Estate Planning for 2021 and Beyond: SLATs
The estate and gift tax exemption, which allows each U.S. person to pass a certain amount of assets free of the federal estate and gift tax, was doubled under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs
Now is the time to explore a Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT)
With the upcoming election and potential tax law modifications based on the outcome, high net worth married couples should consider meeting with their advisors to determine what they can do to prepare for potential tax
FBAR Deadline Slightly Extended
After a misworded posting caused confusion about the 2020 deadline to file FBARs (i.e., FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)), Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has extended the deadline
IRS Warning Letter Warns Foreign Business Owners About Section 965 Transition Tax Enforcement
The IRS has recently begun sending “soft letters” (warning letters) to U.S. taxpayers owning foreign companies about IRC Section 965 transition tax compliance. In July 2020, The IRS Large Business & International (LB&I) division expanded
To Gift or Not to Gift? Gift.
For individuals and families who wish to pass assets to children, grandchildren, and more descendants as part of their overall estate plan, gifting now, rather than later, could provide significant tax benefits. We are advising
The FinCEN Files Leak
The FinCEN Files are leaked documents from the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), that have been globally earlier published this week. FinCEN is an agency US Treasury that collects and analyses forms to combat
Caution: Increased FBAR Enforcement
The last month or so has unfortunately seen a lot of FBAR enforcement court rulings against US taxpayers and in favor of the government. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the Department of the
Post-Covid: Re-explore the Home Office deduction
In a recent notice last week, the Internal Revenue Service reminded individuals to consider taking the home office deduction if they qualify. The benefit may allow taxpayers newly working from home to deduct certain expenses
Tax Changes Due to the Election
Many Tax Changes Expected At the time of this writing, the political conventions are over, and Joe Biden has a double-digit lead in some polls. A number of Senate seats may turn blue as well,
FBARs from Wuhan
The US Department of Justice recently announced the indictment for tax-related crimes of Dr. Charles Lieber, the former Chair of Harvard University’s Chemistry Department, for monies received from a university in Wuhan, China. Key excerpts from
Foreign Retirement Plans: New IRS Exemption from Required Information Reporting on Forms 3520 and 3520-A
In recent IRS Revenue Procedure 2020-17, the IRS has created a procedure where certain U.S. persons having an interest in tax-favored foreign trusts established and operated exclusively or almost exclusively to provide pension or retirement,
New Court Ruling: FBAR penalties applied per form and not per account
The FBAR rules require the filing of a FinCEN Report 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) to report for accounts of U.S. persons aggregating $10,000 or more. For a non-willful failure to