Automatic Extension of Time Shortened

The automatic extension of time to file a Form 1041 Fiduciary Income Tax Return was recently shortened from six months to five months by the IRS. The amendment to Treasury Reg. Section 1.6081-6T is effective as of June 24, 2011. Of course, the automatic extension to file the return does not extend the payment deadline.

Nonprofits Under the Gun

This morning, the Columbus Dispatch perhaps provided a valuable service to people involved in nonprofits. The article Charities up against IRS deadline also likely caused some hand wringing among these same people who probably finished their cup of coffee and dashed off to their computer to see if their nonprofit was on the list of charities in danger of losing their tax-exempt status with the IRS. The statistics from the article came from the National Center for Charitable Statistic website. The website is a very good source and is now marked as one of my "favorites". I imagine the website might be running a little slow today due to a large amount of traffic. The Dispatch article indicates that approximately 8,900 charities have a filing requirement with most of those having a filing deadline of Monday, May 17.

The good news is that gives most charities enough time to become compliant. If the charity's gross receipts are less than $25,000, all it needs to do is file a Form 990-N (e-postcard) that consists of eight easy questions. If the charity's gross receipts are over $25,000, a Form 990 return is required to be filed. It is possible to get an extension on filing the Form 990.

U.S. Continues to Uncover the Methods Used by Wealthy Tax-Evaders

In our last post, we addressed that the IRS was receiving an overwhelming number of disclosures from wealthy taxpayers, regarding income earned, but not reported, on offshore accounts. The U.S. continues to aggressively pursue the people who use these schemes to avoid paying income tax and the financial institutions that have willingly assisted and advised on how to set up these accounts.

The identities of many of these account holders have been revealed through the government’s civil and criminal cases against the Swiss bank, UBS. The bank turned over the names of 250 account holder as part of a criminal settlement. The number of names is about to grow significantly due to a separate settlement in a civil case against UBS, where it is expected that the bank will turn over thousands of names of U.S. account holders. This revelation makes for a large number of nervous tax-evaders. The bank unsuccessfully argued that it could not provide the account information due to Swiss privacy laws.

The IRS has been pursuing charges against the account holders revealed to it by the bank in the criminal settlement. There have been at least four guilty pleas to date. These cases have revealed in detail the elaborate schemes set up by wealthy U.S. residents with the assistance of UBS and Swiss lawyers. A recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article, UBS Tax Crackdown Widens to Hong Kong, identifies a California resident who opened a Swiss bank account with UBS in the name of a Hong Kong entity. The Californian moved more than $1 million from a Los Angeles business to the offshore account. The details of these schemes will continue to be revealed as the U.S. investigation spreads.

IRS Offering Clemency for Taxpayers Secreting Offshore Accounts

U.S. Taxpayers are required to declare on an annual basis income earned from foreign financial accounts by the filing of IRS Form TD F 90-22.1. For years, offshore accounts in certain countries have made it possible for these taxpayers to park money outside of the U.S., concealing that income from the IRS. It is estimated that billions of dollars in income tax revenues is lost every year to undisclosed offshore accounts.

While the IRS has urged compliance by implementing “amnesty” programs in the past, none has had the response of the current disclosure program commenced in March of this year. The disclosure program, which is currently scheduled to end on September 23, 2009, asks the taxpayer to volunteer information by following the procedure set out in IRS IRM 9.5.11.9 in exchange for avoiding substantial civil penalties and criminal prosecution.

According to a recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article, Tax Evaders Flock to IRS to Confess Their Sins, the volume of wealthy taxpayers filing for relief as a result of the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative has overwhelmed the IRS. An example provided in the WSJ article, helps explain the dramatic response. Under the disclosure program, a taxpayer with offshore accounts in the amount of $1 million that earns $50,000 in annual income for a six year period might end up paying $386,000 plus interest. A non-disclosing taxpayer might incur a $2.3 million penalty in addition to criminal prosecution.

