Tax Law
There are few areas of law more complex and more in flux than tax laws, and very few areas in which consumers feel more uneasy. The attorneys in the Taxation Law Practice Group at Lavelle Law, Ltd. have many years of experience in virtually every aspect of state and federal taxation. Our firm was founded on our taxation practice and it continues to serve as the cornerstone of our success. Our attorneys have valuable experience in representing clients before the IRS and in dealing with issues like 941 employment taxes. We are prepared to provide you with appropriate, knowledgeable and personal service that protects your rights as a taxpayer and focuses on solving your problem in the most efficient, satisfactory and timely manner possible.
Court Orders JK Harris to Pay Customers - Jackson Sun
Tax Problems? The Art of Negotiating with the IRS - Fox Business News
IRS Announces Effort to Help Struggling Consumers Get a Fresh Start - PRUSA.net
IRS Easing Up on Liens - Forbes.com
Lien on Me: IRS Eases Debt Rules - Wall Street Journal
Watchdog: IRS tormenting taxpayers - MSN Money
MEDIA ADVISORY: IRS Expands Use of Twitter to Help Taxpayers, Tax Professionals - IRS.gov
IRS Announces 2011 Standard Mileage Rates - IRS.gov
Beware of Out-of-State Representation: FTC Files Complaint Against American Tax Relief LLC
How to Play the Tax Wars - WSJ.com
Congress Should Act on Estate, Gift Taxes - Pittsburgh Post Gazette
2011 Tax Increases - PlanPutnam.org
2011 Tax Changes At-a-Glance - DebtDiagnosis.com
When Death is Certain and Taxes are Not - CityWatchLA
Articles on Tax Law
- IRS PRACTICE AND PROCEDURES NEWS BRIEFS- MAY 2012
- by Josh Nesser
Statute of Limitations on Assessment – U.S. v. Home Concrete & Supply, LLC, 2012 WL 1413964 (2012) Why This Case is Important: This case clarified the different circumstances in which the IRS’s three year and six year statutes... read more
- Tim's Tax News on the Tenth - May 2012
- by Timothy M. Hughes
10 Days After the April 17th Filing Deadline Below is reproduced an IRS summary of 2012 filing statistics for the week ending April 27, 2012, just a mere 10 days after the April 17, 2012 tax filing... read more
- U.S. SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST IRS IN MAJOR TAX SHELTER CASE
- by Josh Nesser
On April 25, taxpayers achieved a rare victory against the IRS in the United States Supreme Court, as the Court held that the IRS’s right to assess a tax deficiency against two taxpayers had expired, and those taxpayers therefore could not be forced to pay taxes... read more
- April 2012 IRS Practice and Procedure News Briefs.
- by Josh Nesser
Deducting Charitable Contributions – Gaerttner v. C.I.R., T.C. Memo 2012-43 (U.S. Tax Ct. 2012) Why This Case is Important: One of the most highly-scrutinized and most often disallowed tax deductions is the deduction for individuals’... read more
- Tim's Tax News on the Tenth - April 2012
- by Timothy M. Hughes
Spouse Found to Be Responsible Person For Trust Fund Recovery Penalty Last month a Federal District Court granted the IRS’ motion for summary judgment to find a Defendant to be a responsible person for purposes of Code Section 6672 trust... read more
- Lender Liability for Borrowers' Unpaid Employment Taxes
- by Josh Nesser
For the most part, taxpayers understand that if they do not pay their taxes, whether they are income, employment, sales, or any other type of tax, they will have to answer to the IRS and more than likely will be left paying a sizeable bill. What most taxpayers will not accept is being forced to pay a substantial... read more
- Cook County Assessor Announce 2012 Assessment Schedule
- by Timothy M. Hughes
The Cook County Assessor has announced its schedule for anticipated mailings for its notices for the 2012 real estate tax year. The Assessor’s mailing opens a 30 day period for property owners to contest their assessment with the Assessor’s Office. By lowering your 2012 assessed value... read more
- Tax News on the Tenth - February 2012
- by Timothy M. Hughes
THE IRS CLAIMS FRAUD, BUT THE COURT SAYS NO “The power to tax is not the power to destroy while this court sits.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., in a dissenting Supreme Court opinion, Panhandle Oil Co. v. Mississippi, 1930. Wise Justice Holmes declared this... read more
- Court Sides with Employer in Lawsuit Concerning IRS Levy Garnishing Employee Wages
- by Timothy M. Hughes
Last month a court dismissed an employee's lawsuit against his employer when the employer complied with an IRS levy and garnished the employee’s wages. The employee in his lawsuit alleged that the employer acted negligently in failing to determine the validity of the IRS levy. The court... read more
- Celebrity Tax Problems and One Likely Cause: Failure to Make Estimated Tax Deposits
- by Josh Nesser
Wesley Snipes, Nicholas Cage, Floyd Mayweather, Val Kilmer, and Marc Anthony: Besides being multimillionaires, what do all of these individuals (and many other celebrities) have in common? At some point in their professional lives, they all failed to pay their federal and/or state income taxes. As a result,... read more
