Cases, Rulings, Regulations

Be sure to download the materials from http://edzollars.com/2005-12-03_Alimony_Defintion.pdf. This week's podcast deals with the tax issues related to alimony, and looks at two recent cases where taxpayers lost in their attempts to get certain payments treated as alimony. In one case (D.E. Lofstrom, 125 T.C. No. 13) the taxpayer attempted to claim an alimony deduction on the transfer of a note receivable from a third party. In the second case (D.K. Vanarsdall, T.C. Summary Opinion 2005-170) the taxpayer attempted to get the court to count as alimony payments the decree stated were not alimony because the statement did not spell out the matter exactly as Section 71 provides for disqualifying an otherwise qualified payment from alimony treatment. In both cases, the taxpayer lost. In this podcast we look at the general issues surrounding alimony payments, and what you need to look for when dealing with a client who is either going through a divorce or who comes to you after the fact with a signed and sealed div

This Podcast considers a case involving two doctors who receive funds from the local school to use for the education of their autistic child. The doctors attempted to claim they were running a business and attempted to deduct the net losses they incurred. The Tax Court analyzed this case under Section 183. We also go on beyond this case (whose result probably isn't surprising to most listeners) to discuss the general "hobby loss" rules under Section 183. The materials can be downloaded here. This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

We look at a  private letter ruling where the IRS made it clear that taxpayers who use the 60 day rollover rule to "borrow" from their IRA do so at their own risk, even if events completely out of their control intervene to make it impossible to complete the rollover. This podcast discusses the law surrounding the 60 day rollover, and the details of this particular ruling. Be sure to download the materials before listening to the podcast. This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This podcast deals with three cases that pertain to attempts to have the court deal with the substance of a transaction as opposed to its form. We'll discuss why the IRS can succeed at this, while taxpayers have an uphill fight in most cases. This week's developments in the area of extensions for 2006 and the IRS's losing battle on the excise tax on flat rate per minute long distance and the excise tax on toll calls are also discussed. The materials can be downloaded by clicking here. This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This Podcast considers two recent Tax Court cases that dealt with contributions to charity and the values of the items donated. In one case, the item donated was a car while in the other case it was a monastery. In both cases, actual sales of the property in question made the courts seriously question the taxpayer's appraisal--and eventually made the court decide against the taxpayer. Materials for this podcast are available from this link. Please download those to use while listening to the podcast itself. This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This Podcast covers the issues surrounding the use of the mail and electronic filing to prove a filing date. The materials can be downloaded by clicking this link and can be referred to while listening to the podcast. There are a number of myths and misunderstandings among practitioners in this area, so we review the authority in this area. We also talk about the split among the Circuits on whether Section 7502(c) provides the exclusive method to have a presumption of timely filing if the IRS can't find the return, as well as the IRS's idea on how to solve this split. Not surprisingly, it's not by going along with those Circuits where the IRS lost. This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This podcast is based on a September 20, 2005 talk by Ed Zollars for the Arizona Society of CPAs on the changes to Circular 230 that became effective over the summer. To download a manual, click here. Please post your commments on the blogsite  at http://ezollars.libsyn.com. Sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc.(LISI) at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This Podcast considers two Tax Court opinions released on the same day that both dealt with whether a transaction represented a loan to the taxpayer or was income. The cases are Teymourian v. Commissioner (TC Memo 2005-232) and Karns Prime and Fancy Food, Ltd. (TC Memo 2005-233). The results may initially appear to be at odds with most tax professional's expectation based on the fact that in the case where the taxpayer prevailed, the loan in question was with his closely held corporation and poorly documented, while in the case where the IRS prevailed the purported loan was from an unrelated third party and clearly documented as a loan. Ed Zollars briefly discusses the IRS's release of new proposed regulations to explain Section 409A that Congress put into the law last October. If your client either participates in a nonqualified plan or sponsors one, you should review these new proposed regulations, which modify the original guidance the IRS provided in Notice 2005-1. This Podcast is sponsored b

This Podcast deals with arbitration awards and IRA accounts. What happens when a taxpayer is awarded an amount in arbitration regarding the management of an IRA account, but the award is paid to the taxpayer? Can these funds be put back into the IRA? We consider three IRS private letter rulings on the subject to show both what has worked and what has not, at least in the IRS's view. We also look at the case of a taxpayer who tries to invoke the Cohan case, only to have the Tax Court explain the limits of the use of that case. As well, the court points out that merely because the IRS settled a similar case in a certain manner doesn't entitle the taxpayer to the same settlement. The case is Stewart v. Commissioner, TC Memo 2005-212. Be sure to download the related materials for this podcast from this link. This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimber

