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TO REDUCE TAX?
New tax reduction strategies carefully explained and exhaustively researched every two weeks. Receive breaking news updates on tax law changes. Members only monthly AMA with TOTTB.tax.
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FEATURED CONTENT
Don’t Forget the Cohan Rule but Try Not to Need It
We are creeping up to the centennial of the Cohan rule. Learned Hand’s opinion for the Second Circuit in Cohan v. Commissioner came out on March 3, 1930 . I love this rule so much that I've made it the Prime Directive in my own book, Reilly’s Laws of Tax Planning: “If you don’t have documentation, at least have a plausible story.” However, subsequent legislation, changes in societal expectations, and the passage of time have eroded the usefulness of the Cohan rule for taxpayers. In recent years, there have been more instances of courts refusing to apply it than allowing its use. That’s why in Reilly’s Sixteenth Law of Tax Planning, I advise people to “being right without substantiation can be as bad as being wrong.”
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CURRENT EDITION
Kovel: Attorney-Client Privilege for Tax Professionals
Twice in my four-decade career, two special agents from IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) entered my office armed with a search warrant, firearms at their side. In both cases, it started the same way.
Gone Phishing: Don’t Get Scammers Catch You!
Today’s criminals are using more than hooks and lines (more like huge trawling nets), and they are looking for small as well as really big fish. If you think your tax practice is too small to be a target, you’re wrong. And you probably know that. You are probably well aware of the phishing and smishing (using SMS/text messaging) attempts that try to gain access to your firm’s computers and/or computer network.
Data Security: Understanding Your Responsibilities
Are you aware of your responsibilities when it comes to securing data? Do you know what your software vendor is doing with your data—and, more importantly, your client’s data? Signing up for a new service or software is often done without any thought of the consequences to the data that you are legally required to protect. The average tax professional uses many different types of software and services when working with a client. Many tax pros are unaware that this often requires consent to be obtained prior to using their client’s information and that failure to do so can result in significant fines and even criminal penalties.
SIMPLIFIED TAX STRATEGIES &
PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION
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.
