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Articles & Seminar Materials
- June 5 NYS Tax Litigation Seminar: Completion Certificate June 2, 2025
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- June 5 Tax Litigation Seminar — Supplementary Materials May 14, 2025
- June 5 CPE Seminar: NYS Tax Litigation — Practice & Procedure April 28, 2025
- March 13 CPE Seminar: Supplementary Materials March 4, 2025
- Income Taxation of New York Trusts & 2025 Planning Strategies March 4, 2025
- Webinar Recording of 1031 Final Regulations Seminar January 16, 2025
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Author Archives: David L. Silverman, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation)
Gifts to Minors: Outright, Per the UTMA, or in Trust?
Outright gifts to minors pose the fewest tax problems, but may not always accord with the donor’s desires. While an indirect gift may be made to a legal guardian who manages the property for the child, court appointment and annual accounts to the court are required. Moreover, indirect gifts, to qualify for the annual exclusion, must comply with the Crummey rules which though less onerous than generally perceived do rise to the level of a nuisance. Continue reading
Valuation Discounts for LLCs
LLCs possess the desirable corporate attribute of limited liability, and the valuable “flow thru” partnership tax attribute. New York’s LLC statute, although containing default terms, permits customization of the operating agreement. The LLC form therefore provides the opportunity for members to structure the management, tax classification and capital structure of the entity to suit the members’ needs. Continue reading
Eastern District Finds In Rem Tax Lien Survives Bankruptcy
The conveyance by taxpayers of their house (in which they continued to reside) to their children for no consideration, one year after the issuance of a Notice of Deficiency, three years prior to tax assessment, and eight years prior to … Continue reading
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1999 Federal Tax Briefs
Proposed Regulations would treat an LLC member as a limited partner unless the member (a) had personal liability for debts of the LLC; (b) had the ability to contract on behalf of the LLC; or (c) participated more than 500 … Continue reading
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Marital Deduction Trusts
Property passing by bequest outright to a surviving spouse qualifies for the unlimited marital deduction. Property placed in trust for the surviving spouse may, depending upon the trust language, also qualify for the marital deduction. However, Code Sec. 2056(b) provides that a bequest to a surviving spouse will not qualify for the deduction where the interest passing to the surviving spouse will “terminate or fail.” Terminable interests are generally those which enable a person other than the surviving spouse to possess or enjoy any part of the property after a lapse of time or the occurrence of an event, such as the surviving spouse’s remarriage. Continue reading
1998 Tax Legislation
TRA 1997 now prohibits the IRS from revaluing prior adjusted taxable gifts after the expiration of the statute of limitations (see January Comment). The exemption equivalent, now the “applicable exclusion amount” will rise to $650,000 in 1999. New Code Sec. … Continue reading
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Family Limited Partnerships
Income tax problems associated with family limited partnerships (FLPs) are rarely serious enough to militate against their use in estate planning. Nevertheless, income tax issues arising in connection with the formation and operation of FLPs deserve consideration, since problems can minimized by careful tax planning. Continue reading
Posted in Family Entities, Tax News & Comment
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Preserving Exchange Treatment When One Partner Wants Cash
Accommodating the competing objectives of one partner who wants his partnership to engage in a taxable sale of real estate and another, who wants the entity to engage in a like-kind exchange, presents a tax dilemma. Although the IRS has … Continue reading
1998 Gift and Estate Tax Decisions of Note
The 5th Circuit, in Estate of McLendon, 98-1 USTC ¶60,303, reversing the Tax Court, held that the decedent, who was terminally ill and died six months later, was entitled to rely on Rev. Rul. 80-80, which permits the use of … Continue reading
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PERMANENT REPEAL OF ESTATE TAX IN 2010 APPEARS LIKELY; HOUSE COMMITTEE RELEASES ENERGY BILL
(June, 2005 release): The House has overwhelmingly voted to permanently repeal the estate tax in 2010. If the Senate concurs, the estate tax will be replaced in 2010 by a new capital gains tax. No pending legislation would either repeal … Continue reading
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RECENT RULINGS EXPAND SCOPE OF LIKE-KIND EXCHANGES
Owners of real estate requiring active management may seek to acquire property requiring no active management in a like-kind exchange. However, triple net leased properties – ideal vehicles — generally cost more than $1 million. Rev. Proc. 2002-22 allows a group of small investors to acquire tenancy in common interests (TICs) in a single large replacement property and still qualify under §1031. However, management activities must be kept to a minimum, or owners of TIC interests will be deemed to comprise a de facto partnership. This would render the exchange a taxable sale since §1031 cannot accommodate the exchange of partnership interests. Continue reading
Posted in Federal Income Tax, Like Kind Exchanges
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1998 REGS, IRS RULINGS AND PRONOUNCEMENTS
After losses in three circuits, the IRS, in TD 8779, issued final regulations which permit “contingent” QTIP elections, which allow greater post-mortem estate planning. The regs provide that property is eligible for the QTIP election if the spouse’s income interest … Continue reading
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Exclusion of Gain From Sale of Residence Under IRC Section 121
The 1997 Tax Act eliminated the rollover gain provision as well as the one-time $125,000 exclusion for persons 55 years or older. IRC § 121 now provides for an exclusion of $250,000 which may be claimed every 2 years. To … Continue reading
HOUSE COMMITTEE APPROVES ENERGY TAX BILL
By a bipartisan vote of 26-11, the House Ways and Means Committee has approved the Enhanced Energy Infrastructure and Technology Tax Bill of 2005. The bill would include $8 billion worth of tax incentives to reduce the cost of investments in the nation’s energy infrastructure. Continue reading
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Near-Term Tax Outlook (June 1999)
Americans seem to regard estate and gift taxes as necessary to prevent unwanted intergenerational accumulations of wealth. Although only 2% of estates now pay the estate tax, considerable revenues are generated. Since the insurance industry and the ABA would likely … Continue reading →