The Tax Adviser

Foreign financial asset filing requirements: Coming into compliance

On occasion, taxpayers holding investments in foreign financial assets or with foreign financial institutions may find themselves in the uncomfortable position of realizing that they have failed to ...
The Tax Adviser

A walk through the step-transaction doctrine

The IRS may apply the step-transaction doctrine, a rule of substance over form, in a variety of taxpayer circumstances to deny tax benefits derived from a series of transactions that should more ...
The Tax Adviser

Stock option planning: Generating value

Annually, millions of Americans are granted stock options by their employer. The majority of recipients are high-net-worth individuals (or soon will be). The positive impact of this wealth-creation ...
The Tax Adviser

Private equity and F reorganizations involving S corporations

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the merger-and-acquisition (M&A) market had a string of years of strong activity. Seemingly overnight, COVID-19 changed the M&A landscape, as many transactions were put ...
The Tax Adviser

The kiddie tax and unearned income from scholarships

Every fall, students all over the country set off to attend various colleges and universities. With the rising cost of higher education, many of these students are looking forward to receiving some ...
The Tax Adviser

Revocable trusts and the grantor’s death: Planning and pitfalls

Planning with revocable trusts has become increasingly popular in recent years. In many instances, the motives for using a revocable trust are nontax and include avoiding probate, asset protection ...
The Tax Adviser

The maze of real estate rentals

The Internal Revenue Code is a labyrinth — you might think that you have visited every room only to discover an opening that leads to yet another maze to explore. Rental real estate activities are ...
The Tax Adviser

Naked credits and the interest expense limitation

A naked credit occurs when a company has a full valuation allowance against its net deferred tax assets (DTAs) but also has deferred tax liabilities (DTLs) that have an indefinite life. Recent final ...
The Tax Adviser

Using a Crummey Trust to Preserve Gift Tax Exclusion

Editor: Albert B. Ellentuck, Esq. A gift qualifies for the annual gift tax exclusion ($14,000 for 2014) only if the transfer is of a present interest in the property. A present interest is defined as ...
The Tax Adviser

Trusts for holding S corporation interests: QSSTs vs. ESBTs

Only certain types of trusts are permitted to hold an interest in an S corporation. Two of these are an electing small business trust, or ESBT, and a qualified Subchapter S trust, or QSST. An ESBT is ...
The Tax Adviser

Beware the personal holding company tax

Editor: Valrie Chambers, CPA, Ph.D. Congress reduced the highest rate of income tax on corporations from 35% to 21% in the law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, P.L. 115-97. At the same time, the ...
The Tax Adviser

Stock-based compensation: Back to basics

Editor: Kevin D. Anderson, CPA, J.D. Many companies find stock-based compensation is a great way to attract and retain key employees. Over the past year, many employers focused primarily on changes ...