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Tax Lawyers Minneapolis | IRS Increases Interest Rates for the Second Quarter of 2011

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The Internal Revenue Service announced that the interest rates for the calendar quarter beginning April 1, 2011, will increase by one percentage point. Under the Internal Revenue Code, the rate of interest is determined on a quarterly basis. For taxpayers other than corporations, the overpayment and underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points. With respect to corporations, the underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points and the overpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 2 percentage points. The rate for large corporate underpayments is the federal short-term rate plus 5 percentage points.The rate on the portion of a corporate overpayment of tax exceeding $10,000 for a taxable period is the federal short-term rate plus one-half (0.5) of a percentage point.

Hence, the rates will be as follows:

Overpayment

3% – for corporations
4% – individuals
1.5% for the portion of corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000.

Underpayment

4% generally
6% for large corporate underpayments

IRS Begins Processing Tax Forms Affected by Late Tax Changes

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Today, the IRS announced that it has started processing individual tax returns affected by legislation enacted in December. On Monday, IRS systems began to accept and process both e-file and paper tax returns claiming itemized deductions on Form 1040, Schedule A, as well as deductions for state and local sales tax, higher education tuition and fees and educator expenses.

Earlier, in 2010, the IRS announced it would delay processing of some tax returns in order to update processing systems to accommodate the late tax law changes. These tax law provisions were extended by the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010, which became law on December 17, 2010.

Due to the expected increase in tax return volumes being transmitted this week, the IRS cautioned a small number of taxpayers may experience a brief delay in receiving their e-file acknowledgment, which is normally provided within 24-48 hours.

Business taxpayers who use the 1040 series can file now as well. However, the February 14 start date does not apply to non-1040 business tax forms affected by the recent tax law changes. The IRS will announce a specific date in the near future when it can begin processing those impacted business tax forms.

Understanding Citations of Treasury Regulations

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Understanding how to cite Treasury Regulations is crucial to being able to find the regulations relevant to a tax case.  This is why I devote this brief essay to explaining the location and basics of citation of Treasury Regulations.

Treasury Regulations are located in Title 26 of the Code of Federal Regulations (“C.F.R.”).  This corresponds to title 26 of the United States Code.

The overall form of citation is as follows: C.F.R. part number, a decimal point, a Code section number, a dash, and a number of further subdivisions.  The “C.F.R. part number” basically indicates the general nature of the regulations – i.e. to what area is the regulation related.  The numbers are assigned to areas in the following way: “1″ relates to income tax, “20″ relates to estate tax, “25″ relates to gift tax; “31″ relates to employment tax (withholding), “301″ relates to administration and procedure, and “601″ relates to the Commissioner’s rules.

Let’s look at a specific example and try to decipher what it says at according to the general form described above: Treas. Reg. § 1.162-1.  “Treas. Reg.” is a common form of abbreviation of “Treasury Regulations”; “1″ is a C.F.R. part number which tells the reader that this regulation relates to the income tax;  “162″ is a Code section number which specifically discusses the deduction of business expenses; “ dash 1″ indicates a citation to the first subdivision of the regulation.  In sum, Treas. Reg. § 1.162-1 refers directly to a first subdivision of the regulation with respect to business expense deduction from income tax.

The ability to quickly read, understand, and find a relevant treasury regulation is just one of the many skills that an experienced tax attorney needs to have.

Expatriation to Avoid U.S. Taxes

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Although there is a general misconception that U.S. citizens can relinquish their citizenship in order to escape high U.S. taxes, most of the time this is not true. If you are contemplating such a move, it is essential to understand the basic rules relating to expatriation for purposes of tax avoidance, as the taxes and fines can be costly. Under IRS rules, U.S. citizens who renounce their citizenship, as well as long-term lawful permanent residents (also know as “green card” holders), can still be taxed on their worldwide income provided that statutory exceptions are not met.

Expatriation Tax Rules Explained

U.S. citizens and resident aliens generally must pay income taxes on worldwide income, regardless of where individuals live. Under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Sections 877 and 877A, U.S. citizens who renounce their citizenship within ten-years of earning U.S.-source income are still subject to U.S. taxes on such income if citizenship was relinquished for tax avoidance purposes.

In addition, pursuant to IRC Section 877(a)(1), nonresident aliens (generally defined to be individuals who are not citizens or residents of the U.S.) who, within a ten-year period immediately preceding the close of the taxable year, lost U.S, citizenship may also be subject to taxes on their U.S.-source income if the purpose of their expatriation was to avoid U.S. taxes. It is presumed that tax avoidance was the purpose if any of the following criteria are met:

1) the average annual net income tax (as defined in IRC section 38(c)(1)) of such individual for the period of 5 taxable years ending before the date of the loss of United States citizenship is greater than $124,000 (subject to adjustments)

2) the net worth of the individual as of such date is $2,000,000 or more, or

3) such individual fails to certify under penalty of perjury that he has met the relevant requirements of IRC for the 5 preceding taxable years or fails to submit such evidence of such compliance as the Secretary may require.

The tax provisions of IRC Section 877 also apply to long-term lawful permanent residents who cease to be taxed as U.S. residents. A long-term permanent resident is defined to be any individual (other than a citizen of the United States ) who is a lawful permanent resident of the United States in a least 8 taxable years during the 15-years ending with the taxable year in which an individual ceases to be a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. However, generally, an individual shall not be treated as a lawful permanent resident for any taxable year, if such individual is treated as a resident of a foreign country for the taxable year under an income tax treaty between the U.S. and the other country, and does not waive the benefits of such treaty.

Additionally, there are exceptions for certain individuals with dual citizenship, or who are minors.

Form 8854

Individuals will continue to be treated for tax purposes as U.S. citizens or residents until Form 8854 (expatriation notification form) and other required information is filed. There are different rules noted in the form depending upon the date of expatriation. In certain specified cases, Form 8854 must also be filed on an annual basis.

There is a potential $10,000 fine for failure to file the form, if required.

Conclusion

This is a general overview of the taxation rules relating to individuals who expatriate in order to avoid U.S. taxes. There are many other complex issues that may apply, depending upon the circumstances. Are you facing taxes or possible fines relating to expatriation issues? Sherayzen Law Office can assist you with these matters. Call us to set up a consultation with an experienced international tax attorney today!