House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chair Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) recently sent letters to three college presidents following the schools’ hiring of head football coaches. He asked whether their contracts, which include multimillion-dollar salaries and incentives, violate the tax code. The schools are tax-exempt entities organized and operated for educational purposes. Income from the schools’ […]

A Texas church goes to court. In a suit for delinquent ad valorem property taxes a trial court ruled against the church in a hearing before the tax master. In delinquent tax cases in TX, a tax master can perform the duties of a court. If the tax master rules against the taxpayer the taxpayer

In a Notice, the IRS has provided lenders and loan servicers guidance on reporting certain discharged student loans. According to Notice 2022-1, lenders and loan servicers shouldn’t file information returns or furnish payee statements to report the discharge of student loans when the discharge is excluded from gross income. Generally, a discharged loan results in

Tax errors can be costly for small businesses. Accidentally failing to comply with tax laws, violating tax codes, or filling out forms incorrectly can leave taxpayers and their businesses open to possible interest and penalties. The IRS has stated that the most common errors by small businesses include underpaying estimated taxes and depositing employment taxes

Individuals who provide the IRS Whistleblower Office (WBO) with tips about unpaid federal tax may qualify for cash awards if certain conditions are met. Claims must “provide specific or credible information regarding tax underpayments or violations of internal revenue laws” that lead to proceeds collected. In one case, the WBO received a tip about violations

The U.S. Tax Court ruled that a taxpayer’s horse breeding enterprise wasn’t engaged in for profit. Therefore, the related deductions and net operating losses couldn’t be claimed. The taxpayer’s farm produces Standardbred horses, a breed used in competitive harness racing. The court found the taxpayer was intent on having a high-quality horse operation, spent significant

Estimated tax payments for the fourth quarter of 2021 are due on Jan. 18, 2022. In general, individuals (including sole proprietors, partners, and S corporation shareholders) must make estimated tax payments if they don’t have withholding and expect to owe tax of $1,000 or more when their return is filed. Corporations generally must make estimated

The IRS is providing more disaster relief to Hurricane Ida victims. The tax agency announced that Ida victims in certain areas can now postpone tax filing and payment deadlines to Feb. 15, 2022. This applies to victims in Louisiana and Mississippi, as well as specified localities in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. The

If you’ve paid or accrued foreign taxes to a foreign country and are subject to U.S. tax on the same income, you may be able to claim a foreign tax credit. Generally, only income, war profits and excess profits taxes qualify for the credit. The IRS recently issued final regulations relating to the foreign tax

The IRS has focused its efforts in recent years on upgrading its information technology (IT) systems. Keeping a close eye on the IRS’s progress, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) recently issued its annual assessment of the IRS’s IT program for fiscal year 2021. The report had an overall objective of assessing the