on a number of more complex crypto issues. This most recent release is all about one of those issues, Decentralized Finance, better known as “DeFi.”

People use the online space to look for love, make business and financial decisions. And all of these decisions can have serious tax implications. That is why as trusted financial and tax advisors, it is important for us to be aware so we can help protect our clients. In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission released a report showing consumers reported losing $4.6 billion in investment scams. That's only the amount reported, so our clients are at risk if they are online making financial decisions. Today, let's look at a newer player in the online investment scam arena: pig butchering. If you're like me, you're probably thinking “what in the world does this have to do with taxes?” Unfortunately, everything. It leads to taxpayers receiving tax bills for money they withdrew but lost as victims of theft.

As we continue our series of articles on various social media platforms, we will focus on Pinterest. As discussed, social media is an indispensable tool for professionals across multiple industries. Accountants, often perceived as traditional and reserved, can harness the power of these platforms to extend their reach, engage with clients, and establish a solid online presence. Pinterest is known for its easy visuals and use, offering unique opportunities for us accountants to curate boards with valuable financial resources. By strategically using Pinterest, we can attract and engage our target audience, drive website traffic, and build brand awareness.

I have been dissatisfied with most of the articles that I have read about what I call Rothing, i.e. foregoing a deduction for retirement savings with the prospect of tax-free distributions in the future or taking the tax hit on a deferred account to convert it to a tax-free account. The articles generally have a pro-Roth bias. Suze Orman, for example, swears by Roths. They also tend to not have numbers in them. What I am going to do here is to reflect on the idea of Rothing and discuss what I see as some key numbers. I’m not going to dive deep into technical issues.