Access Denied Stamp in Red on White Background
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FBAR Penalties and the Treasury Offset Program: Tax Court Affirms IRS’s Denial of CDP Hearing

Introduction: In Jenner v. Commissioner, 163 T.C. 7 (Oct. 22, 2024) (link to opinion), the U.S. Tax Court held that the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) was under no obligation to provide a husband and wife with a collection due process (“CDP”) hearing prior to offsetting Social Security benefit payments under the Treasury Offset Program (TOP)….

Image of US Tax, Form 3520, Form 3520-A, Gavel Rendering Judgment
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Tax Court Rejects Excessive Fines Clause Argument and Upholds $11 Million Form 3520 and Form 3520-A Penalties

The Mukhi v Commissioner[1] case is another example of just how severe the penalties are for failing to report certain foreign financial activity timely; in this case, it was the failure to report foreign trusts, related trust activity, and ownership of a foreign corporation on Form 3520, Form 3520-A, and Form 5471 in a timely…

Gavel with hourglass in background.
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Failure to File International Information Forms Allows IRS to Assess Taxpayer More Than Five Years Past Normal Statute of Limitations

The Fairbank case demonstrates the power of IRC § 6501(c)(8) to provide the IRS the ability to assess taxpayers many years after the normal statute of limitations is closed if the taxpayer fails to file all required IRS international information reporting forms. In Fairbank v Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2023-19, the IRS argued that, despite the…

John Doe Summons Extended SOL & Prevented Amended Returns From Fending Off IRS Penalties
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John Doe Summons Extended SOL & Prevented Amended Returns From Fending Off IRS Penalties

In Lamprecht v Commissioner, TC Memo 2022-91 (link to case), a John Doe summons tolled the statute of limitations and allowed the IRS to assess a 20% accuracy related penalty more than 6 years after the Taxpayers’ original income tax returns were filed. The IRS was able to assess the penalty even though the Taxpayer…

Tax Court Dismisses Challenge to IRS Certification of Seriously Delinquent Tax Debt As Moot

Tax Court Dismisses Challenge to IRS Certification of Seriously Delinquent Tax Debt As Moot

Ruesch v. Commissioner, 154 T.C. No. 13 (2020)(link to case in Google Scholar) is the first Tax Court opinion that analyzes the IRS’s ability to certify “seriously delinquent tax debts” to the US State Department for potential “denial, revocation, or limitation of a passport” under IRC § 7345. The case was dismissed because the IRS…

Tax Court Sustains IRS’s Disallowance of C Corporation’s Deduction for Management Fee Paid to Shareholders

Tax Court Sustains IRS’s Disallowance of C Corporation’s Deduction for Management Fee Paid to Shareholders

Aspro, Inc. v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2021-8 (January 2021) is a cautionary tale for C corporations that look to zero out taxable income through post hoc management fees. In total the three shareholders received management fees in excess of a $1 million dollars a year for the years at issue (2012-2014).   Although the management…

Tax Court Holds That § 6751 Written Supervisory Approval Requirement Does Not Apply To 10% Tax on Early Distributions

Tax Court Holds That § 6751 Written Supervisory Approval Requirement Does Not Apply To 10% Tax on Early Distributions

In Grajales v Commissioner, 156 T.C. No. 3 (2021), the Tax Court held the 10% tax in section 72(t) applicable to early distributions from qualified retirement plans is not subject to § 6751(b)(1). As a result, the § 72(t) 10% tax is not subject to the written supervisory approval requirement before being asserted against the…

Acceptance, Signature For Certified Mailing By Unauthorized Party Does Not Stop 30 Day Clock To Request CDP Hearing
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Acceptance, Signature For Certified Mailing By Unauthorized Party Does Not Stop 30 Day Clock To Request CDP Hearing

In Ramey v Commissioner, 156 T.C. No. 1 (2021) (available in Tax Notes free resources here), the IRS mailed a final notice of intent to levy (LT11) to the taxpayer’s last known address (and actual address) via certified mail return receipt requested. The address was a shared office location (i.e., multiple businesses were located at…

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Tax Court Holds Payroll Tax Filing Prevents Jurisdiction to Hear Worker Classifcation Case

Overview In Reflectxion Resources, Inc. v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2020-114 (August 3, 2020)(link), the U.S. Tax Court held that a Notice of Determination of Worker Classification (“NDWC”) was not in and of itself sufficient to provide the Tax Court with jurisdiction for all payroll tax periods raised in Reflectxion Resources, Inc.’s (“Taxpayer”) petition. In order…

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Prohibited Transaction With IRA Unintentionally Saves Taxpayer from Large Tax Bill

The issue before the court was whether the taxpayer received a taxable, deemed distribution in 2014 from an account that was treated and consistently reported by the Taxpayer as an IRA even though the account entered into a number of prohibited transactions beginning in 2011. In a designated order on January 31, 2019 , Judge…