The Blog
Tax cases & IRS updates, in plain English.
What the latest court decisions and agency announcements actually mean for you — written by Alex Volkov, NY-licensed CPA. No jargon, no hype.
The Inflation Report Is Out. The One Number Everyone Quotes Isn’t In It.
The inflation report landed at 8:30 this morning, and it is missing the one number everyone quotes (the yearly rate). There is no year-over-year inflation rate for October, for the headline index or the core index, because most October 2025 prices were never collected during the shutdown.
Read the breakdown →The $645,000 of Georgia Land That Became a $19.2 Million Deduction
Two Georgia businessmen bought 333 acres of rural land for $645,000. Then they claimed $19.2 million in charitable deductions for conservation easements on it. The Tax Court valued the same land at about $2,300 an acre, allowed $323,800 of the $19.2 million claimed, and sustained a 40% penalty.
Read the story →Apple’s 17% Tax Rate vs the 21% Federal Rate
Apple made $159.24 billion before tax in fiscal 2026 and set aside $27.06 billion for income taxes, a 17% effective rate against the 21% federal rate. The $2.7 billion of that gap that runs through Singapore is legal, disclosed, and public for the first time because a new accounting rule forces companies to show their work.
Read the breakdown →2027 IRS Tax Brackets and Standard Deduction
The IRS released the 2027 inflation adjustments on November 5. Same seven rates, wider brackets, and a bigger standard deduction — $16,600 single, $33,200 married. One catch: these are 2027 numbers, for the return you generally file in 2028. The return due in April 2027 still uses the 2026 numbers.
Read the breakdown →The $6.8 Million Loss That Vanished: A $563,539 Tax Bill
Andrew West put no money into a commodities trading partnership, just his time. When the partnership lost $11.3 million, he argued in court for a $6.8 million loss to wipe out his tax bill. The IRS said his basis was zero. The Tax Court’s answer had a twist.
Read the story →Hobby Loss Rule: 18 Years of Horse Losses, a $191,179 Tax Bill
A Nebraska vet and his wife bred champion show horses for 18 years and never made a profit, not once. They built a $230,000 indoor arena. The IRS called it a hobby and sent a $191,179 bill, plus $33,520 in penalties. The Tax Court’s answer had a twist.
Read the story →IRS Tax Fraud Case: Lawyer Beat a $920,864 Claim
A $2.1 million fee, a tax plan that promised to cut his taxes in half, a marketing company owned by strangers and his own kids — and a $526,208 deficiency plus a 75% fraud penalty. The Tax Court’s answer turned on a clock.
Read the story →How Your IRS Tax Bill Works
Three of the largest AI spenders reported earnings this week. One made money. Two spent more than they brought in — and the market noticed immediately. The same math runs on an unpaid tax balance, except the IRS never waits for an earnings call.
Read the breakdown →CPA Hid $2.2 Million While Asking the IRS for a Payment Plan
A Florida CPA was sentenced to 18 months in prison for evading payment of more than $2.2 million in income taxes. After a 2020 levy notice, he sold property, moved the proceeds into an account in a third party’s name, and never disclosed it while seeking an IRS payment plan. Restitution: $2,343,615.01. The lesson for anyone who owes back taxes: the debt is negotiable. The hiding is the crime.
Read the story →Foundation Fraud: Team Owner Pleads Guilty Over $4.5 Million
Michael Kahn founded his family foundation in 2010, held every leadership role in it, and, prosecutors say, transferred more than $4.5 million from it to himself between 2020 and 2023 without reporting it on his 2020 tax return. He pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return and faces up to three years in prison at sentencing.
Read the story →Conservation Easement Deduction: $74.5 Million for Land Worth $2.9 Million
Lontrac claimed a $74,507,000 conservation easement deduction for Tennessee land that sat on the market for five years at $2,964,000 with no buyer. The Tax Court valued the easement at $500,000 and sustained the 40% gross valuation misstatement penalty.
Read the story →Payroll Tax Indictment: $5 Million in Paychecks, $0 Withheld
Prosecutors allege workers were paid weekly wages from April 2017 through May 2024 with no federal employment taxes withheld — at least $5 million — and that receipts were underreported by about $13 million. An indictment is an allegation, not a conviction. Why withheld taxes are trust fund money, and how the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty can follow an owner home.
