Tax Relief Blog

Mortgage Tax Debt Extension

October 7, 2008 | Mike Habib, EA

Mortgage debt relief extension, tax relief for community banks, and crackdown on some executive compensation in the 2008 Economic Stabilization Act

I am writing to provide details regarding three tax provisions in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008: which was enacted Oct. 3, 2008. Those provisions are: (1) an extension for home mortgage debt forgiveness relief, (2) tax relief for community banks that invested in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred stock, and (3) a tax crackdown on compensation and severance pay for certain financial executives. Here are the key details regarding those provisions.

Two-year extension of home mortgage debt forgiveness relief provision. The new law provides assistance to homeowners who have been caught in the current mortgage crisis and are trying to save their homes. Under 2007 tax legislation, taxpayers are generally allowed to exclude up to $2 million of mortgage debt forgiveness on their principal residence. However, this relief provision was scheduled to expire at the end of 2008. Under the new law, this debt relief provision is extended through 2012. To understand the importance of this relief provision, one needs to know that for income tax purposes, a discharge of indebtedness–that is, a forgiveness of debt–is generally treated as giving rise to income that’s includible in gross income. Under pre-2007 tax law, there were no special rules applicable to discharges of acquisition debt on the taxpayer’s principal residence. For example, assume a taxpayer who wasn’t in bankruptcy and wasn’t insolvent owned a principal residence subject to a $200,000 mortgage debt for which the taxpayer had personal liability. The creditor foreclosed and the home was sold for $180,000 in satisfaction of the debt. Under pre-2007 tax law, the debtor had $20,000 of debt discharge income. The result was the same if the creditor restructured the loan and reduced the principal amount to $180,000. In 2007 the tax laws were temporarily changed to allow taxpayers to exclude up to $2 million of mortgage debt forgiveness on their principal residence. For example, assume the same facts as in the foregoing example except that the discharge occurs in 2008. In that case the debtor has no debt discharge income when the creditor (1) restructures the loan and reduces the principal amount to $180,000 or (2) forecloses with the result that the $200,000 debt is satisfied for $180,000. However, this debt relief provision was scheduled to expire at the end of 2009. The new legislation extends the provision through 2012. The relief is not extended to home equity loans.

AMT relief 2008

October 7, 2008 | Mike Habib, EA

AMT relief in the 2008 Extenders Act I am writing to provide details regarding three key provisions in the “Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008″ (the 2008 Extenders Act), which was enacted on Oct. 3, 2008. The provisions extend partial relief to individual taxpayers from the alternative minimum tax, or AMT. Earlier temporary measures to deal with the unintended creep of the AMT‘s reach expired at the end of 2007, meaning that more than 20 million additional taxpayers would have faced paying the tax on their 2008 returns without the new relief.

Brief overview of the AMT. The AMT is a parallel tax system which does not permit several of the deductions permissible under the regular tax system, such as state, local and property taxes. Taxpayers who may be subject to the AMT must calculate their tax liability under the regular federal tax system and under the AMT system taking into account certain “preferences” and “adjustments.” If their liability is found to be greater under the AMT system, that’s what they owe the federal government. Originally enacted to make sure that wealthy Americans did not escape paying taxes, the AMT has started to apply to more middle-income taxpayers, due in part to the fact that the AMT parameters are not indexed for inflation.

In recent years, Congress has provided a measure of relief from the AMT by raising the AMT “exemption amounts”–allowances that reduce the amount of alternative minimum taxable income (AMTI), reducing or eliminating AMT liability. (However, these exemption amounts are phased out for taxpayers whose AMTI exceeds specified amounts.) For 2007, the AMT exemption amounts were $66,250 for married couples filing jointly and surviving spouses; $44,350 for single taxpayers; and $33,125 for married filing separately. However, for 2008, those amounts were scheduled to fall back to the amounts that applied in 2000: $45,000, $33,750, and $22,500, respectively. This would have brought millions of additional middle-income Americans under the AMT system, resulting in higher federal tax bills for many of them, along with higher compliance costs associated with filling out and filing the complicated AMT tax form.

