Category: Tax Law

Usually, the due date for filing US individual income tax returns is April 15th.  This time it’s different. The IRS, and also the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR), have announced that the due date for Massachusetts residents filing individual income tax returns, and also for Massachusetts estates and trusts whose tax years...

Donations to many tax exempt organizations (for example, charities to help the poor, schools, hospitals, museums, and youth organizations) are usually thought of as being deductible on the donor’s US income tax return.   (If the taxpayer is an individual or married couple, the taxpayer must itemize deductions in order to claim...

Due to retroactive tax legislation, airline passengers who purchased tickets between July 23rd through and including August 7th may not have been charged for certain Federal ticket taxes that the airlines should have charged.   On a per passenger basis, the taxes (if properly charged) would have been: 7.5%...

At some point in your professional health career, you might be the recipient of a dreaded post-audit letter like the following from the fictional “PayLess Health Plan”: Dear Doctor, Thank you for your cooperation with our recent audit of our payments to you.  We reviewed 20 of...

The US Treasury requires certain individuals and entities to report the existence of certain foreign financial accounts and entities (the “foreign reporting rules”).  Since the foreign reporting rules became an area of focus for Treasury, there has been uncertainty regarding specifically who is obligated to file.  Given that the penalties for non-compliance...

CAUTION:  This Update is only a superficial summary and may not be relied upon for guidance as to any particular, real life situation.  We have included links to information on the IRS web site about the 2011 IRS “Voluntary Disclosure” program discussed in this Update.  Nevertheless, we think it is imperative to seek...