The Tax Adviser

Incentives for solar power generation systems

With a host of tax and incentive programs, there are many reasons for taxpayers to install solar power generation systems. The tax benefits can include income tax credits, breaks on local real estate ...
The Tax Adviser

IRS Practice & Procedure

The IRS will phase out the use of paper checks for refunds beginning Sept. 30 and will publish detailed guidance later. September 23, 2025 IRS keeps per diem rates unchanged for business travel year ...
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

Guide to expensing HVAC costs

Each year, tax professionals who deal with real estate must evaluate the most recent building expenditures and determine which items should be deducted as a repair expense or capitalized. Of all the ...
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

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

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 grantor trust rules: An exploited mismatch

A mismatch in determining whether a transfer is complete under the income tax regime on the one hand and the transfer tax regime on the other creates what could be considered an estate planning ...
The Tax Adviser

The kiddie tax and unearned income from scholarships

Please note: This item is from our archives and was published in 2019. It is provided for historical reference. The content may be out of date and links may no longer function. An expense that most ...
The Tax Adviser

Business meal deductions after the TCJA

The legislation known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), P.L. 115-97, eliminated the general deduction of business entertainment expenses under Sec. 274(a). The TCJA mostly left intact, however, the ...
The Tax Adviser

Avoiding an accuracy-related penalty through the reasonable-cause exception

Whether a taxpayer is subject to an accuracy-related penalty due to an understatement of tax is the most-litigated tax issue in recent years. Although the IRS wins a large majority of cases on this ...
The Tax Adviser

The Long Arm of Community Property Laws

The impact of community property laws on a client’s tax situation can be unexpected and diverse. The fact that a tax adviser practices in one of the 41 common law (non–community property law) states ...