Recent Tax Court decision finds against the abuse defense in an innocent spouse case

Recent Tax Court decision finds against the abuse defense in an innocent spouse case. In a recent Tax Court decision, it was determined that a person claiming innocent spouse relief based upon abuse by her husband failed. The case, Hardin v. Comm. , T.C.M. #684-14, T.C. Memo 2016-141 (7/26/16) stands for the proposition that a taxpayer claiming innocent spouse relief must prove abuse and the Tax Court Judge Chiechi ruled that the burden was not sustained. The alleged abuser and abused both testified before the Tax Court and Judge Chiechi felt that the abused’s testimony was not credible. Moral: Threatened abuse can form the basis of an innocent spouse defense but the facts showing the abuse must be credible.

No loss deduction available for retaining wall collapse

No loss deduction available for retaining wall collapse Few laws make as little sense as tax law. In another example of a quirky tax law, the case of Alphonso v. Comm., T.C. Memo 2016-130 (TC Memo 2016) exposes a most peculiar tax law. This quirk in the law says that a sudden collapse of a building or in this case a retaining wall is deductible but an undetected deterioration followed by a collapse is not deductible. The Tax Court in Alphonso found that the taxpayer failed to show that the damage from a collapsed retaining wall was a deductible casualty loss and not a nondeductible loss caused by gradual deterioration. The IRS disallowed the casualty loss deduction stating that the collapse of the retaining wall was a result of gradual weakening, and therefore didn't constitute a casualty loss under Code Sec. 165(c)(3). The Tax court concluded that the collapse of the retaining wall in question wasn't a casualty within the meaning of Code Sec. 165(c)(3). The taxpayer wasn't entitled to claim any loss with respect to that collapse. Under Code Secs. 165(a) and (c)(3), a taxpayer may deduct losses if such losses arise from fire, storm, shipwreck, or other casualty. Prior rulings have stated that the term "casualty" refers to an identifiable event of a sudden, unexpected, or unusual nature. See Rev. Rul. 76-134 and suddenness is an essential element of a casualty. See Rev. Rul. 61-216,and Rev. Rul. 72-592. The rulings further describe that to be considered as sudden, the event must be one that is swift and precipitous and not gradual or progressive. Rev. Rul. 72-592. And on point is I.R.S. Pub. 17 which states that progressive deterioration of property through a steadily operating cause is not a casualty loss. In this case, Christina Alphonso owned stock in Castle Village a cooperative housing corporation that owned land and buildings located in upper Manhattan. The retaining wall suddenly collapsed causing substantial damage. The taxpayer then claimed a casualty loss. The U.S. Tax Court found that the taxpayer failed to carry her burden of proof of showing that the cause of the collapse of the retaining wall was excessive rainfall. The Court further found that although the rainfall may have been a contributing factor to the particular time at which the retaining wall collapsed, they did not cause that collapse. The cause of the collapse was progressive deterioration in and around that wall that had begun at least 20 years before that collapse occurred. The case boiled down to a battle of the expert witnesses over the cause and the court found the Government’s witness more compelling.

Tax Court determines Emotional distress damages taxable since not derived from physical injury

Tax Court determines Emotional distress damages taxable since not derived from physical injury In Barbato v. Comm., TC Memo 2016-23, the U.S. Tax Court determined that a taxpayer who was awarded damages by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for her emotional distress for discrimination against her constituted taxable income. The court ruled that she did not meet Code §104(a)(2) requirements for excluding damage awards from gross income. §104(a)(2) excludes damages received for personal physical injury or physical sickness from gross income. Because emotional distress is not considered a physical injury or physical sickness, taxpayers must include damages they receive for emotional distress in their gross income unless the damages are paid for medical care attributable to the emotional distress. §104(a). Only "damages for emotional distress attributable to a physical injury or physical sickness are excluded from income under Code Sec. 104(a)(2)." See also Treas. Reg. §1.104-1(c)) In Barbato, the taxpayer had been a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) letter carrier who incurred injuries to her neck and back in a job related car accident. Her physical limitations required her to switch from a letter carrier to an office position at the USPS. She was eventually reassigned to carrying mail but her old position caused her to have more pain. When she complained, she was discriminated against. As a result, she claimed severe stress and emotional difficulties as a result and was awarded $70,000 by the EEOC for the emotional distress caused by the discrimination. The administrative Judge ruled that she suffered from depression, anxiety, sleep problems, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and that the conditions were caused by and/or exacerbated by the actions which were found to be discriminatory. The Tax Court found that the damages did not fit within the exclusion provided in §104(a)(2) and thus were taxable. The Tax Court said that the EEOC decision was clear that the damages USPS paid to the taxpayer were for emotional distress attributable to discrimination. The $70,000 in damages for emotional distress was "proximately caused by the discrimination" of USPS' employees and not for emotional distress attributable to a physical injury or physical sickness. The decision clearly stated that the taxpayer’s "significant physical distress and pain" "were exacerbated by non-discriminatory actions."

