The IRS's Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) can help you help your clients. If your client is having a tax problem that you haven’t been able to resolve on your own, our advocates may be able to help. Your client may be eligible for our help if his or her IRS problem is causing financial difficulty, or if you believe an IRS procedure just isn't working as it should.

Hedge fund K-1s can be voluminous and difficult when determining how to handle the tax treatment of the income and deductions at the individual level. This article will help you navigate K-1s to understand how certain items would impact the tax treatment at the individual level. The first step in determining the proper treatment of income and expense items is to identify whether the partnership is a trader fund, investor fund, or fund of funds.

Straddles are defined in IRC section 1092(c) as two or more offsetting positions in personal property. A taxpayer holds offsetting positions with respect to personal property if the taxpayer’s risk of loss from holding any position is substantially reduced by reason of their holding one or more other positions with respect to personal property—whether or not of the same kind. 

Fall is an amazing time of the year for sports fans. The NFL season is in full swing, the NBA and NHL seasons are beginning, and—of course—baseball’s World Series is played. As both sports enthusiasts and state and local tax professionals, we also focus on how professional athletes must report their taxes to various states.  

Federal watchdogs are demonstrating their renewed focus on the illegal use of offshore bank accounts, as the Department of Justice (DOJ) says it is zeroing in on potential tax evaders. 

The purpose of Form 8865 is to report the information required under IRC section 6038 (reporting with respect to controlled foreign partnerships). This form also reports transfers to foreign partnerships and acquisitions, depositions, and changes in interest in foreign partnerships.

Admission charges to a place of amusement—such as baseball games, museums, and beaches—are subject to New York State sales tax. There is, however, an exemption under New York Tax Law section 1105(f)(1) on admission charges to a theater or place of assembly for “dramatic or musical arts performances.” 

The letters to the editor below are comments from readers in response to Daniel Mazzola’s opinion piece, “Why the Estate Tax Should Concern Us All,” which appeared in the October 2016 TaxStringer.