Tax Relief Act 2008

October 7, 2008 | Mike Habib, EA

Individual and business extenders and other relief provisions in the 2008 Extenders Act The “Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008″ (the 2008 Extenders Act), which was enacted on Oct. 3, 2008, provides extensions for several popular tax breaks and the addition of several new relief provisions, including disaster area tax relief. Here’s an overview of the key provisions in the new legislation:

Deduction of state and local general sales taxes. The option to deduct state and local general sales taxes is extended through 2009.

Qualified tuition deduction. The above-the-line tax deduction for qualified higher education expenses is extended through 2009.

Trust Fund Recovery Penalty

September 29, 2008 | Mike Habib, EA

Once is enough as far as collection of the trust fund recovery penalty is concerned Chief Counsel Advice 200838027

The IRS has issued a new Chief Counsel Advice (CCA) on the trust fund recovery penalty. The IRS notes that the CCA may not be used or cited as precedent.

IRC §6672, imposes a penalty on any person who is required to collect, truthfully account for, and pay over withheld income and Social Security taxes who willfully fails to do so. The amount of the penalty is equal to the amount of the tax that was not collected and paid. The penalty is often referred to as the “trust fund recovery penalty” (TFRP). The penalty is imposed on a “responsible person.” A “responsible person” is anyone within a corporation or partnership who has the duty to collect, account for, or pay over the tax. Depending on the facts of the case, a responsible person could be an officer, a director, an accountant, a comptroller, or even a payroll manager.

PEO Payroll Tax Problem

September 25, 2008 | Mike Habib, EA

Leader of $181 million payroll tax scheme admits guilt [United States v. Amodeo, DC FL, Case No. 6:08-cr-176-Orl-28GJK

Frank Amodeo, the former head of Mirabilis Ventures Inc., has pleaded guilty to federal charges that he and his co-conspirators knowingly failed to remit payroll taxes to the IRS totaling between $172 million and $181 million. (The government says it’s $181 million. Amodeo agrees that it’s at least $172 million.) The unremitted payroll taxes included $129 million in FICA and withholding taxes. According to a Department of Justice press release on Aug. 7, 2008, Amodeo and his co-conspirators controlled a web of one public and several private companies, including multiple employee leasing companies, also known as professional employer organizations (PEOs). The press release says that Amodeo conspired with his co-conspirators to absolve themselves, and the companies they controlled, of the responsibility for existing payroll tax liabilities, and to divert payroll tax funds paid by the PEO clients to the PEOs that Amodeo and his co-conspirators controlled.

In early 2005, Amodeo and others were in contact with the IRS regarding one of the company’s tax liabilities. However, they withheld information about the company’s tax liabilities until February 2006, by means that included the late filing of Forms 941. At the time, the company’s payroll tax liabilities exceeded $100 million. In June of 2006, a co-conspirator advised the IRS that the payroll tax money not paid to the IRS was used to purchase two other companies. However, it turned out the money was used to purchase, among other things, several companies, cars, a plane, and real estate. In August 2006, Amodeo communicated a revised version of his account to the IRS, in an attempt to obstruct and impede the IRS‘s investigation, after being advised by a co-conspirator that it may expose them to prosecution for federal offenses. In August 2008, Amodeo was indicted on charges of conspiracy, failure to remit payroll taxes, wire fraud, and obstruction of an agency proceeding.

IRS Harassment

September 24, 2008 | Mike Habib, EA

TIGTA review finds small number of cases where IRS employees harassed taxpayers while attempting to collect taxes [Audit Report No. 2008-10-162]:

In 2007, there were five cases involving Fair Tax Collection Practices (FTCP) violations for which an IRS employee received administrative disciplinary action, according to a recent audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

In addition, auditors identified an unspecified number of cases that should have been coded as FTCP violations but instead were coded with other designations. As described in the audit, the FTCP prohibits IRS employees from using abusive or harassing behavior toward taxpayers when attempting to collect taxes. An employee who violates the FTCP may be subject to disciplinary action.

