Business Related Issues
Employee

Worker Classification: The Thin Line between Employees and Independent Contractors

Uncle Bill, Emu Farmer To discuss the thin line between employees and independent contractors, let’s imagine the following scenario—if you will indulge me. Your Uncle Bill operates a successful emu farm in southeastern Maine, so successful in fact that he finds himself unable to do the work on his own. (Uncle Bill no longer has your cousin Leroy to lean on, due to his most recent “run in” with the law involving a charge of

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Scott St. Amand June 22, 2021
Procedural Issues
Dismissal of Tax Court Petition

Stein v. Commissioner
156 T.C. No. 11

On June 17, 2021, the Tax Court issued its opinion in Stein v. Commissioner (156 T.C. No. 11). The primary issue presented in Stein v. Commissioner was whether the Tax Court has discretion to grant the petitioners’ motion to dismiss a stand-alone petition for recovery of administrative costs when the petition did not invoke the Tax Court’s jurisdiction to redetermine a deficiency under IRC § 6213(a). Factual Background in Stein v. Commissioner The petitioners filed an

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Scott St. Amand June 20, 2021
Taxing, Briefly
Bankruptcy

Taxing, Briefly – Can the IRS Take My Passport?

When my son was two, his grandmother gave him a stuffed owl. Not a particularly creative toddler, he named the little owl Stuffy, and the name has stuck to this day.  What does this have to do with the question “Can the IRS Take My Passport?”  Patience…all will be revealed. He took the owl everywhere, which naturally led to many a calamity when Stuffy was inevitably misplaced. For my wife and I, Stuffy also had an

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Scott St. Amand June 7, 2021
Taxing, Briefly
Enforced Collection

Taxing, Briefly: Will the IRS Take My House?

I met a new client about a month ago.  I was excited. It was the first in-person meeting I’d had for over a year due to COVID.  The client had settled a lawsuit, and the settlement income—though taxable—had been reported incorrectly on her Form 1099-MISC, so that the IRS got it into its administrative head that it was subject to self-employment income. It wasn’t. The client’s total liability would have been about $10,000, which was

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Scott St. Amand May 27, 2021
Taxing, Briefly
30-Day Letter

The IRS Examination Process – Taxing, Briefly

Like Ten Thousand Spoons When All You Need is a Knife Do you feel like you are cursed to forever draw the short straw in life? Is Alanis Morrisette’s Ironic more of a personal anthem than an indictment of the Canadian educational system’s failure to properly differentiate between irony and unfortunate occurrences?  What does this have to do with the IRS examination process?  All in good time… In this post, we will assume that, in addition

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Scott St. Amand May 25, 2021
International Issues
15% Withholding

A Primer on FIRPTA Withholding

At its most basic, any disposition of a U.S. real property interest by a foreign person (as transferor) is subject to the Foreign Investment in Real Property Act of 1980, more commonly known as FIRPTA.[1] So, when a foreign person or entity sells, transfers, or otherwise disposes of a piece of U.S. real property, the transferee will likely have to withhold a certain percentage of the sales price.[2] Defining Disposition The term disposition as used

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Scott St. Amand April 30, 2021
Income Tax Issues
Actual Knowledge

A Deep Dive into Innocent Spouse Relief

Uncle Bill has four children…that he knows of. We met Jedediah in a previous post. Jethro is on year four of his five-year stint at Raiford for possession of amphetamines with intent to distribute. In his defense, Jethro agreed with the officer that the crank was his.  However, he vehemently denied that he had any intent whatsoever to share it with anyone else. (Candidly, you absolutely believe him.)  Bill and Ethel’s daughters Jennie and Jaime

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Scott St. Amand April 29, 2021
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Stein v. Commissioner
156 T.C. No. 11

On June 17, 2021, the Tax Court issued its opinion in Stein v. Commissioner (156 T.C. No. 11). The primary issue presented in Stein v. Commissioner was whether the Tax Court has discretion to grant the petitioners’ motion to dismiss a stand-alone petition for recovery of administrative costs when the petition

Read More »
Scott St. Amand June 20, 2021

Taxing, Briefly – Can the IRS Take My Passport?

When my son was two, his grandmother gave him a stuffed owl. Not a particularly creative toddler, he named the little owl Stuffy, and the name has stuck to this day.  What does this have to do with the question “Can the IRS Take My Passport?”  Patience…all will be revealed. He

Read More »
Scott St. Amand June 7, 2021

Taxing, Briefly: Will the IRS Take My House?

I met a new client about a month ago.  I was excited. It was the first in-person meeting I’d had for over a year due to COVID.  The client had settled a lawsuit, and the settlement income—though taxable—had been reported incorrectly on her Form 1099-MISC, so that the IRS got

Read More »
Scott St. Amand May 27, 2021

The IRS Examination Process – Taxing, Briefly

Like Ten Thousand Spoons When All You Need is a Knife Do you feel like you are cursed to forever draw the short straw in life? Is Alanis Morrisette’s Ironic more of a personal anthem than an indictment of the Canadian educational system’s failure to properly differentiate between irony and

Read More »
Scott St. Amand May 25, 2021

A Primer on FIRPTA Withholding

At its most basic, any disposition of a U.S. real property interest by a foreign person (as transferor) is subject to the Foreign Investment in Real Property Act of 1980, more commonly known as FIRPTA.[1] So, when a foreign person or entity sells, transfers, or otherwise disposes of a piece

Read More »
Scott St. Amand April 30, 2021

A Deep Dive into Innocent Spouse Relief

Uncle Bill has four children…that he knows of. We met Jedediah in a previous post. Jethro is on year four of his five-year stint at Raiford for possession of amphetamines with intent to distribute. In his defense, Jethro agreed with the officer that the crank was his.  However, he vehemently

Read More »
Scott St. Amand April 29, 2021