As we come close to the end of taxable year in conjunction with the forthcoming potential sunset of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on January 1, 2026, estate planning attorneys are frantically trying to finalize advanced estate planning transactions such as intentionally defective grantor trusts (IDGT), spousal lifetime access trusts (SLAT), irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILIT), etc., as well as getting the IDGTs, SLATs, and ILITs funded before year end. While for many of these advanced estate planning transactions, the creator of such irrevocable trusts (i.e., the settlor, grantor, trustor, etc.) is treated as the party responsible for paying…

Lawyers and plaintiffs often need cash, and litigation funding can provide it. It may come from a dedicated litigation funder or from a hedge or private equity firm. But perhaps the most classic feature is that litigation funders offer nonrecourse money. That way, if your case goes bust, the lawyer and plaintiff are not required to repay it. Many people wonder about taxes when striking a deal or later when they are hovering over their tax returns. You may think of these as nonrecourse “loans,” but most funders do not document it as a loan. Interest (on a debt) is…

Christmas came early for the second time in a row for many taxpayers and tax professionals. The IRS has announced that it would (again) delay the new $600 Form 1099-K reporting threshold for third-party settlement organizations. Here’s what you need to know. Transition Year The IRS has announced that it will treat 2024 as an additional transition year. If that sounds familiar, the same thing happened last year when the agency announced that the 2023 tax year would be considered a transition period—the same thing happened the year before that. As a result, third-party settlement organizations were not required to…

Given the size of the government, it is no surprise that the IRS often has an advantage over taxpayers in tax controversy matters. Indeed, the agency has an army of specialized attorneys on its payroll to defend tax actions in the federal courts. To alleviate some of this imbalance, Congress enacted section 7430, which when properly invoked, can shift some or all of a taxpayer’s litigation expenses onto the government. But meeting the requirements of section 7430 is not always an easy task. In addition to net worth requirements, the taxpayer must show that they substantially prevailed on the most…

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: What if we had a free tax filing app that you could use on your phone? That was a suggestion from Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, leaders of President-elect Donald Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” according to the Washington Post. The Post reported that the pair have discussed trying to create a mobile app for Americans to file their taxes free with the IRS. These conversations, which were described as “highly preliminary,” sound promising—making filing tax returns easy for Americans should, in theory, be more efficient for many taxpayers, resulting in more…

The recent surge in Bitcoin’s value, and the incoming Trump administration’s potential embrace of alternative currencies that caused it, has reignited discussions around cryptocurrency’s future. With those discussions comes the implicit question of what is to be done about crypto’s impact on the planet. As Bitcoin climbs to new heights, so does the energy consumption associated with mining it. The electricity needed for a single Bitcoin transaction can equal the energy a person in Germany consumes in three months. While crypto enthusiasts may celebrate the booming market, the hidden costs of its growth need to be borne by someone—and as…

Social Security: A Vital Program for Americans Social Security is a cornerstone of the United States’ social safety net. Many Americans depend on this program to fund their retirement. The most recent data available from the Social Security Administration (SSA) highlights the program’s critical role in retirement planning. Social Security benefits account for approximately 30% of the income for individuals aged sixty-five and older. This aligns with the program’s original intent in 1935. Retirement income was envisioned as a three-legged stool consisting of pensions, personal savings, and Social Security, each contributing one-third. It was never intended to serve as the…

As 2024 draws to a close, the final months present several tax favored opportunities, that sunset. Now is an ideal time to review key areas in tax planning, charitable giving, and retirement contributions. Here’s a few high impact moves: 1. Evaluate Tax Thresholds and Bracket Management Year-end is a strategic time to manage capital gains and losses, especially for taxpayers close to shifting into a higher bracket. By offsetting short term capital gains with losses or timing deductions, you might reduce your taxable income and optimize your rate. For example, if you’re nearing the $191,950 (single) or $383,900 (married, filing…

In this episode of Tax Notes Talk, Jānis Taukačs, a partner at Sorainen in Latvia, discusses the Baltic region’s tax priorities, as well as his own professional journey through the world of tax. Tax Notes Talk is a podcast produced by Tax Notes. This transcript has been edited for clarity. David D. Stewart: Welcome to the podcast. I’m David Stewart, editor in chief of Tax Notes Today International. This week: A view from the Baltics. At the end of October, the podcast team traveled to Cape Town, South Africa, for the International Fiscal Association Annual Congress. While there, we recorded…

It seems that administrative agency cases are all the rage these days. This month, the Supreme Court agreed to hear consolidated cases to resolve a circuit split focused on whether Congress unlawfully delegated the power to tax to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which then delegated its power to a private company. Background The legal challenge focuses on the FCC’s Universal Service Fund. Congress passed the Communications Act of 1934 to organize federal regulation of telephone, telegraph, and radio communications. The Act also created the FCC. Included in the Act was a direction that all people in the U.A. should…