The Gift Tax in a Nutshell
Unwrapping the Gift Tax a. How the Federal Gift and Estate Tax Work Together The federal gift tax is part of what’s called the “unified” federal gift and estate tax. Gift tax applies to lifetime gifts; estate tax applies to assets left at death. The idea is that whether you give assets away while you’re […]
New Jersey Estate & Inheritance Tax: Reducing the Size of the Estate Through Gifting
New Jersey is one of only a few states that impose both an inheritance tax and a state estate tax. The inheritance tax applies when someone who lived in New Jersey, or owned property there, leaves property to someone who isn’t a close relative. The tax rate depends on how closely the inheritors and deceased […]
New Jersey Estate Tax — The Uninvited Guest
New Jersey collects both an inheritance tax and its own estate tax, separate from the federal estate tax. Under current law, the estate of every New Jersey resident decedent dying after December 31, 2001 shall be taxed as if the death occurred under the federal laws in effect on December 31, 2001. Because the applicable […]
OVDI: Is the IRS Playing Fair?
A Message From Uncle Sam to Taxpayers Who Have Undisclosed Foreign Bank Accounts: The Clock Is Ticking Since 2009, the IRS has offered taxpayers with undisclosed foreign financial accounts the opportunity to “come clean” under its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI). According to the IRS, more than 38,000 U.S. taxpayers have entered the program. They […]
IS THAT WORKER AN EMPLOYEE? QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON WORKER CLASSIFICATION
If you own or manage a business that uses independent contractors, you need to know when you can or cannot treat a worker as an independent contractor. This article answers some of the common questions about worker classification. INTRODUCTION Misclassification of employees as independent contractors is now a common phrase uttered by state and federal […]
PENALTY AND INTEREST ABATEMENT: A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL OR A DEEP, DARK ABYSS?
The Internal Revenue Code contains a labyrinth of overlapping penalties designed to encourage taxpayers to file on time and to pay on time. Some of the more common penalties include: (1) the failure to file penalty; (2) the failure to pay penalty; (3) the civil fraud penalty for filing a frivolous tax return or for […]
LIENS AND LEVIES AND GARNISHMENTS, OH MY!
If you owe the IRS but do not pay your tax liability in full, the IRS will send you a tax bill demanding payment in full. If you do not pay in full or make other payment arrangements, the IRS will pursue collection of the taxes through liens, levies, or garnishments. I. Tax liens A […]
Trust Fund Recovery Penalties: Much ado about something
The income and social security taxes an employer withholds from the wages of employees are called “trust fund” taxes because they are constructively held in trust for the government. All too often, when business owners encounter financial trouble, they fail to pay these taxes – not because of any plan to steal the money from […]
The Notice of Deficiency – Your ticket into Tax Court
The United States Tax Court has jurisdiction of federal tax issues. One of the most common cases over which the United States Tax Court has jurisdiction is tax deficiencies. A deficiency is an amount of tax that the taxpayer allegedly owes the IRS in excess of any amounts reported on the return. The notice of […]
Selecting the Appropriate Venue to Litigate a Tax Case
Tax cases can be heard in several different venues: United States Tax Court, United States District Court, United States Bankruptcy Court, or United States Court of Federal Claims. The rules applicable to each venue vary. Therefore, the selection of one court over another depends on the facts unique to each taxpayer’s claim. Tax Court is […]