Can You Tell When You Are Being Audited?

 I am looking at a Tax Court pro se decision.

Pro se means that the taxpayer represents himself or herself.

Technically, that is explanation insufficient. I, for example, could represent someone in Tax Court and it would still be considered to be pro se.

I tend to shudder at pro se cases, because too often it is a case of someone not knowing what they don’t know. And – once you are that far into the tax system – you had better be up-to-speed with tax law as well as tax procedure. Either can trip you up.

There is a cancer surgeon who inherited an IRA in 2013. He took distributions in both 2014 and 2015 – distributions totaling over $508 thousand - but he researched and came to the conclusion that the distributions were not income.

COMMENT:  How did he get there? The first thing that comes to mind is that these were Roth IRAs, but that was not the case. He argued instead that the IRAs included nondeductible contributions, and those nondeductible amounts were not taxable income coming out.

The reference here is to nondeductible IRAs, the cousin to Roth IRAs. These bad boys would be almost extinct except for their use in backdoor Roth conversions. Still, the doctor was wrong: it is EXTREMELY unlikely that a nondeductible IRA would be fully nontaxable. The reason is that only the contributions are nontaxable; any earnings on the contribution would be taxable. I suppose that one could have a completely nontaxable distribution, but that would mean the nondeductible IRA had no - none, nada, zippo - earnings over its existence. That would be among the worst investments ever.

The IRS computerized matching program kicked-in, as the IRA distributions would have triggered issuance of a 1099. The IRS caught 2014. The doctor disagreed he had income. The IRS machinery ground-on and resulted in the issuance of a 90-day letter (also known as a Statutory Notice of Deficiency) for 2014. The purpose of the SNOD is to reduce a proposed tax assessment to an actual assessment, and it is nothing to snicker about. The doctor had the option to appeal to the Tax Court, which he did.

Practice can be described as doing what is not taught in school, so the story took an unusual twist. The doctor was contacted by a revenue agent for a real and actual audit of his 2014 tax return. The agent however was looking at issues other than the IRA, and the doctor did not mention that the IRS Automated Under Reporting unit was looking at 2014. The agent continued blithely on, not knowing about the AUR and eventually expanding his audit to 2015.

QUESTION: Why didn’t the doctor tell the agent about AUR? I would have tried to consolidate the exams myself.

The doctor was dealing with AUR over matching. They wanted money for 2014.

The doctor was also dealing with a living, breathing agent about 2014. The agent wanted money, but that money was from areas other than the IRA.

The doctor took both SNODs to Tax Court.

He argument was straightforward – he invoked the tax equivalent of double jeopardy: Section 7605(b):

         (b) Restrictions on examination of taxpayer

No taxpayer shall be subjected to unnecessary examination or investigations, and only one inspection of a taxpayer’s books of account shall be made for each taxable year unless the taxpayer requests otherwise or unless the Secretary, after investigation, notifies the taxpayer in writing that an additional inspection is necessary.

If there was double jeopardy, the doctor clearly wanted the revenue agent’s proposed assessment, as it did not include the IRA.

Did the doctor have an argument?

This Code section has an interesting history. It goes back to the 1920s, at a time when only the wealthy were subject to income tax and there were no computers, 1099s and what-not. Matching was not even a fevered dream. What did exist, however, was the potential for human abuse and repetitive examinations to beat someone into submission. The progenitor of our Section 7605(b) came into existence as an early version of taxpayer protection and rights.

What the Tax Court focused on was whether there were two “examination(s) or investigations.” If the answer was yes, the Court would have to continue to the next question: was the additional examination “unnecessary?”

The Court did not need to continue to the second question, as technically there were not two examinations. You see, the matching program is driven by 1099s and other reporting forms. The AUR unit is not “auditing” in the traditional sense; it is instead trying to reconcile what a taxpayer reported to what an independent party reported.  

Additionally, the only thing AUR is looking at is income.  AUR is not concerned with deductions. Its review does not rise to the level of an examination as AUR is intentionally ignoring all the deductions on one’s return.

But I get it: it does not feel that way to the person interacting with the AUR unit. And there definitely is no real-world difference when AUR wants additional money from you.

But there is a technical difference.  

The doctor saw two examinations. I suspect most people would agree. However, the doctor technically had one examination. He was not in double jeopardy. Section 7605(b) did not apply.

Our case this time was Richard Essner v Commissioner, TC Memo 2020-23.

Pushing Accounting Methods Too Far

Way back when, when I was attending a one-room tax schoolhouse, some of the earliest tax principles we learned was that of accounting methods and accounting periods. An accounting method is the repetitious recording of the same underlying transaction – recording straight-line depreciation on equipment purchases, for example. An accounting period is a repetitious year-end. For example, almost all individual taxpayers in the U.S. use a December 31 year-end, so we say they use a calendar accounting period.

Introduce related companies, mix and match accounting methods and periods and magical things can happen.  Accountants have played this game since the establishment of the tax Code, and the IRS has been pretty good at catching most of the shenanigans.

Let’s talk about one.