It is not just the reduced penalties that are causing the influx of confessors. Recent federal court decisions have authorized the IRS to request information from foreign-based financial institutions.

If you are interested in learning more about the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative, there is a IRS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) release, recently modified on July 31, 2009.

Fiduciary Duties – The Missing Income Tax Return

You are now acting as the executor of an estate and your attorney informs you that you are responsible for seeing that all tax returns are timely filed. At your attorney’s suggestion, you look for a past income tax return among the piles of papers in the decedent’s home. To your chagrin, you are unable to find any tax returns or information that would lead you to the decedent’s accountant. This is really not an uncommon scenario, particularly if the decedent was elderly, mentally and/or physically infirm. Under these circumstances, you must take the time to gather sufficient information to file all returns (past and present).

If all else fails, you must get the information from the IRS. You will first need to inform the IRS of your authority to act as the fiduciary of the estate. This is done by filing IRS Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship. You also file IRS Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return, to specify the returns and the years that you are requesting. It may take up to 60 days for the IRS to respond.

High End Estate Tax Savings Strategies Being Eyed by White House

A recent Wall Street Journal article, Estate-Tax Strategies Could Survive Curbs, reports that the Obama administration is proposing to curtail the use of two estate planning techniques typically employed by high net worth individuals.  The two techniques are the grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT) and the family limited partnership (FLP).

A GRAT is an irrevocable trust in which the grantor retains the right to receive an annuity for a term of years with the balance at the end going to designated beneficiaries.  If the grantor survives the term, neither the assets nor any appreciation is included in the grantor’s taxable estate.  On the other hand, if the grantor dies before the end of the annuity term, all of the assets are included in the grantor’s gross estate at the fair market value as of date of death.  Since the technique only works if the grantor survives, some GRATs contain short annuity terms.  The White House is proposing the imposition of a minimum 10 year annuity term.  Even if that were to happen, wealthy individuals would no doubt continue to look at the GRAT as an option, because their estate would be no worse off even if they fail to survive the term.  Nonetheless, a minimum 10 year term would certainly dissuade the very elderly from using this technique.

The FLP is sometimes used to transfer family wealth from one generation to the next at a discounted value.  Valuation discounts usually exist because of lack of control and marketability.  The FLP has been under attack by the IRS for years.  The WSJ article indicates that the Obama administration does not like the situations where discounts are based upon restrictions that the family has the ability and intention to later remove.

Skip your IRA minimum distribution for 2009

Is your IRA suffering due to the stock market?  You can skip taking a required minimum distribution (RMD) for 2009. 

Investors over the age of 70½ are normally required to take an annual minimum distribution amount from their IRA’s.  The required minimum distribution amount is calculated by using a life expectancy factor published by the IRS.

Federal law permits skipping the RMD for 2009.

Income Tax Season is Upon Us

There are a number of sites on the Internet that help people with basic tax terminology; however, some of the best information comes from the taxing authorities.  The IRS website provides tax forms, online filing instructions, and has a “Frequently Asked Questions” section.  The IRS website address is http://www.irs.gov/.

For Ohio filers, the Ohio Department of Taxation has an equally valuable website.  The website address is http://www.tax.ohio.gov/.

If you itemize your deductions, you probably would benefit from the services of an accountant.

529 College Savings Plan Follow Up

Yesterday I posted an update on 529 college savings plans, noting that the IRS will allow investors to make two investment changes for 2009.  Coincidentally, The Columbus Dispatch ran an article today, stating that the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority has expanded investment options by adding six new funds designed to give investors more diversity of funds and to reduce investment fees.

Do You Have a 529 College Savings Plan?

This year there is a slight but significant change to the investment rules for 529 college savings plans.  Previously an investor could only change investments once a year.  This created some issues in 2008 when the market sank and investors had already made an investment change for the year.  The IRS will allow investors to make 2 investment changes for 2009.