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2 days ago | 
accountingtoday.com | Roger Russell
Clients who decide to make a "fresh start" after April 15 and launch their own business venture may seek guidance from their tax professional regarding the form or business structure they should choose. The tax pro's response should be simple enough to be understandable without confusing the issues, and comprehensive enough to include potential snags or traps for the unwary.
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1 week ago | 
accountingtoday.com | Roger Russell
The "big beautiful bill" touted by President Trump is getting closer, though the timeline remains imprecise. "There's been some public reporting on tougher questions of spending cuts, but the difference between the tax bill this year and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017 is that the inclusion of a lot of spending cuts in the same bill makes it more challenging this year.
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1 week ago | 
accountingtoday.com | Roger Russell
The 2025 filing season has been completed quietly, despite trepidation regarding the Internal Revenue Service's ability to function effectively in the face of cuts in funding and staff. "It's been pretty smooth," according to Roger Harris, president of Padgett Business Services. "A very typical season. Of course, the last four or five days are always a challenge when all the procrastinators come in.
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2 weeks ago | 
accountingtoday.com | Roger Russell
The Internal Revenue Service is facing a busy and uncertain future, with major staffing cuts, a decrease in funding, and turnover — including a veritable revolving door of acting commissioners, with Gary Shapely replaced just days after Melanie Krause stepped down — with more cuts by DOGE looming ahead.
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3 weeks ago | 
accountingtoday.com | Roger Russell
Get ready to spot some frauds. "Ponzi schemes don't collapse when the markets are booming. They collapse when the music stops," warned Jeffrey Schneider, managing partner at law firm Levins Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman, describing how financial frauds typically unravel during recessions and why we should be on high alert.
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4 weeks ago | 
accountingtoday.com | Roger Russell
One of the attractive features of doing business through a limited liability company is the protection it gives from personal liability — but that is not always the case, as a New Jersey dentist recently discovered when the Internal Revenue Service sought to foreclose on a dental practice he co-owned with another dentist. Dr. William Vockroth co-owned his practice with another dentist, Dr. Thomas Driscoll, via an LLC, and co-owned the physical property as tenants in common.
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1 month ago | 
accountingtoday.com | Roger Russell
If research is considered to be "funded research" within the meaning of Section 41(d)(4)(H), then it is not eligible for the research credit. Research is considered to be funded if payment is not contingent on the success of the research. Two recent cases before the Tax Court — Systems Technologies Inc. and Smith, et al. — flesh out the meaning of funded research by turning to local law in their analysis of whether the research was funded or not.
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1 month ago | 
accountingtoday.com | Roger Russell
The Supreme Court has denied the attempt of the bankruptcy trustee of a failed business to claw back assets fraudulently transferred to the Internal Revenue Service from the debtor-business's assets to satisfy the personal federal tax liabilities of the shareholders. The shareholders had misappropriated $145,000 in company funds to satisfy their personal federal tax liabilities.
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1 month ago | 
accountingtoday.com | Roger Russell
Although filing season began smoothly and proceeded with little fanfare, there are still some issues that are on the minds of tax pros. "While it began looking like a smooth year, it has been anything but," said, according to Misty Erickson, tax content manager at the National Association of Tax Professionals. She listed the following as contributing to the angst felt by many preparers: With the IRS laying off employees, there are a lot of questions on how this will impact the filing season.
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1 month ago | 
accountingtoday.com | Roger Russell
The Internal Revenue Service has issued a chief counsel memorandum that offers guidance on who is eligible to take a theft loss deduction for scams. The memorandum, No. 202511015, released March 25, 2025, addresses a number of common scenarios and analyzes the deductibility of each.
