Procedural Issues
Cousin Jedediah

Understanding Parallel Civil and Criminal Investigations

Jedediah was an entrepreneurial soul.  You may remember him from the Deductibility of Criminal Restitution article, but if not, he may or may not have been pinched for embezzling money from Ned’s Tire Rack.  It turns out that he had embezzled the money from Ned, a true southern gentleman, who could sell a whitewall to a Goodyear heir, in order to finance a pyramid scheme involving ethnocentric vitamins and supplements, like his personal hero Joseph

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Scott St. Amand April 29, 2021
Procedural Issues
Abatements

Administrative Waivers of Penalties

The IRS may formally interpret or clarify a provision to provide administrative relief from a penalty that would otherwise be assessed. An administrative waiver may be addressed in either a policy statement, news release, or other formal communication stating that the policy of the IRS is to provide relief from a penalty under specific conditions. An administrative waiver may be necessary when there is a delay by the IRS in printing or mailing forms, publishing

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Scott St. Amand April 29, 2021
Procedural Issues
Accuracy Related Penalty

Reasonable Reliance on a Competent Advisor

Explaining Reasonable Reliance on a Competent Advisor to Uncle Bill. Reasonable cause, specifically, reasonable reliance on a competent advisor will prove rather important to Uncle Bill, and so when he calls you to discuss this great scheme plan he’s been introduced to, you know that this is the time to breach the subject with Bill. You see, Uncle Bill bought his first house from an infomercial he saw after the Ed Sullivan show in the mid-1960s. 

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Scott St. Amand April 19, 2021
Penalties Under the Code
Crazy Germans

Frivolous Taxpayers and the Jurists who Loathe Them

Frivolous taxpayers are amongst my absolute favorites.  The opinions that they spawn are just wonderful breaks in an otherwise monotonous string of upheld determinations…especially when they involve crazy German nationals, as no less than three did in 2020.  In this article, we examine the frivolous return penalty (IRC § 6702) and the frivolous petition penalty (IRC § 6673(a)(1)).  In doing so, we include a discussion of some of the taxpayers that made 2020 so much

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Scott St. Amand April 15, 2021
Penalties Under the Code
Accuracy Related Penalty

Walton v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2021-40

On March 30, 2021, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Walton v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2021-40). The primary issue presented in Walton was whether the petitioner qualified for the reasonable cause exception to the imposition of an accuracy-related penalty. Background to Walton v. Commissioner The petitioner was a New Yorker,[1] who failed to report $170,000 in nonemployee compensation in 2015. Strike one and two. The petitioner was terminated from her

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Scott St. Amand March 30, 2021
Income Tax Issues
Deductions

Deductibility of Fines and Penalties under New IRC § 162(f) Regulations

As you sat down one fine Tuesday morning in January 2021, and you cycled through the emails that rolled into your inbox in the 12 minutes since you last checked them, you notice an update announcing that the IRS is issued final regulations on IRC § 162(f) – deductibility of fines and penalties. You have had prior experience with the Code section, due to Uncle Bill’s penchant for minor violations of laws, regulations, and social

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Scott St. Amand February 1, 2021
Penalties Under the Code
Challenging Levy

Reynolds v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2021-10

On January 26, 2021, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Reynolds v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2021-10). The issue presented in Reynolds v. Commissioner was whether the IRS possessed the collection authority under IRC § 6201(a)(4) to undertake administrative collection action to collect restitution-based assessments (RBAs). Note on “Precedent” to Reynolds v. Commissioner It should be noted that the argument the petitioner made in Reynolds was “squarely rejected” in the case

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Scott St. Amand January 26, 2021
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Understanding Parallel Civil and Criminal Investigations

Jedediah was an entrepreneurial soul.  You may remember him from the Deductibility of Criminal Restitution article, but if not, he may or may not have been pinched for embezzling money from Ned’s Tire Rack.  It turns out that he had embezzled the money from Ned, a true southern gentleman, who

Read More »
Scott St. Amand April 29, 2021

Administrative Waivers of Penalties

The IRS may formally interpret or clarify a provision to provide administrative relief from a penalty that would otherwise be assessed. An administrative waiver may be addressed in either a policy statement, news release, or other formal communication stating that the policy of the IRS is to provide relief from

Read More »
Scott St. Amand April 29, 2021

Reasonable Reliance on a Competent Advisor

Explaining Reasonable Reliance on a Competent Advisor to Uncle Bill. Reasonable cause, specifically, reasonable reliance on a competent advisor will prove rather important to Uncle Bill, and so when he calls you to discuss this great scheme plan he’s been introduced to, you know that this is the time to breach

Read More »
Scott St. Amand April 19, 2021

Frivolous Taxpayers and the Jurists who Loathe Them

Frivolous taxpayers are amongst my absolute favorites.  The opinions that they spawn are just wonderful breaks in an otherwise monotonous string of upheld determinations…especially when they involve crazy German nationals, as no less than three did in 2020.  In this article, we examine the frivolous return penalty (IRC § 6702)

Read More »
Scott St. Amand April 15, 2021

Walton v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2021-40

On March 30, 2021, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Walton v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2021-40). The primary issue presented in Walton was whether the petitioner qualified for the reasonable cause exception to the imposition of an accuracy-related penalty. Background to Walton v. Commissioner The

Read More »
Scott St. Amand March 30, 2021

Reynolds v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2021-10

On January 26, 2021, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Reynolds v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2021-10). The issue presented in Reynolds v. Commissioner was whether the IRS possessed the collection authority under IRC § 6201(a)(4) to undertake administrative collection action to collect restitution-based assessments (RBAs).

Read More »
Scott St. Amand January 26, 2021