Entries by Manager

Form 8938 Threshold Requirements

Starting tax year 2011, the IRS imposed a new tax reporting requirement on individual taxpayers who hold specified foreign financial assets with an aggregate value exceeding a relevant threshold. In its instructions to Form 8938, the IRS lists five main categories of taxpayers and assigns distinct reportable threshold to each category. Let’s explore each category.1. […]

Final Regulations and Guidance Issued on Reporting Interest Paid to Nonresident Aliens under FATCA

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), was enacted in 2010 as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, and mandates new reporting requirements, and amends existing IRC Sections.  Recently, the IRS issued final regulations and guidance regarding the reporting interest paid to nonresident aliens by certain financial institutions, as well as […]

Taxation of Prizes and Awards

A lot of taxpayers are still unaware that awards and prizes may be potentially subject to U.S. federal income taxation. In general, prizes and awards (other than certain types of fellowship grants and scholarships) should be included in gross income and subject to federal taxation. Awards for religious, charitable, scientific, educational, artistic, literary or civic […]

Taxation of Restricted Stock Units

Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) have become prominent in the news recently as a result of the Facebook IPO. Many of Facebook’s employees received RSUs in addition to their wages, and will soon be paying a heavy tax bill. Facebook has estimated that its employees’ total tax liability will be approximately $4 Billion dollars. In fact, […]