NO CLOTHING DEDUCTION FOR WEARING RALPH LAUREN CLOTHING

NO CLOTHING DEDUCTION FOR WEARING RALPH LAUREN CLOTHING In Barnes, TC Memo 2016-79 (Apr. 27, 2016), the Tax Court has held that a salesman for Ralph Lauren who was required to wear Ralph Lauren branded clothing at work could not deduct the cost of the clothing for federal income tax purposes as unreimbursed employee expenses. Since the Tax Court found that the clothing was clearly suitable for regular use, the Court denied the deduction and imposed penalties on the salesman as well. By way of background, pursuant to I.R.C. Sec. 262, a taxpayer generally cannot deduct personal, living, or family expenses. But, I.R.C. Sec. 162(a), does permit a deduction for all ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred in carrying on any activity that constitutes a trade or business, which may include the trade or business of being an employee. Primuth v. Comm., 54 T.C. 374, 377 (1970). Clothing expenses are generally nondeductible expenses under Code Sec. 262 even though the clothing is worn by the taxpayer in connection with his trade or business, unless: (1) the clothing is required or essential in the taxpayer's employment; (2) the clothing is not suitable for general or personal wear; and (3) the clothing is not so worn. Hynes v. Comm., 74 T.C. 1266, 1290 (1980) There was also a 20% accuracy-related penalty applied pursuant to I.R.C. Sec. 6662(a) since there was an underpayment of tax attributable to negligence, disregard of rules or regulations. The Court found there was no reasonable cause for the understatement so the exemption from the penalty under I.R.C. 6664(c)(1) did not apply. The Tax Court ruled that it has consistently applied the 3-part test for clothing deductibility and that Ralph Lauren clothing clearly fails the test.

Whistleblowers Do Not Get Paid For FBAR Civil Penalties

Whistleblowers Do Not Get Paid For FBAR Civil Penalties In a recent case entitled: Whistleblower 22716-13W, 146 T.C. No. 6 (2016), the Tax Court determined that the $2 million nondiscretionary award threshold under I.R.C. Section 7623(b)(5)(B) is not met when turning someone in for failing to file a Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR) (Form TD F 90-22.1) under 31 U.S.C. Section 5321(a). The amounts owed pursuant to 31 U.S.C. Section 5321(a) are not to be included because they are not taxes in the I.R.C. In Whistleblower 22716-13W, the petitioner sought an award and filed Form 211, Application for Award for Original Information with the Whistleblower Office of the IRS. The taxpayer that was turned in pled guilty and paid an FBAR civil penalty on his Swiss Bank accounts. But the Tax Court ruled that a whistleblower is only eligible for a nondiscretionary award under Section 7623(b) “if the tax, penalties, interest, additions to tax, and additional amounts in dispute exceed” $2 million (Section 7623(b)(5)(B)). Since FBAR civil penalties are imposed and collected under a different Title of the U.S. Code (31 U.S.C. section 5321) they do not constitute “additional amounts” for purposes of ascertaining whether the $2 million threshold has been met. The court did, in fact, concede that the statute would offer stronger incentives to whistleblowers if FBAR civil penalties were included like tax liabilities for purposes of whistleblower award eligibility under Section 7623(b)(5)(B). The court ruled though that it was up to Congress to determine eligibility for the award, not the Court.

Law firm operating as a C Corporation hit with non-deductible salaries and dividend treatment and penalties when zeroing out income to its shareholders as salary bonus.