Read the breakdown →SSI Payment Schedule: Two Checks in October, None in November
SSI recipients get two deposits in October 2026 — Oct. 1 and Oct. 30 — and no SSI deposit dated in November. Nov. 1 is a Sunday, so November’s payment arrives Oct. 30. Budget that deposit as November’s money — the next payment is Dec. 1.
Read the breakdown →Tax Court Partnership Petition Deadline: The IRS Asked for a Redo
The Tax Court ruled in Big Apple Tompkins (Aug. 5, 2026) that the 90-day deadline for a partnership to challenge a final partnership adjustment under IRC 6234(a) is not jurisdictional. On Oct. 21 the IRS asked the court to reconsider, citing ‘glaring interpretive errors.’ What the ruling does and does not change.
Read the story →IRS Notice CP321J: The Saver’s Match Could Add $1,000
Not every IRS letter is a bill. CP321J is an information notice about the Saver’s Match — starting in 2027, the government could potentially match up to 50% of what eligible savers contribute to a retirement plan or IRA, up to $1,000 per person a year, deposited directly into the account. No action is needed in 2026.
Read the breakdown →Ghost Tax Preparers: Unregistered Preparers Who Won’t Sign
A paid preparer who won’t sign your return or put a valid PTIN on it is a ghost preparer. New GAO and TIGTA reports tie potential ghost preparers to about $179 million in refunds claimed over two tax years — and the taxpayer stays legally responsible for what is filed. The one check that protects you takes ten seconds.
Read the breakdown →Airbnb Checkout Chore Ban: What Hosts Must Change
Airbnb’s new house-rules policy takes effect Nov. 20, 2026: guests generally shouldn’t be asked to wash dishes, strip beds, start laundry, or haul trash off-site. The cleaning still happens — now it’s a host cost to plan for, with records.
Read the breakdown →IRS Now Accepts Credit Card Tax Payments Directly
Final regulations T.D. 10060 took effect Oct. 19, 2026: the IRS may accept card payments directly — but the service has not launched, and the rules require the IRS to pass its full processing fee on to card payers. Today’s math: 1.75%–1.85% by card vs. $0 for Direct Pay from a bank account.
Read the breakdown →IRS Disaster Deadline Extensions to February 2027
On Oct. 14, 2026 the IRS postponed federal tax deadlines to Jan. 7–Feb. 8, 2027 for taxpayers in named disaster areas in Alabama, Florida, Guam, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Who qualifies, what moved, and what did not.
Read the breakdown →2026 RMD Deadline: December 31
Your 2026 required minimum distribution is due by December 31. Miss it and the IRS can charge an excise tax of 25% of whatever you should have withdrawn. The first-year trap, the fix, and who is exempt.
Read the breakdown →No $2,000 IRS Stimulus Check: The Viral Post Is False
Viral posts claim the IRS is sending $2,000 checks starting October 22. No such payment has been approved, funded, or scheduled — and the IRS lists fake stimulus-payment texts as a scam by name. The 10-second check.
Read the breakdown →Medicare Open Enrollment Scams: Fake Sites Top Search Results
Medicare Open Enrollment runs Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 — and fake Medicare sites buy the top search spot. The safe rule, what you can change, and the tax angle.
Read the breakdown →Form 5472 Penalty: $25,000 for One Missing Form
A foreign-owned single-member U.S. LLC files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year it has reportable transactions — even with no income and no tax owed. The penalty for failing to file is $25,000.
Read the breakdown →Former IRS Agent Hit With a 75% Fraud Penalty
Nearly 20 years as an IRS revenue agent — plus CPA and law licenses. His “business” reported $812 in and $23,354 out. The Tax Court sustained $34,344 in tax and $25,759 in fraud penalties against him — and no accuracy penalty at all against his wife on the same returns.
Read the story →COVID Credit Fraud: Preparer Invented Businesses, Got Prison
She invented businesses that never existed and filed approximately 123 returns claiming COVID credits her clients weren’t entitled to — a $965,203 tax loss. She pleaded guilty to five counts. Her sentence — and what IRS guidance says about who is responsible for what’s on a return.