- IRS Audits of Millionaires on the Rise
- by Josh Nesser
The IRS recently released statistics related to the number of taxpayer audits in 2011. If you expect to report earnings of $1 million or more on your 2011 federal income tax return, you should pay attention. According to these statistics, 12% of individuals earning at least $1 million... read more
- Tax News on the Tenth - January 2012
- by Timothy M. Hughes
Historical Highlights of the IRS As we start a new calendar year and prepare for the upcoming tax season, below is a summary from the IRS of how we got here: 1862 - President Lincoln signed into law a revenue-raising measure to help pay for Civil War expenses.... read more
- Tax News on the Tenth - December 2011
- by Timothy M. Hughes
IRS Initiates Competency Test for Some Return Preparers The Internal Revenue Service has begun a Registered Tax Return Preparer competency test in its next phase to improve the tax preparation industry. The new competency test is part of a larger initiative to increase... read more
- What if You Can't Pay Your Taxes?
- by Timothy M. Hughes
Owing money to the IRS can be intimidating. The IRS has collection powers that exceed most creditors. If you do owe the IRS money do not panic. If you cannot pay the full amount of taxes you owe, you should still file your return by the deadline and pay as much as you can to avoid penalties and interest.... read more
- Tax News on the Tenth - November 2011
- by Timothy M. Hughes
IRS E-Filing History 2011 marks the 25th year in which the IRS allowed electronically filled individual tax returns to be filed. Below is a short summary of key events over the past 25 years that has allowed the IRS to now process more than 100 million tax returns in a year.... read more
- Tax News on the Tenth - October 2011
- by Timothy M. Hughes
IRS Issues Proposed Regulations That Would Require Tax Preparers to File Due Diligence Checklist with All EITC Claims Submitted in 2012 The Internal Revenue Service announced on October 6, 2011 that it is issuing proposed regulations (comments on the proposed regulations... read more
- New IRS Program Provides Relief to Employers that have Misclassified Workers
- by Josh Nesser
On September 21, 2011, as part of the IRS’s “Fresh Start” initiative, the IRS launched a new program aimed at bringing employers into compliance with their federal employment tax obligations. Specifically, this program, titled the Voluntary Worker Classification Settlement Program... read more
- Tax News on the Tenth - September 2011
- by Timothy M. Hughes
IRS Offers Reward for Information The IRS will pay money to people who blow the whistle on persons who fail to pay the tax that they owe. If the IRS uses information provided by the whistleblower, the IRS can award the whistleblower up to 30 percent of the additional... read more
- IRS Offer Reward for Information
- by Timothy M. Hughes
The IRS will pay money to people who blow the whistle on persons who fail to pay the tax that they owe. If the IRS uses information provided by the whistleblower, the IRS can award the whistleblower up to 30 percent of the additional tax, penalty and other amounts it collects. The IRS may pay awards... read more
- Relief from Tax Liability Available for Certain ‘Innocent’ Spouses
- by Josh Nesser
When couples file joint federal income tax returns using a “married” filing status, the IRS treats them as a single taxpayer. Their tax liability is calculated based on their combined taxable income and deductions. What many spouses filing joint returns may not understand is that each... read more
- Corporations Could Not Rely on Tax Professional Employee to Avoid Accuracy Related Penalty
- by Timothy M. Hughes
A recent U.S. Tax Court decision ruled that corporations that engaged an independent consultant to prepare their returns could rely on the consultant’s advice as a tax professional to avoid the accuracy related penalty under Code Sec. 6662(a) and Code Sec. 6662(b)(2). However, when those corporations... read more
- Tax News on the Tenth - August 2011
- by Timothy M. Hughes
IRS Reminds Taxpayers that the August 31 Deadline Is Fast Approaching for the Second Special Voluntary Disclosure Initiative of Offshore Accounts The IRS earlier this week warned U.S. taxpayers hiding income in undisclosed offshore accounts that they are running out of time... read more
- Tax News on the Tenth - July 2011
- by Timothy M. Hughes
The National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson submitted a Mid-Year Report to Congress that identifies the priority issues the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) will address during the coming fiscal year. The report expressed particular concern about the impact of IRS budget cuts on taxpayer service and tax compliance... read more
- IRS Revokes Tax-Exempt Status of 275,000 Not-For-Profit Organizations
- by Josh Nesser
