Eli Noff, Esq., Partner On September 6, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced new relief procedures, “Relief Procedures for Certain Former Citizens,” allowing eligible, non-willful individuals, who relinquished their U.S. citizenship, to come into compliance with U.S. tax and filing obligations and obtain relief for back taxes.[1] The IRS has not yet provided a […]

Eli Noff, Esq., Partner Taxpayers must use FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) to report their foreign accounts if the aggregate value of the accounts exceeds $10,000 anytime during the calendar year.[1] Before 2004, non—willful FBAR violators were not subject to a penalty. However, for non—willful violations on or after […]

Carly Steren, Legal Intern Many taxpayers are surprised and alarmed to learn that Federal tax liens survive a bankruptcy discharge. In other words, the IRS can still enforce its lien and seize property, even though the underlying taxes were discharged. Perhaps even more alarming to taxpayers, is the fact that even retirement accounts are still […]

Eli Noff, Esq., Partner As we previously reported in Section 199A: New 20% Pass-Through Deduction,[1] the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 created Internal Revenue Code (IRC) §199A, which provides a tax break to flow-through entities. Basically, some eligible taxpayers (excluding C corporations) may deduct up to 20% of “qualified business income” (QBI). Significantly, […]

Eli Noff, Esq., Partner A successful offer in compromise (OIC) allows a taxpayer to settle unpaid tax accounts for less than the full amount owed. However, if an OIC is ultimately granted, a taxpayer also agrees to certain terms and conditions going forward in order not to default the OIC. Interestingly, in a recent case, […]

Eli Noff, Esq., Partner On October 28, 2019, in U.S. Auto Sales, Inc. v. Commissioner,1 the Tax Court dismissed a case, holding that the Notice of Deficiency (NOD), issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), was ambiguous on its face because it identified two different taxpayers as potentially liable for the deficiencies. The decision should […]

Eli Noff, Esq., Partner Both federal and state government agencies are increasingly scrutinizing the distinction between an employee and an independent contractor. On November 14, 2019, Bloomberg law reported that New Jersey’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJ Labor Department) has informed Uber Technologies Inc. and subsidiary Rasier LLC (collectively, “Uber”) that they owe […]

Eli Noff, Esq., Partner On November 19, 2019, in Sullivan v. Commissioner,[1] the Tax Court held that the IRS settlement officer (SO) did not abuse discretion in sustaining levies for Harvard law professor (Taxpayer) who had not filed tax returns from 2005-2013, and who subsequently neglected to provide the IRS with any financial documents. Taxpayers […]

Eli Noff, Esq., Partner A recent IRS whistleblower case clarifies when the Tax Court is authorized to review the IRS Whistleblower Office (WBO)’s actions or inactions when it receives a whistleblower’s complaint. In Lacey v. Commissioner,1 taxpayer submitted a whistleblower claim alleging that oil company BP improperly deducted approximately $12.9 billion when it falsely claimed […]

Eli Noff, Esq., Partner EXECUTIVE SUMMARY New Act Provides Key Business Extenders: New Act Provides Key Individual Extenders: On December 20, 2019, the president enacted the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (FCAA).[1]Although it primarily acts to avoid a government shutdown by funding the government through September 30, FCAA includes numerous notable tax law changes, including […]