Read the story →Foreign Seller Got an IRS Letter After Closing
Months after closing, the IRS writes to your foreign seller — a balance due, a changed refund, a FIRPTA withholding credit that never landed. For realtors, closing attorneys & title teams: why it happens, and the handoff that protects your client.
Read the breakdown →Scam Victim’s $925,000 Theft Loss Deduction: A 16-Year Tax Court Fight
He wired $925,000 into a $70 million deal that never existed — then the IRS denied the deduction and added a penalty. The Tax Court’s answer took 16 years, and it split the money.
Read the story →Missed the October 15 Tax Deadline? What Happens Now
Filing late costs 5% of unpaid tax per month; paying late costs 0.5%. Interest at 7% has run since April — and filing now, even today, is still the cheapest fix.
Read the breakdown →Adoption Tax Credit Refunds Are Now Automatic
The IRS has begun automatic refunds for adoption tax credit carryforwards from 2020–2024 — for 2025 only, up to $5,000 per qualifying child. No amended return generally needed.
Read the breakdown →Unclaimed IRS Refunds: $1.2 Billion Just Expired
Over 1.3 million people never filed their 2022 tax returns — and the three-year clock just ran out. In New York alone, an estimated $62.4 million was left unclaimed. The next deadline: April 15, 2027.
Read the breakdown →Bonus Depreciation: 100% Expensing Is Back
Senators pressed four tech giants over AI data-center tax breaks this week. The mechanism isn’t a loophole — it’s 100% bonus depreciation, now permanent, and it works on your business’s work truck the same way.
Read the breakdown →Trump Accounts Auto-Enrollment: Your Child May Already Have One
Treasury just auto-enrolled 60 million kids in Trump Accounts — IRA-style investment accounts for children. The account exists. But you’re not in control of it until you claim it, and family money can’t move until you do.
Read the breakdown →2027 Social Security COLA: What It Means for Your Taxes
The official 2027 cost-of-living adjustment is announced October 14 — projected near 3.5–3.6%, potentially the biggest raise since 2023. But the income thresholds that decide whether your benefits get taxed were set by Congress in 1983 and 1993 — and they have never moved.
Read the breakdown →Tax Extension: Six Months to File, Zero to Pay
October 15 is 12 days out. If you filed a Form 4868 extension, here’s the surprise most people miss: the extension only moved the paperwork date. Interest on anything you owe has been adding up since April 15 — and filing late can potentially cost you about ten times what paying late costs. The one move that matters: file even if you can’t pay.
Read the breakdown →IRS Dirty Dozen 2026: AI Tax Scams Top the List
Every filing season the IRS publishes its Dirty Dozen — the twelve scams most likely to cost you money or your identity. This year’s list has a new star: AI-generated voice calls that sound exactly like a federal agent.
Read the breakdown →No Tax on Tips and Overtime: The New 2026 Deductions
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act — signed July 4, 2025 — created brand-new deductions for tipped workers, hourly workers earning overtime, seniors, and car buyers. Here’s what the tips and overtime breaks really cover, and what they don’t.
Read the breakdown →Tax Court: Your Receipts Aren’t Enough to Prove Deductions
A licensed real estate agent claimed big Schedule C deductions for travel, meals, and his car. The Tax Court threw out nearly all of them — and added a 20% penalty. The problem wasn’t that the expenses were fake. The problem was the records.
Read the breakdown →First-Time IRS Penalty Relief Is Now Automatic
Missed a filing or payment deadline on your 2025 return? The IRS’s new Automatic Exemption from Penalty program means qualifying taxpayers get first-time penalty relief without calling, writing, or asking. Here’s who qualifies — and what it doesn’t cover.
Read the breakdown →Trump Accounts: $1,000 for Your Child’s Future
The federal government will seed a new tax-advantaged savings account with $1,000 for children born 2025–2028. Accounts went live in July 2026 — and there’s a catch involving a 10-page IRS form.
Read the breakdown →SALT Cap Is Now $40,000: Should You Itemize Again?
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act quadrupled the state-and-local-tax deduction cap for 2026. For New York homeowners, the itemize-vs-standard-deduction math just changed — but only through 2029.
