Concluding the interesting remarks of a Montana IRS Criminal Investigations Agent addressing various tax crime issues to a group of civil tax lawyers: When a civil IRS auditor uncovers evidence of tax fraud during a tax audit, IRS Civil Exam can refer the case to IRS CI. However, having an IRS civil audit turn criminal…
Read MoreContinuing the interesting remarks of a Montana IRS Criminal Investigations Agent addressing various tax crime issues to a group of civil tax lawyers: Attorney advice to a taxpayer is a relevant defense for the taxpayer to raise to a tax crime. The IRS has summons or subpoena power to obtain bank records that go more…
Read MoreI recently moderated a presentation to a group of civil tax attorneys from an IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Agent working in Montana. I requested that the CI Agent discuss what civil tax lawyers should know about tax crimes in Montana. Here are some interesting points raised in his remarks: 40-50% of IRS CI Agents are…
Read MoreI handled a recent compromise for a taxpayer based on doubt as to collectability. The offer was submitted pre-virus pandemic and was pending before the IRS for many months. During that time, the pandemic had changed the taxpayers finances in multiple ways. One of the taxpayers changed a job, which brought a change to income…
Read MoreAs discussed in the previous article, the first step for the taxpayer to challenge the property tax is to meet with the Montana Department of Revenue assessor for an informal review of the property. While over 90 percent of property tax disputes are resolved at informal review, the taxpayer retains the right to appeal. The…
Read MoreMany issues the taxpayer has with property taxation may resolved by an informal review of the property tax assessment with an assessor of the Montana Department of Revenue. The Montana Department of Revenue claims that over 90 percent of property tax disagreements are settled with informal review.[1] To request informal review, the taxpayer must complete…
Read MoreAssessment notice. Montana property taxpayers typically receive an assessment notice in June of the first year of the two-year property tax reappraisal cycle. However, the actual tax bill is not sent by the county treasurer until October and the following May. Thus, property owners may delay challenging the property tax assessment until the tax bill…
Read MoreThe property tax assessment notice for Class 3 and 4 real property, typically residential and commercial property, typically is sent by the Montana Department of Revenue to the property owner in June of the first year of the two-year real property taxation cycle. The taxpayer should carefully examine the assessment notice for the following points.…
Read MoreMontana property taxpayers have begun to receive property tax notices in the mail from the Montana Department of Revenue. The taxpayer should consider the following upon receipt: Read the assessment notice. It will state the new value of the property, the previous value of the property, the taxable value of the property (property value multiplied…
Read MoreMontana property tax cycles. In Part 1 of this article, we reviewed the property taxation assessment cycles in Montana. Property tax is assessed every two years on most properties. For the 2019-2020 property cycle, the Montana Department of Revenue uses the value of the property as of January 1, 2018. The Montana Department of Revenue…
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