Personal Income Tax Planning

This podcast discusses simplified employee pensions, including the basic rules that apply to them, and the gotchas that clients tend to run into. The materials are available 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.leimberg.com

In what has become an unintended series of podcasts, we deal once again (and hopefully for the final time) with the IRS's revisions to the Schedule D instructions, and the subsequent "clarifications" (some might say abandonment) of those changes that have come out due to the storm of protests. When last we left our story last Sunday, a solution acceptable to most on paper filings had been endorsed by the IRS. However, many questions remained on how efiling was impacted by this. This week we get a revised clarification that apparently will grant relief for efiling. The materials with all the details can be found at 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.leimberg.com

While highly unofficial at this point, the IRS has begun circulating a "clarification" of the Schedule D issue. This special podcast discusses this e-mail document and what it means for the upcoming tax season. Of special interest is its apparent lack of a solution to the problem for those filing returns via electronic means. 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 examines the updated uniform definition of a child and other changes to the dependency exemption under Code Section 152 that Congress passed last year, as well as a technical correction Congress just passed that removes what had been a potentially significant change in the treatment of the exemption for divorced parents. You can download the materials from 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

Ed Zollars closes out the year and gets LISI members ready for the upcoming tax season with a look at the documentation rules for charitable contributions. You can download the materials from http://www.edzollars.com/2005-12-31_Charitable_Documentation.pdf.   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 the controversy that has arisen about a modification the IRS made to this year's Schedule D instructions. In the 2005 edition of the instructions, the IRS specifically indicates that taxpayers may not enter "See Attached" and reference a schedule of detailed transactions for Schedule D, but rather must fill the details on Schedule D-1. Download the materials prior to listening to the podcast. May you have an enjoyable holiday season. And, remember, tax season is just around the corner... 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 week we look at adequate disclosure under Revenue Procedure 2005-75 for purposes of escaping the substantial understatement penalty under Section 6662(a). Download the materials for the podcast from http://www.edzollars.com/Adequate_Disclosure.pdf. 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

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

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 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 file contains a correction/clarification to our KETRA update. As is pointed out in this program, Section 303 of the Act does limit these higher rates to provision of Katrina relief. As well, there is a short period where the rate is lower than the rate noted--the new business rate took effect on September 1, but the 70% rule became effective August 25, 2005 Thanks to Michael Wing, CPA on Yahoo Groups' Taxprofessionals group for pointing out these issues. 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 quick update summarizes the items contained in the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005 (KETRA), concentrating on those items that have impact across the country, as well as summarizing provisions that are targeted directly at the Katrina disaster area. An outline can be downloaded via this link. If you are reading this in iTunes, go to the main website (noted below) to see that link and get the outline. 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 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

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 deals with the solar energy provisions of the Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005 and the related credits available under Arizona income tax law. The Podcast Materials for this podcast are available for download at http://ezollars.libsyn.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