Read the breakdown →IRS Staff Cuts: What a Third Fewer Employees Means for Your Case
Between January 2025 and January 2026, more than 31,000 IRS employees left — about 30% of the workforce. The watchdogs say the damage shows up in backlogs, phone lines, and refund delays. Here’s how to navigate it.
Read the breakdown →Car Loan Interest Is Now Tax Deductible
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act created a brand-new deduction for auto loan interest — up to $10,000 a year for qualifying new vehicles, through 2028. Here’s who qualifies.
Read the breakdown →IRS Must Prove It Mailed Your Notice, Tax Court Rules
In Wales v. Commissioner, the IRS tried to shut down an innocent-spouse case by claiming it had mailed a determination notice two years earlier. It couldn’t produce the mailing log — and the court kept the case alive. Here’s why IRS procedure matters as much as IRS substance.
Read the breakdown →Pay Your Taxes With IRS Direct Pay: No Fee
The IRS reminded everyone this month that Direct Pay moves money straight from your bank account — no sign-in, no fee. If you’re self-employed and still paying quarterly estimates by card, you’re donating a percentage for nothing.
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Archive
September 2026
- The $645,000 of Georgia Land That Became a $19.2 Million Deduction
- Apple’s 17% Tax Rate vs the 21% Federal Rate
- 2027 IRS Tax Brackets and Standard Deduction
- The $6.8 Million Loss That Vanished: A $563,539 Tax Bill
- Hobby Loss Rule: 18 Years of Horse Losses, a $191,179 Tax Bill
- IRS Tax Fraud Case: Lawyer Beat a $920,864 Claim
- How Your IRS Tax Bill Works
- CPA Hid $2.2 Million While Asking the IRS for a Payment Plan
- Foundation Fraud: Team Owner Pleads Guilty Over $4.5 Million
- Conservation Easement Deduction: $74.5 Million for Land Worth $2.9 Million
- COVID Credit Fraud: Preparer Invented Businesses, Got Prison
- Foreign Seller Got an IRS Letter After Closing
- Payroll Tax Indictment: $5 Million in Paychecks, $0 Withheld
- SSI Payment Schedule: Two Checks in October, None in November
- Tax Court Partnership Petition Deadline: The IRS Asked for a Redo
- IRS Notice CP321J: The Saver’s Match Could Add $1,000
- Ghost Tax Preparers: Unregistered Preparers Who Won’t Sign
- Airbnb Checkout Chore Ban: What Hosts Must Change
- IRS Now Accepts Credit Card Tax Payments Directly
- IRS Disaster Deadline Extensions to February 2027
- 2026 RMD Deadline: December 31
- No $2,000 IRS Stimulus Check: The Viral Post Is False
- Medicare Open Enrollment Scams: Fake Sites Top Search Results
- Form 5472 Penalty: $25,000 for One Missing Form
- Former IRS Agent Hit With a 75% Fraud Penalty
- Scam Victim’s $925,000 Theft Loss Deduction: A 16-Year Tax Court Fight
- Missed the October 15 Tax Deadline? What Happens Now
- Adoption Tax Credit Refunds Are Now Automatic
- Unclaimed IRS Refunds: $1.2 Billion Just Expired
- Bonus Depreciation: 100% Expensing Is Back
- Trump Accounts Auto-Enrollment: Your Child May Already Have One
- 2027 Social Security COLA: What It Means for Your Taxes
- Tax Extension: Six Months to File, Zero to Pay
- IRS Dirty Dozen 2026: AI Tax Scams Top the List
- No Tax on Tips and Overtime: The New 2026 Deductions
- Tax Court: Your Receipts Aren’t Enough to Prove Deductions
- First-Time IRS Penalty Relief Is Now Automatic
- Trump Accounts: $1,000 for Your Child’s Future
- SALT Cap Is Now $40,000: Should You Itemize Again?
- IRS Staff Cuts: What a Third Fewer Employees Means for Your Case
- Car Loan Interest Is Now Tax Deductible
- IRS Must Prove It Mailed Your Notice, Tax Court Rules
- Pay Your Taxes With IRS Direct Pay: No Fee