Failing to report foreign accounts lands a former political adviser in hot water. Included in DOJ’s criminal indictment against political consultant Paul Manafort are charges that he willfully failed to file FBAR forms to disclose offshore accounts in Cyprus and the Grenadines that were in the name of Manafort-related entities. Manafort also reported on his […]
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Inherited Property

Good news for heirs who transfer inherited farm property to family members: The transfer isn’t a disposition jeopardizing an estate tax valuation break. A man died and left farm property to his daughter, and upon her death, his grandkids. His estate took advantage of a special rule valuing farmland for estate tax purposes at its […]
Estate taxes, farm property, inherited property, Northside Tax Service, Tallahassee Tax Service, Tally Tax Man, tally taxman, TallyTaxManForm 1099-C doesn’t Always Mean you Owe

Getting Form 1099-C doesn’t always mean you owe tax on a discharged debt. A woman who intended to act as guarantor for her son on a truck loan mistakenly signed the financial paperwork at the dealership as the primary debtor. After the son ceased making payments on the loan, the lender sent the mom a […]
discharged debt, Form 1099-C, Northside Tax Service, Tallahassee Tax Service, Tally Tax Man, tally taxman, TallyTaxManThink Twice

Think twice before donating an annuity contract you own to charity. It’s not the best move taxwise. You’re treated as receiving taxable income equal to the difference between the annuity’s cash surrender value and your investment in the contract. Say you have a small variable annuity in which you invested $5,000 and it’s now worth […]
Annuity, annuity contract, donating an annuity contract, Donations, Northside Tax Service, Tallahassee Tax Service, Tally Tax Man, tally taxman, TallyTaxManIncome Tax Burden

Upper-incomers carry the brunt of the income tax burden, IRS statistics show. The top 1% of individual filers paid 39.04% of all federal income taxes in 2015, the latest year IRS has analyzed. They reported 20.65% of total adjusted gross income. Filers needed to have AGIs of at least $480,930 to qualify for the top […]
IRS, IRS statstics, Northside Tax Service, Tallahassee Tax Service, Tally Tax Man, tally taxman, TallyTaxMan, Tax BurdenForeign Earned Income Exclusion

Here’s a rare taxpayer win on the foreign earned income exclusion. U.S. citizens who work overseas can exclude on 2017 returns up to $102,100 of their wages or self-employment income earned abroad if they can meet certain tests. A man worked in Iraq as a helicopter pilot. He had a home in Ala., where his […]
exclusions, foreign income, Northside Tax Service, Tallahassee Tax Service, Tally Tax Man, tally taxman, TallyTaxMan, working abroadTax Exemption for Parsonage Allowances

The income tax exemption for parsonage allowances is again in doubt. A federal court says the exclusion is unconstitutional because the exemption for clergy housing allowances is akin to support of religion by the federal government, since only members of the clergy are able to get the tax break (Gaylor, D.C., Wis.). The decision will […]
Northside Tax Service, parsonage allowances, Tallahassee Tax Service, Tally Tax Man, tally taxman, TallyTaxMan, Tax ecemption