Individual Income Tax

TOPICS / INDIVIDUALS

September 1, 2016

Individual Tax Update

This article covers recent developments affecting taxation of individuals, including regulations, cases, and IRS guidance.

September 1, 2016

Proposed Regulations Govern Sec. 409A Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans

Proposed rules clarify and modify previous regulations regarding Sec. 409A nonqualified deferred compensation plans.

September 1, 2016

Cancellation-of-Debt Rules for Qualified Real Property Business Indebtedness

The IRS ruled on two situations involving individual taxpayers who had debt forgiven on property used in their real property trades or
businesses.

August 1, 2016

Are OTC Major Foreign Currency Options Now Subject to Sec. 1256?

Two approaches could yield very different tax results.

June 22, 2016

IRS Issues Sec. 409A Proposed Regulations

The IRS issued proposed regulations under Sec. 409A, which provides that if certain requirements are not met, amounts deferred under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan are currently includible in gross income.

June 16, 2016

FAQs Explain the Wrongful Incarceration Exclusion

A new law allows taxpayers to exclude from income money they receive to compensate them for being wrongfully incarcerated and to claim refunds for earlier tax years if they included such damages in income.

June 10, 2016

IRS Rules on Qualified Real Property Indebtedness

The IRS issued a ruling explaining when a taxpayer can exclude cancellation-of-debt income for debt forgiven in connection with property held in a real property trade or business.

June 1, 2016

Foreign Currency Straddles and Transactions Present Complex Tax Issues

Foreign currency straddles may be used to manage foreign currency exposure, but they may carry hidden tax issues.

May 1, 2016

Planning for Divorce-Related Stock Redemptions

A transfer of ownership of a closely held business in divorce does not trigger gain or loss if it is directly between the spouses.

May 1, 2016

Personal Goodwill and the Net Investment Income Tax

This article discusses when the sale
of goodwill related to a C corporation is the sale of a shareholder’s personal goodwill
and the reasons the gain from the sale of personal goodwill should not be subject to
the net investment income tax.

April 1, 2016

Change in Form 1099-B Cost Basis Reporting Can Result in Double-Counting of Income

Since the compensatory income is already included in the employee’s Form W-2, the failure to report it in the Form 1099-B cost basis results in double-counting the income unless an adjustment is entered on Form 8949.

April 1, 2016

New Exclusion for Damages Received From a Wrongful Incarceration

Damages received for wrongful incarceration are now specifically excluded from an individual’s taxable income.

April 1, 2016

IRS Issues Maximum Vehicle Values for 2016 for Personal-Use Vehicles

The limits for passenger vehicles are lower than they were in 2015, but the values for vans and trucks increased slightly.

April 1, 2016

Kiddie Tax May Be Due on College Scholarships

The taxable portion of college scholarships may be unearned income and subject to the kiddie tax.

March 1, 2016

Qualified Small Business Stock: Considerations for 100% Gain Exclusion

Some noncorporate taxpayers who dispose of QSBS in a taxable transaction may potentially exclude the entire gain for federal tax purposes.

March 1, 2016

Tax Court No Help for Opportunist Girlfriend

Rescission doctrine did not allow a taxpayer
to exclude from income $400,000 she received under a fraudulently induced agreement with her elderly boyfriend that she was later forced to repay.

March 1, 2016

Individual Taxation: Recent Developments

This article covers recent developments in the area of individual taxation arranged in Code section order.

March 1, 2016

Statutory Language Trumps Tax Policy

A foreign currency option could be a foreign currency contract.

February 25, 2016

What Investors Need to Know About Passive Activities

Having an activity classified as passive is not a good result for most taxpayers since they cannot carry back or forward losses under the net operating loss rules.

February 5, 2016

Maximum Vehicle Values for Personal-Use Vehicles Are Issued

The IRS issued the 2016 inflation-adjusted amounts for the maximum vehicle values for purposes of determining the amount that is included in employees’ income for personal use of an employer-provided vehicle.