In Notice 2009-46, the IRS requested comments on three new proposed methods that would simplify the substantiation requirements for employee use of employer-provided cell phones.
Advertisement
TOPICS
Individuals
Service Learning and Tax: More Than VITA
This column provides readers with some thoughts for integrating service learning using tax issues as the content platform. The column describes the projects used by the author and some additional thoughts for expanding the scope of tax-based service learning projects beyond VITA.
IRS Notice Provides Work Opportunity Tax Credit Definitions
The IRS has released a notice that defines the terms “unemployed veteran” and “disconnected youth” for purposes of the Sec. 51 work opportunity tax credit.
Leasing Business Autos
Automobile leases have certain advantages. They require a minimal investment and are convenient if the customer replaces the car every two or three years. With a lease, there is no hassle with selling or trading in the car. Instead, the lease customer simply drops it off at the end of the lease and arranges another lease for a new one.
Deducting Losses for Defrauded Investors
This article considers theft losses “incurred in an activity engaged in for profit.” These investment theft losses are not subject to the 10% of AGI reduction for losses of personal use property, the 2% of AGI floor for miscellaneous itemized deductions, or the itemized deduction phaseout rules of Sec. 68.
IRS Issues Optional Safe-Harbor Treatment for Victims of Ponzi Schemes
The IRS recently issued two rulings about the tax treatment of victims of Ponzi schemes and similar financial frauds.
Residential Energy-Efficient Property Credit Rules Issued
The IRS has provided guidance to manufacturers and consumers on satisfying the requirements of the residential energy-efficient property credit.
Correcting Employment Tax Errors
Correcting an employment tax error that is discovered in the year in which the error occurs is generally a simple process. However, employers often discover such errors after the close of the calendar year in which they paid the wages to an employee. The adjustment process to correct those errors is confusing and often leads to further mistakes.
Expatriation and the New Mark-to-Market Rules
New rules subject taxpayers that renounce their U.S. citizenship or abandon their U.S. residency to a mark-to-market exit tax on their assets.
Clergy Tax Rules Extend Beyond Churches
This article provides guidelines to help determine who qualifies as a minister and summarizes tax rules applicable to ministers.
Sec. 1245 Recapture Rules Can Apply to Stock
This item discusses how a reduction in a debtor’s stock basis through application of the Sec. 108 attribute reduction rules can result in Sec. 1245 recapture on a disposition of that stock. It also examines how the consolidated return rules in certain circumstances eliminate, in whole or in part, the potential Sec. 1245 recapture on a disposition of stock of a subsidiary member.
Student Loan Forgiveness and Repayment Programs
To provide a roadmap for these students and their tax advisers, this article describes the more prevalent loan forgiveness and loan repayment programs, along with the associated tax consequences.
IRS Advises How Part Owners Should Handle $1 Million Mortgage Deduction Limit
The IRS Office of Chief Counsel has issued a memorandum outlining how partial owners of a principal residence with a mortgage larger than $1 million should handle their mortgage deduction.
Limitation Period for Equitable Innocent Spouse Relief Held Invalid
In a decision of the full court, the Tax Court held that Regs. Sec. 1.6015-5(b) (1), which imposes a two-year limitation period for requesting equitable innocent spouse relief, is an invalid interpretation of Sec. 6015(f).
IRS Issues Guidance on Losses from Ponzi Schemes
The IRS has released guidance on how investors who have fraud losses from a Ponzi scheme should treat their losses for tax purposes and has provided a safe harbor for taxpayers to use in determining the amount and the timing of their losses from a Ponzi scheme.
Securities Transfer Is Not a Securities Lending Arrangement
The Tax Court held that a billion dollar–plus securities transaction was not a securities lending arrangement under Sec. 1058 because its terms reduced the opportunity for gain to the transferor of the securities in the transaction for almost the entire transaction period.
Financial Planning Using a Client’s Form 1040
CPAs can provide valuable assistance to their clients by taking some time after busy season to use the tax return as a guide to helping their clients deal with the current economic difficulties.
Like-Kind Exchanges: Deferral Is Not Always the Best Option
Sec. 1031 gives taxpayers the opportunity to defer taxation on the gains they may have on their transactions. Anytime there is an opportunity to defer tax costs, tax practitioners and their clients automatically tend to assume that they should take advantage of the opportunity. However, in the case of like-kind exchanges, it is not always in the taxpayer’s best interest to elect to defer the recognition of gain on realty.
Personal Goodwill: Alive and Well?
A pair of recent decisions calls into question whether the sale of personal goodwill is still available as a tax planning strategy.
Tax Court Not Limited to Administrative Record in Innocent Spouse Cases
The Eleventh Circuit held that the Tax Court properly considered evidence outside the administrative record in a trial to determine whether a taxpayer was entitled to innocent spouse relief.
INDIVIDUALS
Current Developments in Taxation of Individuals: Part 1
This update surveys recent federal tax developments involving individuals, including court cases, rulings, and guidance issued during the six months ending October 2025.