No, we're not talking about reconsidering your vote from last November. Rather, this podcast deals with both the automatic and discretionary extensions the IRS grants to make elections for which a due date is specified. Please download the materials before listening to the podcast. Note that this podcast is a bit longer than normal. This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This Podcast considers a decision (Brooks v. Commissioner, TC Memo 2005 - 204) involving the impact of repaying S corporation debt during the year when, at the beginning of the year, the shareholder's basis was less than the face amount of the note. In the case in question, the shareholders repaid such a debt in its entirety at the beginning of the year, the corporation sustained a loss during the year, and then the taxpayer loan back enough money to both return the entire repayment and then advance enough additional to give basis to take the loss.To download the podcast materials, click this link (if you are reading notes attached to the podcast in iTunes you will need to actually go to the site first to do that clicking). This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

Given the disaster that has taken place on the Gulf Coast with Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, I've put together a quick and dirty summary of some of the tax issues involved in casualty losses and and federally declared disaster areas that may be of use for those of us who have clients that are located in the affected areas. Note that since this was put together rather quickly, you should confirm all of these details. I also added brief consideration of the issues to be considered with off-site backups due to the risk of a common disaster hitting both the original files and the backup - a situation that, unfortunately, has likely happened to some businesses in New Orleans. A list of the federally declared disaster areas can be found at the FEMA website, so that you can determine the counties in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama that are subject to these rules. In related matters, the AICPA has posted a set of resources for CPAs related to disaster recovery, as well as a link to the document D

This podcast deals with children of divorced parents. Tax Court Summary Opinion (Oman v. Commissioner, TC Summary Opinion 2005-110) potentially sheds some light on the rule under the law in effect prior to 2005 about the dependency exemption for the noncustodial parent. The matter at hand is what happens if the divorce decree clearly provides that the noncustodial spouse should be given the exemption, but a proper Form 8332 isn't filed with the return. The answer in this case may surprise some practitioners who have followed other cases through the Tax Court. As well, the podcast discusses the importance of the changes made to Section 152 by last year's tax law changes. There are written materials you should download by clicking this link to look over while listening to the podcast. This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This Podcast pertains to uninsured medical reimbursement plans--a structure that's not for everyone, but which is a perfect fit in the right situation.Download the materials here before listening to this broadcast. This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This Podcast deals with reportable transactions and the penalty for failure to disclose.Download materials that consist of the Powerpoint for this presentation. This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

Weekly show 6 dealing with employee business expenses and reimbursable plans per IRC 62(c). You should download the "handout" in addition to listening to the podcast itself. The presentation deals with the requirements that must be met for reimbursement of an employee's expenses to be excluded from the employee's income. This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This presents a "first day" view of the Strangi decision issued by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Fifth Circuit upheld the Tax Court's decision in TC Memo 2003-145, but did so without ruling on the merits of the 2036(a)(2) analysis that many practitioners viewed as the major concern in that case. From a CPA's perspective, this discussion looks at the risks involved from the fact that it's become clear that 2036(a)(1) attacks on operational problems with the FLP will render the FLP ineffective as a transfer vehicle. Accountants' journal entries are a recurring theme in the cases that lose in court on 2036(a)(1), and this fact should not be lost on CPAs who will be doing 1065s and other accounting for such partnerships. This Podcast provides a quick discussion of what types of clients likely should not be advised to make use of a family limited partnership given the Section 2036(a)(1) problems. This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservice

The self-employed health insurance deduction under IRC Section 162(l) is covered by this podcast. Information for the podcast is found at http://www.edzollars.com/SelfEmployedHealthInsurance.pdf. The program also covers the recently issued IRS Chief Counsel Memorandum 200524001.  This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This podcast deals with how three states determine if a trust or estate is a resident or nonresident entity, as well as containing a discussion of how to approach state filing issues in general with trusts and estates. The states we look at will be Arizona, California and Michigan. The materials you can refer to are located here: State Resident Fiduciary Returns" There are links to the California forms and instructions on Ed Zollar's personal website at http://www.edzollars.com.  This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com