Washington D.C. Tax Law Blog

What does the tax year hold for small businesses? Startups and small businesses are often touted as the backbone of an improving economy. Yet are there corresponding tax breaks offered to small business entrepreneurs? New federal legislation might offer some benefits to small and mid-sized businesses with assets subject to a depreciation schedule. Section 179 […]

The financial pressures on the country are about the only things that seem to be a certainty these days. The recent stop-gap move by Congress this past week has avoided the fiscal cliff for now, but there are a lot of things that lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are going to have to deal with in […]

Is the process by which the Internal Revenue Service verifies its tax refunds in need of an overhaul? A recent story raises concerns. Specifically, a report authored by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration identified a programming error that resulted in the IRS issuing over $46 million in erroneous refunds. The error was identified […]

Cognizant of the benefit that some tax credits and deductions have already provided to taxpayers, federal lawmakers recently made some tax extenders permanent. Even the name of the legislation is revealing: the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015. The legislation makes certain credits and deductions permanent, such as the enhanced Child Tax Credit, […]

Non-profit organizations are supposed to have fewer procedural hassles and controversies with the Internal Revenue Service by virtue of their federal tax-exempt status, right? Not necessarily, according to a recent article. Specifically, the article discussed new substantiation rules proposed by the IRS that would require charitable entities to collect and store their donors’ social security […]

The Internal Revenue Service has electronic procedures for reviewing tax returns for indicia of fraud. Yet by the IRS’ own admission, their fraud detection system may be outdated. The current system was developed in 1994. Called the Electronic Fraud Detection System, the program’s primary goal is to avoid the issuance of fraudulent refunds. The new […]

We should never take it for granted that particular transactions will not have tax consequences. Even the providing of gifts can be subject to IRS tax laws. This is particularly true of gifts between U.S. citizens and citizens of another country. Gifts provided to foreign citizens receive the same treatment as gifts between U.S. citizens. […]

Readers likely know that capital gain must be reported to applicable authorities, such as to state revenue agents or on a federal income tax return filed with the Internal Revenue Service at the federal level. However, tax disputes can arise over the basis used in calculating such gains. In a recent celebrity example, actor Rob […]

In November, tax season may not be on anyone’s mind. After all, the holiday season is just around the corner, so most people are concerned about where they will be travelling for Thanksgiving or Christmas, and whether they have to prepare for extended family to spend time with them. Nevertheless, people are still apt to […]

Although no one wants to be involved in a tax controversy with the Internal Revenue Service, it is important to remember that taxpayers have a judicial remedy available to them. Specifically, IRS civil tax litigation can be brought in one of four different courts, depending on the type of claim. Our law firm has helped […]