Law firm operating as a C Corporation hit with non-deductible salaries and dividend treatment and penalties when zeroing out income to its shareholders as salary bonus. In, Brinks Gilson & Lione PC, TC Memo 2016-20TC Memo 2016-20, the U.S. Tax Court upheld the IRS's imposition of underpayments resulting from the law firm's mischaracterization of dividends paid to its shareholder-attorneys as deductible compensation for services and also imposed accuracy-related penalties against the firm for the mischaracterization. The Tax Court held that the firm lacked substantial authority for its position and failed to establish reasonable cause for the underpayments. I.R.C. Sec. 6662 imposes an accuracy-related penalty if any part of an underpayment of tax required to be shown on a return is due to negligence or disregard of rules or regulations, or a substantial understatement of tax. An "understatement" pursuant to I.R.C. Sec. 6662(d)(2)(A) is defined as the excess of the tax required to be shown on the return over the amount shown on the return as filed. In the case of a corporation, an understatement is substantial if, it exceeds 10% of the tax required to be shown. The penalty is reduced or eliminated if the taxpayer had substantial authority for the position. I.R.C. Sec. 6662(d)(2)(B)(i). Also, pursuant to I.R.C. Sec. 6664(c)(1), no penalty is imposed pursuant to I.R.C. Sec. 6662 with respect to any portion of an underpayment if it is shown that there was reasonable cause for the underpayment and the taxpayer acted in good faith. In the Brinks case, the law firm had about 85 non-shareholder attorneys, and about 65 shareholder attorneys. The law firm filed its returns showing all amounts paid to the shareholder-attorneys as deductible employee compensation. After negotiations, the parties conceded the tax but left the penalty issue for the court to resolve. The firm argued that it had substantial authority for deducting the money it paid to its shareholder-attorneys; and it relied on a reputable accounting firm to prepare its returns for the years in issue, and had reasonable cause to deduct those amounts and acted in good faith in doing so. But the Court held that the amounts paid to the shareholder-attorneys do not qualify as deductible compensation to the extent that the payments are funded by earnings attributable to the services of nonshareholder employees or by the use of the corporation's intangible assets or other capital. Those earnings constitute nondeductible dividends. Pediatric Surgical Associates v. Comm., T.C. Memo 2001-81 (TCM 2001) and Mulcahy, Pauritsch, Salvador & Co v. C.I.R., 680 F.3d 867 (7th Cir. 2012). Therefore, the penalty was upheld. A corporation's payment of salaries to shareholder-employees in amounts that leave insufficient funds available to provide an adequate return to the shareholders on their invested capital indicates that a portion of the "salaries" is properly characterized as distributions of earnings and thus - dividends. The court ruled that investors in such a situation would expect a return on their investment. Finally, the Tax Court ruled that the law firm did not act with reasonable cause and good faith. The law firm did not provide the accounting firm with accurate information. Conclusion: When operating as a C Corporation, a client must be diligent with their accountants to avoid the imposition of penalties.

New Innocent Spouse Proposed Regulations Issued

New Innocent Spouse Proposed Regulations Issued The IRS proposed regulations on innocent spouse relief under Code Sec. 6015 was just released on Wednesday, January 6, 2016 at Federal Register 134219-08. Of particular significance are the following: 1. Guidance is given on the application of res judicata in innocent spouse cases. Res judicata – as applied here - would prevent a spouse from seeking innocent spouse relief when such relief was at issue in a prior court proceeding or the requesting spouse meaningfully participated in a prior proceeding in which innocent spouse relief could have been raised. The proposed regulations provide guidance on “meaningful participation.” The proposed regulations provide a nonexclusive list of considerations in making a facts and circumstances determination of whether the requesting spouse “meaningfully” participated in such prior proceeding. Also, the Proposed Regulation exempts the application of the above rule if the requesting spouse establishes that he or she performed the acts due to abuse by the other spouse or the other spouse maintained control over the requesting spouse, and the requesting spouse did not challenge the other spouse because of fear of retaliation. 2. A definition of “underpayment or unpaid tax” as found in Code Sec. 6015(f) is provided. It states that “unpaid tax” and “underpayment” have the same meaning. Thus, the “underpayment” is the balance shown as due on the return less the amount of tax paid with the return on or before the due date for payment (without considering any extension of time to pay). The “unpaid tax” is calculated after applying any credits for withholding, estimated tax payments, payments made when requesting an extension, and other credits. 3. Guidance is given on credits and refunds in innocent spouse cases, explain how to determine the amounts of credits and refunds that may be available. The Proposed Regulations also provide for allocation of refunds in certain cases. 4. Clarification is provided for credits and refunds in equitable relief cases to make clear that credits and refunds of tax are available in deficiency cases as well as in underpayment cases.