IRS Again Loses Debt Case Where They Attempted to Assert Year of 1099C Was Year of Cancellation of Debt

In Kleber v. Commissioner, TC Memo 2011-233, the IRS yet again lost a case (an Arizona one, no less) regarding cancellation of indebtedness, with the Tax Court finding that the IRS failed to overcome the rebuttable presumption that debt discharge had occurred in an earlier year under the information reporting regulations as well as the [...]

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In Response to A Number of Congressional Inquiries, IRS Clarifies No Deductions Allowed for Taxpayers Who Sell Medical Marijuana, Even If State Law Allows Such Sales

In response to inquiries from six members of Congress, the IRS reiterated that no deductions are allowed to taxpayers who are in the business of selling medical marijuana (IRS Information Letter 2011-0005).  The information letter noted that IRC §280E “disallows deductions incurred in the trade or business of trafficking in controlled substances that federal law [...]

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IRS Clarifies Employer’s Provision of or Reimbursement of Employees for Cell Phones Following Removal of Phones from Listed Property Category

In Notice 2011-72 and SBSE Memorandum SBSE-04-0911-083 the IRS gave guidance on how to handle cellular telephones provided to employees or payments to reimburse employees for business use of their personal cellular telephone.  The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 removed cellular phones from items treated as “listed property” which imposed detailed specific recordkeeping requirements [...]

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SB/SE Division Issues Memo to Agents on Asking for Electronic Accounting Records in an Examination

The IRS Small Business/Self-Employed Division issued guidance to examiners (IRS SB/SE Memorandum SBSE-04-0911-086, 9/1/11) regarding the IRS’s program requesting electronic accounting software records and, at the same time, updated the Frequently Asked Questions page on the IRS website regarding such records.

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