Two brothers own two companies, India Music (IM) and Houston-Rakhee Imports (HRI). Mind you, one company does not own the other. Rather the same two people own two separate companies. We call this type of relationship as a brother-sister (as opposed to a parent-subsidiary, where one company owns another). IM sold sheet music. It used the accrual method of accounting, which meant it recorded revenues when a sale occurred, even if there was a delay in receiving payment. It bought its sheet music from its brother-sister HRI. Under accrual accounting, it recorded a cost of sale for the sheet music to HRI, whether it had paid HRI or not.

Let’s flip the coin and look at HRI. It used the cash basis of accounting, which meant it recorded sales only when it received cash, and it recorded cost of sales only when it paid cash. It is the opposite accounting from IM.

Both companies are S corporations, which means that their taxable income lands on the personal tax return of their (two) owners. The owners then commingle the business income with their other personal income and pay income taxes on the sum.

From 1998 to 2003 IM accrued a payable to HRI of over $870,000. This meant that its owners got to reduce their passthrough business income by the same $870,000.

But….

Remember that the other side to this is HRI, which would in turn have received $870,000 in income. That of course would completely offset the deduction to IM. There would be no tax “bang” there.

What to do, what to do?

Eureka! The two brothers decided NOT to pay HRI. That way HRI did not receive cash, which meant it did not have income. Brilliant!

The IRS thought of this accounting trick back when the tax Code was in preschool. Here is code Section 267:

             (a) In general

(1) Deduction for losses disallowed

No deduction shall be allowed in respect of any loss from the sale or exchange of property, directly or indirectly, between persons specified in any of the paragraphs of subsection (b). The preceding sentence shall not apply to any loss of the distributing corporation (or the distributee) in the case of a distribution in complete liquidation.

(2) Matching of deduction and payee income item in the case of expenses and interest

If—

(A) by reason of the method of accounting of the person to whom the payment is to be made, the amount thereof is not (unless paid) includible in the gross income of such person, and

(B) at the close of the taxable year of the taxpayer for which (but for this paragraph) the amount would be deductible under this chapter, both the taxpayer and the person to whom the payment is to be made are persons specified in any of the paragraphs of subsection (b),  then any deduction allowable under this chapter in respect of such amount shall be allowable as of the day as of which such amount is includible in the gross income of the person to whom the payment is made (or, if later, as of the day on which it would be so allowable but for this paragraph). For purposes of this paragraph, in the case of a personal service corporation (within the meaning of section 441 (i)(2)), such corporation and any employee-owner (within the meaning of section 269A (b)(2), as modified by section 441 (i)(2)) shall be treated as persons specified in subsection (b).

What the Code does is delay the deduction until the related party recognizes the income. It is an elegant solution from a simpler time.

Our two brothers were audited for 2004, and the IRS immediately brought Section 267 to their attention. The IRS disallowed that $870,000 deduction to IM, and it now wanted $295 thousand in taxes and $59 thousand in penalties.

The brothers said “No way.” Some of those tax years were closed under the statute of limitations. “You cannot come back against us after three years,” they said.

What do you think? Do the brothers have a winning argument?

Let me add one more thing. To a tax practitioner, there are a couple of ways to increase income in a tax audit:

(1)  An adjustment

This is a one-off. You deducted your vacation and should not have. The IRS adds it back to income. There is no concurrent issue of repetition: that is, no  issue of an accounting method.

(2)  An accounting method change

There is something repetitious going on, and the IRS wants to change your accounting method for all of it.

The deadly thing about an accounting method change is that the IRS can force all of it on you in that audit year. In our case, the IRS forced IM to give back all of its $870,000 for 2004. It did not matter that the $870,000 had accreted pell mell since 1998.

With that sidebar, do you now think the brothers have a winning argument?

You can pretty much guess that the brothers were arguing that the IRS adjustment was a category (1): a one-off. The IRS of course argued that it was category (2): an accounting method change.

The case went to the Tax Court and then to the Fifth Circuit. The brothers were determined. They were also wrong. The brothers advanced some unconvincing technical arguments that the Court had little difficulty dismissing . The Court decided this was in fact an accounting method change. The IRS could make the catch-up adjustment. The brother owed big dollars in tax, as well as penalties.

The case was Bosamia v Commissioner, by the way.

My thoughts?

The brothers never had a chance .  Almost any tax practitioner could have predicted this outcome, especially since Section 267 has a long history and is relatively well known. This is not an obscure Code section.

The question I have is how the brothers found a tax practitioner who would sign off on the tax returns. The IRS can bring a CPA up on charges (within the IRS, mind you, not in court) for unprofessional conduct. The IRS could then suspend – or bar – that CPA from practice before the IRS. To a tax CPA – such as me – that is tantamount to a career death sentence. I would never have signed those tax returns. It would have been out of the question.

IRS Small Business Audit Areas

The IRS has announced selected business areas it is prioritizing for audit this upcoming fiscal year. The IRS is increasingly focused on small business underreporting, which it considers responsible for the majority of a $450 billion tax gap. Here are the areas:

1.      Fringe benefits, especially use of company cars

The IRS is finding that employers are not correctly reporting employees’ personal use of company vehicles on Forms W-2.

