Taxes

Gifting sounds nice in theory, but it can be complicated in practice, particularly when it comes to transfers by or to foreign persons. The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), suspecting wrongdoers at every turn, has been busy recently applying pressure in the international realm. This has triggered several court decisions, two of which are discussed here,

Introduction They say that art is in the eye of the beholder. It might be more accurate to say that art, at least when it comes to its value, is in the eye of the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). Cognizant of transactions supposedly involving charitable art donations and inflated appraisals, the IRS has sounded the

As 2023 draws to a close, the IRS is already gearing up for next year—but some taxpayers are still experiencing delays related to previous years. According to the IRS, they are “working hard to get through the inventory.” The agency says that it has processed all paper and electronic individual returns received before October 2023.

The Tax Court’s new opinion deciding the blocked income question raised in Coca-Cola v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2023-135, suggests that Coca-Cola’s prospects of eventual success are dim, whether the blocked income regulations are upheld on appeal or not. Judge Albert Lauber’s November 8 supplemental opinion in Coca-Cola is the epilogue to the landmark 2020 opinion

Approximately 95% of married couples file joint tax returns. There is a strong knee-jerk reaction to file jointly, and tax return preparers may assume that’s what you want because most people do. Yet that simple step makes each spouse liable for everything on the return–and anything that might not be on the return. Joint filing

Some mutual funds inflict great damage on your 1040. Defend yourself. By William Baldwin, Senior Contributor Winter: the season in which fund owners incur self-inflicted wounds. Investors who make the mistake of holding stock mutual funds in taxable accounts are at risk of having unwanted distributions dumped in their laps. This often occurs in December.

The SECURE Act 2.0, enacted at the end of 2022, created a new type of qualified charitable distribution (QCD) that generally is being called the Legacy IRA. As I’ve said before, QCDs are the best way for most people age 70½ or older to make charitable contributions. When you’re 70½ or older, instead of writing

Trusts are common, but there are numerous variations, and there is still considerable confusion about what is legal and what is not. There are at least two primary types. One type is a common to estate planning, and probably just about everyone should have one. You don’t want to die without a will, and but

Christmas came early (again) this year for many taxpayers and tax professionals. The IRS has announced that it would (again) delay the new $600 Form 1099-K reporting threshold for third-party settlement organizations. Here’s what you need to know. The IRS will treat 2023 as an additional transition year. If that sounds familiar, the same thing

For 40 years, PNC has calculated the prices of the 12 gifts from the classic holiday song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” This year, increases in the annual Christmas Price Index® (PNC CPI) are primarily driven by labor costs, mirroring the U.S. economy. CPI The PNC CPI is a light-hearted take on the Bureau of