An offer in compromise to the IRS is founded on two financial pillars: (a) net realizable equity in the taxpayer’s assets and (b) the taxpayer’s future income that may be available to pay tax liability. “Future income is defined as an estimate of the taxpayer's ability to pay based on an analysis of gross income,…
Read MoreMisinformation abounds as to whether a taxpayer owing North Dakota state income tax may file an offer in compromise to resolve North Dakota state income taxes. An offer in compromise permits the taxpayer to pay less than the full amount of the tax in settlement of the entire tax liability. Offers in compromise are well…
Read MoreOne powerful remedy a taxpayer possesses to resolve outstanding tax liability with the IRS, if the taxpayer is unable to pay in full, is an offer in compromise. An offer in compromise offers to settle the tax debt for less than the amount due and owing. The most common offer in compromise submitted to the…
Read MoreThe hit by COVID-19 to the economies in western states in the oil patch, such as North Dakota, Wyoming and Montana, has been intensified by the simultaneous bust in the oil market. This double hit to the economy may open up opportunities for taxpayers who have suffered financial downturns to obtain tax relief under an…
Read MoreWhen a taxpayer approaches me about a possible representation of them against the IRS in an audit or tax appeal where the taxpayer believes he or she has been wronged by the IRS, I am often asked if the taxpayer can recover his or her attorney fees against the IRS. The answer: a definite maybe.…
Read MoreI am contacted by Montana taxpayers who have had audit adjustments made to their Montana state income tax by the Montana Department of Revenue. Often, the contact comes after the deadline by which to challenge adjustments to Montana income tax the standard way has passed. But all is not lost for the taxpayer. A taxpayer…
Read MoreThe United States Tax Court is the federal court designated to hear many appeals of federal income and other taxes. The US Tax Court sits in Washington DC. However, the taxpayer who is appealing his or her income tax does not need to travel to Washington DC to attend court. The Tax Court, including the…
Read MoreWhen is a “Texan” who owns a home in Texas, operates a business in Texas, extended family lives in Texas, bank, insurance and doctor are all in Texas and whose wife is a Texas resident really a “Montanan?” According to the Montana Supreme Court, when the “resident of Texas” has a Montana driver’s license, Montana…
Read MoreIn Montana, property owned for the use of a non-profit cemetery is exempt from property taxation.[1] In Resurrection Cemetery Association, Inc. v. Montana Department of Revenue,[2] the Montana Tax Appeal Board was confronted by a scenario where the cemetery had leased a portion of its land to a hotel and a retail storage unit, which…
Read MoreIn a previous article, I discussed the United States Tax Court case Gemperle v. C.I.R., T.C. Memo 2016-1, wherein the Tax Court ruled that the taxpayer was not entitled to a charitable deduction for a conservation easement because the taxpayer failed to include a copy of the qualified appraisal with the tax return. Read about…
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