Entries by TAX

How Are Restricted Stock Units Taxed?

By John G. Hodnette Employers often issue incentive stock to employees to promote retention and performance. Restricted Stock Units or “RSUs” are one of many ways to do so. Unlike similarly named restricted stock, an RSU does not initially provide the recipient with any ownership in the corporation. Rather, they are a contractual obligation of […]

Federal Income Tax Update: Part 4

By Keith A. Wood I. Termination of S Corporation Status was Inadvertent where Shares were Owned by an IRA. In PLR 202319003, the IRS again demonstrated its willingness to grant amnesty to inadvertent S corporation terminations. The IRS waived an S termination where shares were issued to an IRA.  The corporation elected to be an […]

Changes to R&D Deductions and Credits

By John G. Hodnette The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 made changes effective in 2022 for the R&D deduction under Section 174 as well as the interaction between that deduction and the R&D credit under Section 41, as provided in Section 280C. Although the changes generally reduce the deduction in the first year […]

Federal Income Tax Update: Part 3

Recent Cases Involving the Mailbox Rule, Time Limits for Filing Tax Court Petitions, and Equitable Tolling for Late Filed Petitions By Keith A. Wood Over the last few months, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and Tax Court have issued several interesting decisions involving the common law mailbox rule and the limitations on the Tax […]

A Message from the Tax Section Chair

By Robert Gallagher Greetings to the NCBA Tax Section! I would like to welcome everyone to a new year of section membership and activities. On behalf of myself and the Tax Council officers (Reed Hollander – Vice Chair; Chris Hannum – Treasurer; and Stacey Brady – Secretary), we look forward to seeing and working with […]

Timing of Deductions Under Section 461

By John G. Hodnette Taxpayers primarily focus on the ability to take a deduction. Another consideration, however, is the timing of the deduction. Section 461 provides the rules for when a deduction can be taken based on both the timing regime the taxpayer has elected and the facts and circumstances surrounding the deduction. Most taxpayers […]

Statute of Limitations on Assessments

By John G. Hodnette Generally, Section 6501(a) prohibits the IRS from auditing a tax return and assessing additional tax after three years from the filing date. Thus, the IRS has only those three years to initiate and conclude an audit and assess additional tax. In some circumstances, however, the statute of limitations extends for longer […]

Federal Income Tax Update: Part 2

By Keith A. Wood I. Audit Statistics: What Are Your Chances of Being Audited? The 2022 Internal Revenue Service Data Book contains audit statistics for years 2012 through 2020, as of the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022 (FY 2022). For tax years 2018 and earlier, the statute of limitations for audits had generally expired […]

The Statute of Collections

By John G. Hodnette Section 6501 provides the statute of limitations for the IRS to assess additional tax. Equally important is Section 6502, which provides the statute of collections (sometimes referred to as the collection statute expiration date or “CSED”). The statute of collections generally provides the IRS must collect a tax within 10 years of […]