If you spend any time in the world of cross-border taxes, you start to notice a pattern: the hardest problems usually begin with a deceptively simple question—who gets to tax you? And the answer is rarely as simple as “the country where I live.” That’s because tax systems don’t rely on just one concept to decide who belongs in their net. They use citizenship, residency, and domicile. These terms sound similar, and people often use them interchangeably in casual conversation, but in tax law they mean very different things. For globally mobile individuals, understanding the difference matters. You can be a U.S. citizen, a tax resident of another country, and still have your long-term home base tied to a different jurisdiction altogether. Each label can trigger different tax consequences, different filing obligations, and different planning opportunities.
READ MOREOnce again, Tax Court provides slices of life as well as hyper-technical drilldowns into convoluted legal conundrums. To any who say that tax law is dull, I refer them to the annals of 400 Second Street, NW, where anything goes.
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Astronomical expenses crop up more than ever in our economy. From medical bills, business startups, a long-cherished artistic project, it feels like things are harder to afford now than ever. But the internet has also helped create a revolutionary way to raise large amounts of money for some of these causes: crowdfunding. But what does that mean for when the Tax Man comes calling?
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Somehow I got through the last thirty years without ever hearing of Dave Ramsey. Now when I go on YouTube, which I do way too often, there is usually a Dave Ramsey video or a video by one of his critics in my feed, sometimes several. I have also looked at a few of his books. I was once told that because I am an Aquarian I want everybody to get along. So I am going to try to reconcile Ramsey’s recommendations and the significant criticism of them.
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As a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), you possess the technical knowledge and expertise to assist businesses and individuals with their financial needs. However, in today's competitive marketplace, more than possessing technical skills is needed to grow your client base. To succeed, CPAs must also master effective sales strategies to convert prospects into paying clients. In this article, I will explore critical techniques I had to learn to enhance my sales efforts and achieve my business goals, and I hope they help you reach yours!
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In recent years, the IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) division and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have aggressively pursued tax professionals involved in fraud or other tax-related crimes. Certified tax planners, preparers, accountants, and attorneys who engage in misconduct are facing serious legal consequences. This article reviews notable prosecutions from roughly the past five years, highlighting enforcement trends and the types of fraud authorities have targeted. We then distill 10 key lessons from these cases – each supported by real-world examples and case citations – demonstrating how broad enforcement has impacted tax professionals. Finally, we conclude with a comprehensive list of dos and don'ts to help tax practitioners stay on the right side of the law and avoid the pitfalls that landed others in trouble.
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We’ve all been there. Breaking bad news is one of the hardest parts of being a tax professional. But avoiding these conversations only makes things worse. The good news? There are ways to make this process easier. With the right approach, you can turn these tough conversations into opportunities to build trust, strengthen your reputation, and reinforce your expertise.
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Overpaying on taxes puts a damper on anyone’s mood. You should be paying precisely what you owe—no less, and no more. When it comes to selling your real estate, you really don’t have to pay taxes on that sale right away. One way to avoid the taxes is by using a Section 1031 exchange, but you actually have other options. This article will show you how to take advantage of them.
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Some new developments arose in March and some new gimmicks. The current hot topics, microcaptive insurers and syndicated conservation easements, remain on the front burner.
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Following Betteridge’s Law of Headlines, the answer to the question posed in the headline is, “no.” Actually — because we’re talking about taxes here — we can say the answer is never so definitive, so let’s change it to “probably not.” But it’s more complicated than it may seem.
If you spend any time in the world of cross-border taxes, you start to notice a pattern: the hardest problems usually begin with a deceptively simple question—who gets to tax you? And the answer is rarely as simple as “the country where I live.” That’s because tax systems don’t rely on just one concept to decide who belongs in their net. They use citizenship, residency, and domicile. These terms sound similar, and people often use them interchangeably in casual conversation, but in tax law they mean very different things. For globally mobile individuals, understanding the difference matters. You can be a U.S. citizen, a tax resident of another country, and still have your long-term home base tied to a different jurisdiction altogether. Each label can trigger different tax consequences, different filing obligations, and different planning opportunities.
The simplest way to reduce your taxable income from an S corporation is to take some of the gross receipts directly into your personal account without running them through the corporate books. Don’t mention this to your tax preparer and make sure they don’t find out. If you get caught by the IRS, though, hire an expert to explain why it is your preparer’s fault. This plan did not work all that well for a couple, both physicians, who were running two medical family medical clinics through an S Corporation called MedExpress. They ended up being liable for the fraud penalty which has the collateral effect of extending the statute of limitations indefinitely. At 75% the fraud penalty is as bad as it can get without losing your liberty.
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