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How to Avoid Losing Valuable Noncash Charitable Contributions
The rules for noncash charitable contributions defy easy summary. On the other hand, they are not rocket surgery. Moving on from the humor, if you want to sum them up in a sentence you can use Reilly’s Seventh Law of Tax Planning: Read the instructions. Specifically, you want to read the instructions to Form 8283 Noncash Charitable Contributions. There is, of course, more to it than that, but you will find a remarkable number of disallowed deductions from not following those instructions. To be fair, sometimes there are other shenanigans going on and the instruction failures are the easiest way for the IRS to attack. Nonetheless, there is nothing to say that the IRS will not use the precedents set in those cases on your client even though they are not trying to get away with anything. To get a simplified list of what to know and implement, continue reading.
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CURRENT EDITION
Editor’s Pick: Tax Planner Faces Malpractice Claims Over Decades-Old Tax Advice—What Went Wrong?
In a case that every tax professional should take note of, the prominent law firm Sidley Austin LLP finds itself defending against claims that it provided faulty tax advice over two decades ago, leading to massive IRS liabilities for a family. The plaintiffs, the Cáceres family, are seeking to recover $7 million after settling with the IRS, claiming Sidley’s advice on a complex asset liquidation set them up for disaster. The kicker? The lawsuit was filed over 25 years after the advice was given. So, how are the plaintiffs still able to pursue the case? It all boils down to a claim of fraud—and how that could toll the statute of limitations.
Navigating IRS Penalty Relief and Forgiveness
Yes, the IRS does forgive some tax penalties. The IRS refers to this forgiveness as penalty abatement. Abatement is the act or process of reducing or removing something. In this case it is removing or reducing a penalty. But penalty forgiveness is not a blanket offer that everyone qualifies for the way the radio ads make it seem. There is a process that the IRS has for requesting and granting abatement. It is up to the taxpayer to prove that they qualify for abatement. That’s where you come in.
From The Government And Not There To Help You
The story of James J. Maggard has some interesting and possibly valuable lessons. The one that strikes me as particularly important is that it makes it crystal clear that disproportionate distributions contrary to a corporation’s governing documents will not blow its S election. That does not mean that disproportionate distributions are just fine and that you don’t need to address them. There is a practical lesson about being careful who you take on as fellow shareholders. And there is another slightly odd lesson, that almost makes me want to create a new law of tax planning: Don’t deliberately involve the IRS in your business disputes. Their job is not to help you.
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.
