In the blogs: Recovery mode

Muni bonds and taxes; BE-10 time; a troubling history; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Recovery mode

• Don’t Mess with Taxes (http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/): As natural disasters continue to break records in number and severity, government agencies help a little — but in many cases, those who survived major disasters must come up with cash for repairs and recovery. Many turn to their largest pot, retirement savings. What to remind them about what federal lawmakers have done to help those who must tap tax-advantaged nest eggs.
• Yeo & Yeo (https://www.yeoandyeo.com/resources): How victims may also qualify for additional relief, including on amended returns.
• Current Federal Tax Developments (https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/): A chief counsel memorandum addresses the deductibility of theft losses (under Sec. 165) for five hypothetical taxpayers who were victims of scams in 2024.
• Tax Vox (https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox): If Congress makes muni bonds taxable, what could happen to states and cities?
• Turbotax (https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com): If they’re asking a lot of questions about this season (and we bet they are), here’s your cheat sheet.

Getting real (estate)

• The Tax Times (https://www.thetaxtimes.com): The IRS has new advice regarding transfer pricing adjustments for high-profit-potential intangible property.
• CLA (https://www.claconnect.com/en/resources?pageNum=0): Lawmakers are under pressure to identify revenue offsets to finance fiscal and tax packages. One such potential offset: curtailing the business-related property tax deduction, which could have consequences for commercial real estate owners, developers and investors.
• Tax Foundation (https://taxfoundation.org/blog): As the property tax debate continues in Kansas, two proposals recently emerged: a tight levy limit that would give voters the opportunity to approve or reject property tax increases and a proposal allowing taxpayers to protest and overturn property tax increases they disagree with, while increasing state transfers to cities and counties. Should policymakers continue doing more?
• Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (https://itep.org/category/blog/): Why lawmakers should improve or implement a circuit breaker program that kicks in to help alleviate the pressure property taxes put on working families’ budgets.

Reshaping obligations

• Tax Notes (https://www.taxnotes.com/procedurally-taxing): A recent case, In re John Carr Smith, provides a straightforward application of a previous landmark case, United States v. Craft. In the latter, the decision focused on spouses owning property as tenants finding themselves unable to shake off a federal tax lien on one of the spouses. What makes Carr a “sad case” is that Mr. Carr married into the house and contributed nothing to its purchase, yet the IRS will reap a benefit from his ownership interest. 
• Withum (https://www.withum.com/resources/): Guidance did exist on minimum investment amounts when determining whether an issuer has taken reasonable steps to verify purchasers’ accredited investor status, but further clarification has arrived from the Securities and Exchange Commission about relying on Rule 506(c) of Regulation D.
• Virginia – U.S. Tax Talk (https://us-tax.org/about-this-us-tax-blog/): A recently leaked memorandum has revealed potential tax reform, including changes concerning foreign-earned income and the corporate income tax rate that could reshape the tax obligations of U.S. persons living abroad and those of multinational business owners.

Finding the way

• U of I Tax School (https://taxschool.illinois.edu/blog/): How to use the Taxpayer Advocate Service taxpayer roadmap from tax prep through processing, collections, appeals and litigation.
• Mauled Again (https://mauledagain.blogspot.com/): New bills in the Washington Senate and the Washington House look to impose a state vehicle miles-traveled tax, a different name for a mileage-based road fee.  
• MBK (https://www.mbkcpa.com/insights): Some nonprofit clients are hesitant to use background checks on board members — a reluctance understandable, but misplaced. Why and how such clients should know their board members as completely as possible.
• Taxjar (https:/www.taxjar.com/resources/blog): April’s sales tax due dates.
• The National Association of Tax Professionals (https://blog.natptax.com/): This “You Make the Call” looks at Jim and Sarah, married filing a joint return in 2024. Their modified adjusted gross income was $237,000, and they completed the adoption of a child with special needs in 2024 and have qualified adoption expenses of $10,000. Is their adoption credit limited to $10,000 in 2024?
• Taxable Talk (http://www.taxabletalk.com/): The BE-10 Survey deadline looms again for large business clients.
• TaxProf Blog (http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/): A recent paper looks at Colonial America’s intertwining of taxes and slavery.