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Some of What You Need to Know to Do 1041 Right Because Nobody Knows Everything
There was a recent IRS memo from an associate chief counsel that should be shocking but actually isn’t. Promoters have for many years been hawking a “copyrighted non-grantor irrevocable complex discretionary spendthrift trust,” which purported to avoid capital gains tax. You could learn about it on TikTok. It “worked” by citing Section 643(a)(3), which excludes capital gains allocable to corpus from distributable net income. You and I both know that DNI is not taxable income, but not everybody who learns the tax law from TikTok has caught onto that subtle point yet. Although I have never encountered anything as egregious as the “copyrighted, etc, etc, trust” I have seen a lot of problems with trusts over the years (and partnerships and SALT – don’t get me started). Much of it has to do with working under a lot of pressure. Often, the things that are wrong end up not mattering all that much, but I get a little frightened, because maybe one of these days the IRS is going to start getting its act back together. If it does, I think things may be a little shocking to practitioners who have grown up in an environment where enforcement has been progressively gutted.
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CURRENT EDITION
Popular Tax Shelter for the Ultra-Wealthy Comes onto the Radar
In a recent turn of events that has caught the attention of financial experts and policymakers alike, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has unveiled the results of an 18-month investigation into the use of Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI) by the ultra-wealthy. The investigation, the first of its kind focusing on PPLI, highlights the use of these policies as a significant tax shelter mechanism, revealing the ways in which a small number of wealthy individuals are leveraging them to avoid substantial tax liabilities.
Don’t Let the IRS Put Your Client in The Penalty Box
There’s only one thing worse than your client overpaying their taxes when you could have helped them – them not paying enough in taxes and having to deal with penalties as well. It’s like adding insult to injury. There is only so much that we can do to help our clients avoid penalties. Educating ourselves, so we can educate our clients, is a big part of that. Penalties are inevitable, but that doesn’t mean that the client must max out their penalties. But it also doesn’t mean that we should not do our due diligence to avoid penalties where possible.
Remind Your Clients About Higher-Education Tax Credits
A new school year is here and, for many families, so are the worries over the cost of tuition and other college expenses. The cost keeps skyrocketing every academic year, and these days that diploma comes with an average of almost $29,000 in debt for most graduates. Many of them also carry that debt well into middle age. Families paying for these educations need every break they can get. The federal government offers education tax credits (and other tax breaks on college costs), but don’t assume your client has the brain space at this stage of life to learn about them. Even your clients who can afford college would appreciate learning about ways to save on higher education. Here’s what to tell them.
SIMPLIFIED TAX STRATEGIES &
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Think Outside the Tax Box provides tax reduction strategies along with practical
implementation advice in order to reduce your clients’ federal tax bill with ease.
