LOOKING FOR LEGAL WAYS
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.
WE PUBLISH TAX STRATEGIES FOR…
FEATURED CONTENT
Soapbox Ethics: Circular 230 And the Unauthorized Practice of Law
The beneficial ownership reporting requirement established by the Corporate Transparency Act has created a fair amount of chaos concerning whether providing reporting services to clients is the unauthorized practice of law (UPL). While some state bar associations have come down on one side or the other as to whether certain types of reporting are UPL, the Treasury offers no clear guidance. What the IRS has made clear recently is that Circular 230 ethical obligations extend to matters beyond what the Loving case determined was “practice before the IRS.”
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CURRENT EDITION
Tackling Taxes On an Inherited HSA
The Health Savings Account (HSA) is a first line of defense tax strategy. Contributions are deductible and earnings are tax-free if used for qualified medical expenses. There are numerous features to the HSA that secure maximum tax benefits. Structured properly, an HSA can provide serious tax-free money to beneficiaries as well as the account holder. Before we review the implications of inheriting an HSA, let’s review some of the powerful features an HSA has that increases the value of the account.
Kadau v. Commissioner and the Line Between Effective and Broken Captives
Captive insurance remains one of the most closely examined tax planning strategies in use today, not because it is inherently flawed, but because small missteps can carry outsized consequences. Many taxpayers assume that careful formation and proper documentation are enough to protect the intended tax outcome. A recent Tax Court decision, Kadau v. Commissioner, serves as a reminder that those assumptions deserve closer scrutiny. The court’s analysis did not hinge on whether captive insurance can work, but on how a specific arrangement actually functioned in practice. For tax professionals advising clients who rely on micro-captives, the case raises important questions about where structures tend to break down, why some arrangements attract IRS attention while others do not, and what really separates a defensible captive from one that invites challenge.
Not Every Client Is a Keeper: When Saying Goodbye Protects Your Practice
Bad chemistry with one client can disrupt the flow with everyone. That one client who doesn’t follow your processes and messes up the workflow during tax season. The client who never turns things in on time but then wants results from you immediately when they do. These things affect how you interact and work with your other clients as well. As the firm owner we should do whatever we can to protect good chemistry within our business. As a tax advisor the people we work with become our family. We help them make decisions that impact them and their families. That is why firing clients can be a delicate matter when you are doing the firing.
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.
