Taxes

The federal government may once again have an opportunity to learn a painful lesson about the price of increasing debt and rising interest rates in an uncertain economy. The Congressional Budget Office, in its just-issued Budget and Economic Outlook, forecasts a hair-raising increase in federal borrowing costs over the next decade. CBO estimates that net

Recent testimony in the U.S. Tax Court’s Facebook v. Commissioner trial highlighted a problem with the U.S. cost-sharing regulations, which establish valuation rules for a type of related-party intangible property transfer that has long been popular among U.S. tech giants. The issue isn’t with the underlying concepts adopted by the regs, which are solidly grounded

The IRS announced today that it has provided a much requested update to their “Where’s My Refund?” tool. The update now allows taxpayers to check the status of the current tax year’s refund and the two previous years. Before the update taxpayers could only check the status of their current year refund and once the

“Behold the Florida SLAT, Which can now provide that, If your spouse dies first, The contributor spouse can be a beneficiary, to make the death less worse. But will the contributor spouse with a heartfelt shrug, Be more inclined to pull the beneficiary’s plug? This and more, We below explore.” On May 10th, Governor Ron

Most legal settlements are taxable, even for a devastating fire loss. That grim fact can be an unpleasant surprise to fire victims, and seems particularly unfair. There are federal and California tax bills pending that if passed, could make certain fire lawsuit recoveries nontaxable. It is not clear how either one of these bills will

Tax Notes reporters Paul Jones and Nathan Richman discuss the $141 million settlement over Intuit’s INTU TurboTax Free Edition program and the potential tax break for Intuit. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. David D. Stewart: Welcome to the podcast. I’m David Stewart, editor in chief of Tax Notes Today International. This

Over the past two years manufacturers and resellers have struggled to maintain inventory levels due to global supply chain issues, and now are facing the highest inflation rates since 1981. Unfortunately, a deteriorated supply chain and increased inflation most likely will increase the tax bill for businesses that use the LIFO method of accounting. It

If you follow the stock market, you know that markets have been highly volatile in 2022. You have likely seen the value of some of your investments drop below what you have paid for them. This may be a great time to revisit tax-loss harvesting and use the stock market drop to help you lower

Stanley S. Surrey was one of the giants of 20th-century U.S. tax policy. Even today, nearly 40 years after his death, he is still revered for his many contributions to the field. But like most giants, Surrey has attracted his share of giant slayers. Some came for the great man during his lifetime, others posthumously.

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about whether survivor’s benefits reduce full retirement age for all benefits and the earnings test, earning more or paying more to increase benefits and the earnings test and survivor’s benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning,

There may be a major turning point in the Year 15 Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) controversy with the Sixth Circuit’s opinion in SunAmerica Housing Fund 1050 v Pathway of Pontiac Inc. The Sixth Circuit is taking the Sesame Street approach advanced by not for profit sponsors in their view of LIHTC rights of

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about whether congress is working on a fix for people who turned 60 in 2020, when an application for divorced spousal benefits can be submitted and whether filing early affects the Government Pension Offset. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to report on trends in IRS audit rates, audit results, and resources used for audits across individual taxpayer income levels. Their report, issued this week, analyzed audit rates and results and IRS resources used by taxpayer income for the most recent years data was available. According to the

Crypto markets are notoriously volatile, but even so, the recent activity has been unsettling. Whether you are a buy and hold investor or an active trader with high frequency moves, it is nerve-wracking, and it may not be over yet. For some, it can be downright devastating, particularly if you had put all your nest

There have been two important opinions in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Year 15 struggle so far this month. Both favor not-for-profit (NFP) sponsors. They each deserve their own post, so today we will start with JER Hudson GP XXI LLC which came down May 2 from Vice Chancellor Morgan T. Zurn of the

Tax audits are down. By a lot. Internal Revenue Service audit rates of individual taxpayers’ returns have dropped for all income levels from tax years 2010 to 2019, according to a new Government Accountability Office report. On average, individual tax returns were audited over three times more often for tax year 2010 (0.9 percent) than

Tax software company Column Tax, which provides an API that enables mobile banking and fintech companies to offer tax products to their users, announced today that it has raised a $21.7 million series A. The round was led by Bain Capital Ventures with participation from Felicis and Not Boring, as well as existing investors Core

Why is Congress prepared to spend billions of dollars for new aid to Ukraine without requiring offsetting tax increases or spending cuts at the same time lawmakers are demanding that more COVID-19-related therapeutics and testing be fully paid for? It can’t be about the money. The next round of Ukraine aid will cost about $40

Elodie Lamer and Nana Ama Sarfo of Tax Notes discuss the tax implications of golden visas and passports, which allow affluent foreigners to receive residency or citizenship in exchange for a minimum level of investment. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. David D. Stewart: Welcome to the podcast. I’m David Stewart, editor

Tax returns are annual drudgery, but they matter. They matter for individuals, businesses and investment entities. Everybody must file one, or more than one, depending on how many entities you have. You may have state taxes to file too. You might think your filing date is obvious, and hopefully before the deadline. The one everyone