Business tax planning

September 24, 2008 | Mike Habib, EA

Year end planning moves that optimize enhanced election to expense business property Thanks to the Stimulus Act of 2008, most small businesses, and even moderate-sized businesses that don’t have huge capital equipment needs, may be able to claim a full Code Sec. 179 expensing deduction for the cost of business machinery and equipment purchased in tax years beginning in 2008. The results: reduced effective costs for the assets, fewer assets to track for depreciation purposes, and no alternative minimum tax adjustment for property expensed under Code Sec. 179. For unincorporated taxpayers (or those operating through a pass-through) there are other benefits: By using the expensing election to lower adjusted gross income (AGI), the taxpayers may be able to benefit from itemized deductions or personal exemptions (or other tax breaks) that otherwise would be limited or phased-out because of the taxpayer’s AGI. This article details the unique year-end tax planning opportunities that are possible because of the generous expensing limits in effect for tax years beginning in 2008.

Boosted expensing limits. For tax years beginning in 2008, the Stimulus Act of 2008 has increased the Code Sec. 179 expensing election to $250,000. Plus, under the Act, the expensing amount is reduced only when $800,000 of expensing-eligible property is placed in service. Absent a law change, the amount that may be expensed under Code Sec. 179 for tax years beginning in 2009 will be $133,000, and the expensing limit will be reduced when more than $530,000 of expensing-eligible property is placed in service.

Observation: Under the expensing election, a taxpayer can deduct costs immediately, rather than depreciating them over several years. And, unlike depreciation subject to the mid-quarter or half-year conventions, a full expensing deduction is allowed regardless of when in the tax year the qualifying property is placed in service. For example, property placed in service on the last day of the tax year may qualify for full expensing. As a result, where possible, taxpayers should factor the annual expensing limit into their annual equipment-purchase plans.

Ike Tax Relief

September 19, 2008 | Mike Habib, EA

Texas Hurricane Ike Victims Qualify for IRS Disaster Relief

IR-2008-107, Sept. 18, 2008

WASHINGTON — Texas taxpayers who were adversely affected by Hurricane Ike qualify for tax relief from the Internal Revenue Service, including the postponement of tax filing and payment deadlines until Jan. 5, 2009.

LLC Wage Levy

September 18, 2008 | Mike Habib, EA

IRS explains how to collect from sole member of LLC law firm Chief Counsel Advice 200836002

In Chief Counsel Advice (CCA), IRS has concluded that a levy served on a limited liability company (LLC) will attach to property or rights to property belonging to the LLC’s sole owner. He practiced law and received income from the LLC from contingent fee agreements between the LLC and clients. The CCA further concluded that if payments being made to the sole owner are in the nature of salary or wages, IRS may be able to serve a continuing wage levy on the LLC to reach the payments.

Background. IRS can enforce a lien created by Code Sec. 6321 in two ways. It can bring a foreclosure action under Code Sec. 7403 or it can levy on the taxpayer’s property under Code Sec. 6331. Unlike a foreclosure action, the levy is a provisional, administrative procedure, and it generally reaches only property possessed and obligations existing at the time of the levy–the “fixed and determinable” requirement. (Code Sec. 6331(b), Reg. § 301.6331-1(a)(1)) However, an exception to this rule under Code Sec. 6331(e) authorizes a continuing levy on salary or wages.

WHFIT & WHMT Tax Relief

September 18, 2008 | Mike Habib, EA

IRS provides WHFIT penalty relief for 2008 and WHMT reporting relief for 2007 Notice 2008-77, 2008-40 IRB

In a Notice, IRS has informed trustees and middlemen of widely held fixed investment trusts (WHFITs) that it will not assert penalties under Reg. § 1.671-5(m) (dealing with WHFIT reporting rules) for calendar year 2008. In addition, it informed trustees and middlemen of widely held mortgage trusts (WHMTs) that, pending future published guidance, certain modifications of mortgages held by a WHMT that has entered into a guarantee arrangement aren’t required to be reported under the WHFIT reporting rules.

Background. A WHFIT is an arrangement classified as a trust under Reg. § 301.7701-4(c), provided that: (1) the trust is a U.S. person; (2) the beneficial owners of the trust are treated as owners (under subpart E, part I, subchapter J, chapter 1 of the Code); and (3) at least one interest in the trust is held by a middleman. (Reg. § 1.671-5(b)(22)) A WHMT is a WHFIT, the assets of which consist only of mortgages, regular interests in a real estate mortgage investment company (REMIC), interests in another WHMT, reasonably required reserve funds, amounts received for these assets, and during a brief initial funding period, cash and short-term contracts to purchase these assets. (Reg. § 1.671-5(b)(23))