On December 17, 2019, the Washington Post reported that a former senior investment manager for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ (the “church”) investment arm filed a whistleblower complaint with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The complaint alleges that the church has amassed and misused approximately $100 billion intended for charitable purposes. Specifically, […]

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) typically requires documents and payments to be filed or made within specific timeframes. For instance, it is well-known that individuals’ federal tax returns are generally due every April 15th. It is less commonly known that the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and corresponding regulations, which provide the rules for determining when […]

According to a recent report by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS),[1]those charged with a tax crime face a high rate of conviction. The agency recently reported it brought 91.2% of all taxpayers charged with a tax crime in 2019 to conviction. Of these convictions, 79% resulted in imprisonment with an average of 43 months to […]

Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying that only two things are certain in life, death and taxes. Unfortunately, in some cases, it appears that in addition to being two certainties in life, the relationship can extend beyond death. How can tax obligations extend beyond death? Two recent court cases provide an example. The cases involve […]

On December 6, 2019, the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York issued a press release announcing that a Lewisboro, New York town justice pled guilty to tax evasion in federal court.1The new release reminds taxpayers all over the country that the authorities are diligently pursuing tax evaders in an effort […]

On December 5, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released the IRS’s Criminal Investigation division’s (CI) 100th Annual Report.1Besides highlighting significant CI successes and criminal enforcement actions during the fiscal year of 2019, the report unambiguously presents the IRS’s intent to pursue higher conviction rates and focus on cryptocurrency and cybercrime. The report also marks […]

A taxpayer is generally not required to recognize a gain or loss as a result of a like-kind exchange under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) §1031. Significantly, IRC §1031 was amended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, such that nonrecognition of gain or loss is only applicable to real property exchanges completed after […]

One of the leading resources for public accountants, Accounting Today, recently released a report analyzing some of the top trends when it comes to tax audits. According to the report, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) conducted 991,168 tax audits in 2018. Three of the more important takeaways from the report include: The IRS will likely […]

The IRS understands that the tax code is long and confusing. Therefore, the agency is willing to cut people slack if they make an honest mistake on their taxes. This reasonable attempt to comply with tax code is not a crime but referred to as negligence. However, tax evasion – willfully not paying a tax […]

On November 20, 2019, the IRS posted a series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) which includes much needed guidance regarding rental real estate in the context of the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) §199A.1A few of the particularly noteworthy FAQs include: (1) when rental real estate is treated as a […]