In a world of CPA’s, tax preparers, enrolled agents, bookkeepers and accountants, it can be confusing to know when to hire a tax attorney. After all, you’re not hiring a tax lawyer to prepare your annual income tax return. So when and why would you need a tax attorney’s services?

IRS And State Tax Disputes

First and foremost, you need a tax lawyer if you have a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or any State Tax Agency.

Most tax disputes arise in the form of an audit of one or several past tax returns. If the IRS notifies you of an audit, you should hire a tax attorney immediately. Read More

Congress has given the IRS potent tools to collect taxes. The IRS can impose liens on a taxpayer’s property and can seize it through levy, all without prior judicial authorization. But for taxpayers who attempt to move or keep their assets offshore to circumvent IRS collections – beware of the writ of ne exeat republica.

The writ of ne exeat republica effectively prevents a person from leaving the Court’s jurisdiction and the IRS has demonstrated that where its efforts to seize a taxpayer’s property to collect his past due taxes, the IRS essentially seized the taxpayer instead.

Predictably, it takes some fairly serious misbehavior to lead a court to bar someone from traveling – and that is what happened to Charles and Kathleen Barrett of Colorado. Read More

In separate reports, Zen99 and the consumer finance website nerdwallet ranked Los Angeles the best city for freelancers. In 2012, 12% of people in Los Angeles reported themselves as self-employed. Each of these website reports considered housing and health care costs, the percentage of freelancers in an area as factors. Even before the sharing economy began to take off, the entertainment industry and growing tech scene were already strong sources of freelance gigs in L.A.

For freelancers, consultants, actors and other self employed people, life gets complicated come tax time. Digging around for the paperwork to fill out tax forms practically qualify as exercise. Such business people have a nightmare trying to find receipts which is why you should keep track expenses and receipts year round rather than pursuing a paper chase Read More

On a recent airplane trip from the Bay Area to Southern California, I sat beside a distinguished-looking elderly man. I initiated a conversation with him and found out he was a former judge now living in Mexico. We talked about everything, including taxation.

The former judge admitted that he was an American citizen and he and some of his friends have problems sleeping because of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). So, I asked him what about Foreign Bank Account Reporting (FBAR), as that was more serious than FATCA. But he had never heard about it. I wondered how many people are like the former judge and his friends who can’t sleep at night because of FATCA and who never heard of FBAR. Read More

Leaving off deductions you’re eligible for, such as mortgage interest and property taxes, is leaving money on the table and with tax reform revving up again on Capitol Hill, with the heads of key committees pledging to work toward a simpler and fairer tax code, Congress may be looking to tradeoff these tax breaks with lower tax rates. Sounds intriguing?

Homeownership can pay off big time if you itemize your deductions. Use these five tax breaks to cut what you owe Uncle Sam:

1. Home Office

Do you work at home? Collect a tax break either by using the simplified method explained below or doing some complicated calculations to claim your exact home office expenses. Read More

On June 18, 2014, the IRS announced major changes in the 2012 offshore account compliance programs, providing new options to help taxpayers residing in the United States and overseas. The changes are anticipated to provide thousands of people a new avenue to come back into compliance with their tax obligations and would largely waive these penalties if taxpayers come forward and show that they didn’t hide the money on purpose.

Separate from United States income tax returns, many U.S. persons are required to file with the U.S. Treasury a return commonly known as an “FBAR” (or Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts; known as FinCEN Form 114), listing all non-US bank and financial accounts. These forms are required if on any day of any calendar year an Read More

A simple mistake, oversight, or your accountant’s malpractice may trigger an IRS criminal investigation. Specifically, unreported income, a false statement, the use of an impermissible accounting or banking service, or declaring too many deductions are things that could initiate an audit, which could then rise to the level of an IRS criminal investigation.

As you can imagine, the IRS Criminal Investigation Division (“CID”) uses a vast array of tools to investigate a suspected tax evasion case or while conducting a criminal investigation. If you think about it, every employee of the IRS has a single task of ensuring that the IRS tax collections are maximized. IRS Special Agents, who work on the criminal tax cases, are no different. If you file your taxes, their goal is to prove that you may have Read More

Valentine’s Day is all about that special someone in your life, but have you ever wondered if your date across the dinner table might actually be able to save you money on your tax return or if the two of you now decide to get married, whether you can deduct any portion of the wedding and thereafter pay less in taxes?

In Part 1 of this blog, I discussed what you need to know about who qualifies as a dependent and what you need to know on deducting gifts to your staff.

Can you get a Tax Write-Off for your wedding?

Tax write-offs are usually the last thing a bride and groom think about when planning a wedding. To the surprise of many, however, wedding purchases and/or rentals can Read More

Valentine’s Day is all about that special someone in your life, but have you ever wondered if your date across the dinner table might actually be able to save you money on your tax return or if the two of you now decide to get married, whether you can deduct any portion of the wedding and thereafter pay less in taxes?

What you need to know about who qualifies as a dependent.

Dependents, which can range from a girlfriend to a child or even a friend, are often an area where tax deductions are either missed or misstated on tax returns. To help taxpayers navigate this gray area, here are the tests necessary to claim someone as your dependent—and some of the tax benefits available for claiming the one you love: Read More

While death and taxes are always certain, take lesson from Amy Bosley that you should never mix them together.

These are busy days for Joe Yates. The brisk fall air has ushered in a long ledger of names. Home owners in need of having their chimneys swept and inspected. And those with chimney emergencies who summon Yates 24 hours a day. These are also somber days for the 6-foot-5 inch, 280 pound Pendleton County man, known to many Northern Kentuckians as simply “Big Joe.”

“Big Joe,” who is 30, has a tall top hat and tails to fill. It’s a hat he wishes would never have been left vacant. “Big Joe,” is one of 14, who lost their boss and their jobs in the early Read More

In the 19th century, Manifest Destiny was a widely held belief in the United States that American settlers were destined to expand throughout the continent. Historians have for the most part agreed that there are three basic themes to Manifest Destiny: the special virtues of the American people and their institutions; America’s mission to redeem and remake the west in the image of agrarian America; and an irresistible destiny to accomplish this essential duty. This spirit has endured into the 21st century with the application of FATCA over worldwide banking activity.

Never Heard of FATCA? You Will.

FATCA—the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act—is America’s global tax law. It was quietly enacted in 2010. And after a four-year ramp up, it is finally in full effect. What is Read More