Community Property Rules and Registered Domestic Partners

Article:  Several community property states have laws that allows same-sex couples to establish registered domestic partnerships, which create a number of unique federal tax issues.
Published on March 18, 2013

Securities Fraud and the Theft-Loss Deduction

Article:  Whether investment losses from fraud should be treated as capital losses or theft losses when the stock is purchased through a stockbroker is currently undecided for tax purposes.
Published on March 18, 2013

IRS Issues Prop. Regs. on Retail-Inventory Method

Article:  Taxpayers using the retail-inventory method should review their calculations to determine if they are currently reducing both the numerator of the cost-complement ratio and the retail selling price of ending inventory for sales-based vendor allowances and related markdowns.
Published on March 18, 2013

Ethical Considerations in Reporting Use Taxes on State Income Tax Returns

Article:  As more states allow residents to report a liability for state use taxes on their individual income tax returns, practitioners will have to explain to clients their obligations in reporting use tax liability and address the professional standards for reporting use tax on a state income tax return.
Published on March 18, 2013

Partially Taxable Asset Acquisitions from S Corporations

Article:  Selling shareholders of an S corporation commonly seek a partially tax-deferred rollover of equity. This item describes the differing results between a transaction accomplished through a Sec. 351 transfer and one structured as part sale/part contribution.
Published on March 18, 2013

The Evolution of Sales Tax Nexus Expansion Laws

Article:  Over the past three years, several states have expanded the activities that create sales tax nexus for out-of-state retailers without a physical presence in the state.
Published on March 18, 2013

Transfers to Skip Trusts in 2010 Not Necessarily Free from GST Tax

Article:  Planning opportunities exist to minimize the generation-skipping transfer tax by severing trusts to which generation-skipping transfers were made in 2010.
Published on March 18, 2013

FATCA Adds Layer of Complexity, Penalty Exposure to Offshore Asset Reporting

Article:  This item highlights the provisions of FATCA that are most likely to affect U.S. tax practitioners and their clients—the taxpayer reporting provisions of new Sec. 6038D.
Published on March 18, 2013

Allowable Political Activities and Reporting Requirements for Tax-Exempt Entities

Article:  This item provides basic guidance in the structure and operations of Sec. 527 organizations as well as some insight into allowable political activities for other tax-exempt organizations.
Published on March 18, 2013

Estimated Amount of State Income Tax Claim Not Deductible on Estate Tax Return

Article:  The Ninth Circuit held that an estate could deduct as a claim against it only the amount of state income tax and interest with respect to the income on a transaction that the estate ultimately paid, not the amount that it estimated at the time of the decedent’s death it
Published on March 18, 2013

Cost-Basis Reporting, the New Schedule D, and Form 8949

Article:  The 2011 tax filing season ushered in the first phase of new basis reporting rules requiring a three-phase process for submitting cost-basis information to the IRS.
Published on March 18, 2013

Mail-Order Book Seller Has Nexus with State

Article:  The Tennessee Court of Appeals held that a corporation that sells books and other publications through the mail to students in schools and home-schooled students had substantial nexus with Tennessee because teachers and parents of the students purchasing the books and publications assisted in ordering and distributing them.
Published on March 18, 2013

Supreme Court Considers Regulatory Preference Issue

Article:  Can the IRS issue regulations with retroactive effect? That is the central administrative issue in a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Published on March 18, 2013

Timing of Deduction for Bonus Accruals Under Pooled Arrangements

Article:  Rev. Rul. 2011-29 favorably upholds the current deductibility of a bonus pool that is determined based on a formula or board-approved amount by year end with employment required on a payment date within 2½ months of year end.
Published on March 18, 2013

Overview of IRS Pre-Appeals Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods

Article:  Since the enactment of the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act in 1990, the IRS has been increasingly eager to settle disputes through alternative means such as arbitration and mediation.
Published on March 18, 2013