On June 9, 2011, the IRS issued notices to approximately 275,000 not-for-profit organizations throughout the United States revoking their exemption from federal income taxation, meaning that they are no longer eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions. A fully searchable list of these organizations... read more
- Tax News on the Tenth - June 2011
- by Timothy M. Hughes
Accountant’s embezzlement was not reasonable cause to relieve Owners from trust fund penalty as responsible person The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (Illinois is in the Seventh Circuit) in a recent case granted summary judgment to the IRS, ruling... read more
- New Options for Resolving Tax Liabilities
- by Josh Nesser
Due to the recent economic downturn, more individuals and small businesses than ever owe unpaid taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. In an effort to help these individuals and small businesses comply with their federal tax obligations without taking on unnecessary burdens, the IRS recently announced... read more
- Opportunity Knocks to Disclose those Undisclosed Offshore Accounts
- by Cameron R. Monti
The Internal Revenue Service is offering taxpayers with undisclosed income from offshore accounts a unique opportunity to participate in a new, voluntary disclosure program in order to get current on their tax returns. The 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI), available only through... read more
- What Can Trigger an Internal Revenue Service Audit?
- by Lance Ziebell
With tax season for individuals closed on April 17 (unless you filed an extension), the next concern about your tax return revolves around whether it will be audited. What does the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) look for in determining whether or not to audit a tax return? Here are a few things... read more
- U.S. Treasury Phasing Out Paper Checks For Benefit Payments
- by Timothy M. Hughes
The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a final rule to extend the safety and convenience of electronic payments to all Americans receiving federal benefit and non-tax payments. Anyone applying for benefits on or after May 1, 2011, will receive their payments electronically, while those already... read more
- Tax News on the Tenth - May 2011
- by Timothy M. Hughes
IRS Begins Enforcement of New Return Preparer Rules The Internal Revenue Service is taking steps to stop tax preparers with criminal tax convictions or permanent injunctions from preparing tax returns. This is just one of several recent moves to improve the quality and oversight... read more
- Tax News on the Tenth - April 2011
- by Timothy M. Hughes
IRS Announces Its Dirty Dozen for 2011 “The Dirty Dozen represents the worst of the worst tax scams,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman recently said. He added “don’t fall prey to these tax scams. They may look tempting, but these fraudulent deals... read more
- Failure to Pay Your Business’s Taxes Puts Your Personal Assets at Risk
- by Josh Nesser
When many small business owners first realize that their business has failed to pay Illinois state taxes, they are probably expecting the “common” consequences that they often hear about, such as telephone calls from collection agents, a tax lien being filed against their business assets,... read more
- Tax News on the Tenth - March 2011
- by Timothy M. Hughes
IRS Announces New Effort to Help Struggling Taxpayers The Internal Revenue Service announced a series of new steps to help people get a fresh start with their tax liabilities involving changes to tax liens, installment agreements and offers in compromise. Tax Liens:... read more
- Tax News on the Tenth - February 2011
- by Timothy M. Hughes
What to Tell Your Client if They Are Not Provided a W-2 It is well after January 31st, the date employers have until to send out your clients’ 2010 Form W-2 earnings statement. Your client contacts you stating they have not received their W-2 and asking you how they... read more
- The Recent Tax Act: 2010 Tax Relief Act
- by Kerry M. Lavelle
The recently enacted “Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010” is a sweeping tax package that includes, among many other items, an extension of the Bush-era tax cuts for two years, estate tax relief, a two-year “patch” of the alternative... read more
- Illinois Increases Efforts to Collect Use Tax
- by Josh Nesser
Most people are familiar with the typical types of taxes collected by federal, state, and local governments – Income Tax, Sales Tax, and Property Tax to name a few. However, one type of tax that many individuals are not aware of, and therefore often fail to pay or to even report, is the Use Tax,... read more
- New IRS 1099 Requirements for Landlords
- by William Terpinas
President Obama recently announced a series of tax breaks designed to specifically help small businesses, known as the Small Business Jobs Act. As a part of the Small Business Jobs Act, starting in 2011 there is a new tax requirement for landlords. All landlords who receive $600 or more in rent for the year... read more
- Online Sellers and Retailers Beware - Here Comes the IRS to Collect!
