Enrolled Agent, Tax Professional, UNL alum '89 #GBR, Former Contributor for Land Grant Univ Tax Education Foundation, Former Instructor for UNL Tax Institute
Lincoln, NE
Joined December 2017
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#TaxTwitter Scenario: unmarried taxpayers who are both parents of a qualifying child and live together, historically the higher earner claims the QC and tax benefits. Would you consider switching to the lower income parent, generating EITC, and getting addtl EIP3/Stimulus?
77%Yes
23%No
26 votes • Final resultsHello #TaxTwitter, has anyone looked at their UT renewal for 2026. Up 30% like mine!!!???!!!
In my 37 years as a tax preparer @IRStaxpros, I have never had this happen. Today after being on hold for 1 hour and 39 minutes, the agent who picked up my call fell asleep. He started snoring and I could hear his TV blaring in the background. I finally got him to wake up and then he transferred my call. Insane.
Today's #TaxTwitter bingo card. Wife has $15k in tip income. Husband went ahead and file MFS. Oops!
Today's #TaxTwitter Bingo Card:
~Chapter 13 Br Trust Payments expensed by cash basis S Corp as bad debt expense
~Mark to Market election by taxpayer with 63 pages of 1099-B activity and a $12,000 loss
~Non Profit without "No Quid Pro Quo" statement and non-filer since 2021
~Yes! You can take your IRA deduction, file your return and use your refund to fund the IRA by 4/15/26!
What is your ethical responsibility to a 501c(3) when you get your statement from them at the end of the year without the "No Quid Pro Quo" statement and after looking them up on the IRS website they have not filed a 990 since 2021? irs.gov/charities-non-profit…
The IRS actively litigates cases involving abusive trust arrangements, which are often marketed as tax-elimination schemes but are deemed by courts to be "sham" transactions. These arrangements usually involve transferring personal assets or businesses into a series of trusts while the taxpayer retains control over the income and assets, improperly reducing their personal tax liability.
Key court cases and enforcement actions over trust abuse include:
Aldridge v. Commissioner (2024): The Tax Court disregarded a family's trust arrangement, ruling it a sham because the taxpayers maintained complete control over the properties, did not make the trust properties productive, and the trust only benefited them. The court imposed civil fraud penalties.
SEC v. Wyly (2014): A major case where a federal court found that the Wyly brothers used foreign trusts for tax-deferral purposes that were shams, as the third parties listed as grantors were not legitimate, resulting in over $1 billion in judgments.
Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust (CRAT) Schemes (2023): The Justice Department permanently barred five defendants from promoting a scheme that misused CRATs, which involved unlawfully inflating the cost basis of assets to evade taxes, resulting in an estimated $40 million of unreported taxable income.
Markosian v. Commissioner (1980): A landmark case often cited by the IRS, where the court determined a trust was a sham because the relationship of the grantors to the property did not change after the trust was created.
Mark Burch, EA retweeted
The power of compounding: why you need to know the rule of 72.
How long will it take an investment to double? Divide 72 by the annual interest rate (e.g., 72 / 8% = 9 years). It also helps understand inflation's impact (72 / inflation rate = years to halve purchasing power) and is great for quick financial planning and comparing investment growth, though it's an approximation that works best for rates between 6-10%.
Back in January I did a deep clean of my office, projects, etc. I discovered that I had 22 yellow legal pads in random places that I shored up and put neatly in my book end binder. Today I have two yellow pads available. WTH! Where did they go?
If I got on x to brag about how great @LoganGrafTax was, it would be old news. Thanks Logan for lending me your ear today!
Why must we extend our workload? Why do our processing times take longer than they used to? Here's my best explanation. Feel free to borrow any of this #TaxTwitter
SMR?Sen
0%Suspicious Matter Report
0%Senior Management Regime
33%Standard Mileage Rate
67%Send More Rolaids
3 votes • Final resultsHello #TaxTwitter, how have you been? We've been down a CPA this year so we've had three people doing the work of four this busy season. Fortunately, we have a great group of young staff coming up through the ranks. We've effectively extended 50% of our workload to give our staff a great work-life balance and spread our work out after 4/15. I'm a diehard 6/15'er since 2019. Here's to a smooth 4/14 and 4/15!
Mark Burch, EA retweeted
Join us in celebrating Blake Freudenburg's achievement of the CPA certification! We're proud of his dedication and excited for the bright future he brings to Burch & Associates.
Professional CPA services by Ridge View Tax & Accounting, CPA, LLC.