- by Cameron R. Monti
The U.S. Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are demanding more information reporting from companies in every industry. Some skeptics believe that this move may be motivated by gaps in taxpayer income reporting and the snowballing federal deficit. Among the most recent IRS regulations... read more
- Tax News on the Tenth - January 2011
- by Timothy M. Hughes
National Taxpayer Advocate Delivers Annual Report to Congress; Focuses on Tax Reform, Collection Issues, and Implementation of Health Care Reform National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson released her annual report to Congress this past week. In the report she identified... read more
- Tax News on the Tenth - December 2010
- by Timothy M. Hughes
IRS Chief Counsel Addresses Economic Hardship in Levy Cases IRS Chief Counsel issued a Chief Counsel Notice (CCN) 2011-005 in response to a 2009 Tax Court decision that held IRS Appeals abused its discretion by sustaining a proposed levy after the settlement officer concluded... read more
- Tax News on the Tenth - November 2010
- by Timothy M. Hughes
IRS to End Mailing Out Tax Package to Taxpayers In 2010 to date, more than 96 million individual tax returns were e-filed, and an estimated 20 million paper returns were filed through paid preparers. With this growth in e-filing by taxpayers and tax return preparers... read more
- It is that Time of the Year to Start Thinking about Year End Tax Planning: To Reduce 2010 Taxable Income
- by Timothy M. Hughes
There are numerous tax breaks, tax credits, deductions, and other tax benefits that are reduced or eliminated if a taxpayer's adjusted gross income (AGI), exceeds specified thresholds. As year-end nears, taxpayers who do not anticipate being subject to higher rates next year should consider... read more
- Innocent Spouse Relief
- by Josh Nesser
When couples file joint income tax returns, the IRS treats them as a single taxpayer. Therefore, their tax liability is a result of their combined taxable income and deductions. In addition, the spouses are jointly and severally liable for the tax owed pursuant to such return, meaning that they are both... read more
- Proposed IRS Regulations Would Expand Use of Electronic Payment System Eliminating Paper Coupons After 2010
- by Timothy M. Hughes
The IRS has issued proposed regulations to expand the making of electronic tax deposits. The regulations would eliminate the use of paper-based federal tax deposit (FTD) coupons after 2010. The existing rules for making electronic deposits would otherwise generally remain unchanged. Currently... read more
- IDOR is Cracking Down on Tax Evaders
- by Cameron R. Monti
The Illinois State Government is always making concerted efforts to obtain tax compliance with filing, reporting, and payment of taxes by Illinoisans. However, in times of statewide budget and economic crisis, the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) seems to place more attention and manpower behind... read more
- Tax News on the Tenth - October 2010
- by Timothy M. Hughes
2010 Illinois Tax Amnesty Program With the October 15th filing date looming on your clients’ extended returns we want to remind you that the window of opportunity for taking advantage of the Illinois Tax Amnesty program will close within a month. The State of Illinois... read more
- A Portion of Father's Unpaid Taxes are Transferred to his Son Along with the Condo
- by Timothy M. Hughes
A recent Tax Court decision has upheld an IRS determination that a son had transferee liability of $41,000 plus interest, arising from his father's transfer to him of a Florida condo. The son moved from his home in New Jersey to live with his parents in Florida in 1989. The son’s mother... read more
- New Law Provides Tax Incentives for Hiring Unemployed Individuals
- by Josh Nesser
As we all know, one of the most devastating problems currently facing the American economy is the significant unemployment rate. Recently, as part of its effort to reduce such rate, Congress enacted the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, which, among other effects, provides incentives... read more
- IRS Gives Interim Report on its Scrutiny of Tax Return Preparers
- by Timothy M. Hughes
On April 7th, the IRS announced initial results from its stepped-up effort involving enforcement and education to combat unscrupulous tax return preparers so as to protect the nation’s taxpayers. The IRS stated it had conducted more than 5,000 field visits to tax return preparers this fiscal... read more
- What Every Parent Should Know about Child's Investment Income
- by Timothy M. Hughes
Children with investment income may have part or all of this income taxed at their parent's tax rate rather than at the child's rate. Investment income includes interest, dividends, capital gains and other unearned income. This tax rule applies to children who have investment income... read more
Our Tax Law Practitioners
- Theodore M. McGinn
- Partner
- Kerry M. Lavelle
- Partner
- Timothy M. Hughes
- Partner
- Cameron R. Monti
- Partner
- Josh Nesser
- Associate