2.      Higher income taxpayers

The IRS will focus on self-employed taxpayers with gross receipts (that is, before expenses) of more than $1 million.

3.      Form 1099-K matching

Forms 1099-K report payments from credit cards and payment clearinghouses (such as PayPal). The IRS granted a reprieve for 2012, but it announced that it will start Form 1099-K matching in 2013.

4.      The small business employee health insurance tax credit

The IRS wants to make sure that small business employers and tax exempts are complying with credit eligibility requirements.

5.      International transactions

The IRS has announced its third voluntary foreign bank account initiative and intends to look for offshore transactions.

6.      Partnership returns reporting losses  

This is a new area of emphasis. Expect the IRS to look into partnerships reporting large losses.

7.      S corporations reporting losses and reasonable officer compensation

The IRS will be looking at S corporations claiming losses, looking for losses taken in excess of shareholder basis.

The IRS is also interested in profitable S corporations reporting little or no salary to officers.

8.      Proper worker classification

The IRS is interested in employer treatment of worker versus independent contractor status. The IRS thinks there is significant noncompliance in this area.

The Collections Appeal and Pace

This past Tuesday I submitted financial and other information regarding a collections appeal with an IRS officer in California. We have several clients with unpredictable income streams, and this client is one of them. We are pursuing something called a “manually monitored installment agreement,” which allows for changes in an IRS payment plan as one’s income varies. It can be difficult to obtain. In fact, a revenue officer I often work with informed me that this type of agreement was “above his grade.” That comment struck me as odd and is something I intend to follow-up on.

Back to our client. I was concerned as time was running out, and the client did not seem to register the urgency of the matter. I am working within a compressed time period. To her credit, the IRS officer showed patience and goodwill. She was within her rights to be much stricter with me, but she agreed to move the file and hearing back to Cincinnati. I was greatly relieved, as Rick wanted the file here.

“How much more do they want?” “They have everything.” “What are they going to do if I don’t?” These are all common questions. So much so I should just post the questions and answers on my office wall to save time.   

Today let’s talk about this part of IRS representation: the collections appeal. Let’s also talk about Pace v Commissioner, who got himself into collections appeal and perhaps should have been less confrontational and more forthcoming.

Your entry into the IRS will likely be through Examinations. This step is what we consider the “audit”, although these days the whole matter may be handled through the mail. The IRS is becoming fond of computerized matching, for example, as Congress provides it with ever-more tax reporting for anything that you do. Such is the new audit, I guess.

If you owe money your file will be transferred to Collections. Collections will send you a bill, and you will be working with Collections if you want a payment program, a cannot-collect status or an offer in compromise. The problem with Collections is that they are not really interested in the how-and-whys of you getting there, but they are very interested in getting money from you. They can back this up by garnishing your wages, liening your assets, levying your bank account or terminating your installment plan. Collections appeal exists as a safety valve for these more-aggressive collection actions. It takes your file out of Collections and gives it to an appeals officer. You have a chance to present information – geared to writing the IRS a check, of course – to someone who may be less “eager” to separate you from your last dollar at the earliest possible chance.

Perhaps you are talking to the appeals officer about delaying payments while you look for work, about setting up a payment plan, or having the IRS restart a payment plan they decided to terminate. Understandably, that appeals officer is going to want to know your finances. You will be sending him/her a Form 433-A or B, which is a listing of your assets and your earnings and expenses for (at least) the last three months. He/she will also want copies of bank statements as well as of significant bills, like your mortgage or car payments. You may have to send them a copy of your broker statement, for example, if you have a few dollars invested in the market. None of this is surprising. What if you don’t provide what he/she wants? Well, he/she can stop working with you and throw you back into the Collections pool. For you to do this seems self-defeating, doesn’t it? With that, let’s talk about Pace.

Pace operated a chiropractic business through a corporation (Dauntless). Pace fell behind on his 2006 and 2007 taxes. The IRS sent a Final Notice of Intent to Levy.  Pace did the right thing and requested a collection due process (CDP) hearing to discuss a collection alternative. The appeals officer requested a 433-A and B. During this process the officer learns that Pace is associated with two more entities – Achievement Therapeutic Services LLC (Achievement) and Kenneth D. Pace LLC (KDP). The officer requests a 433-B for them, as well as evidence that they are up-to-date on their tax filings. Pretty routine.

Pace provides none of it. He does have an argument. Whereas he is the registered agent for both, he has derived no income from these two entities, and he does not think producing any information regarding them is appropriate.

NOTE: Me? I think I can still play linebacker for the Bengals this upcoming football season.

The collections appeal hearing takes place.  Tell me, if you were the appeals officer, what would you do?

The appeals officer threw Pace back into Collections for their tender mercies, that is what he did. Pace next goes to Tax Court.

My Take: Pace is bonkers. I would have provided the IRS with copies of tax returns for Achievement and KDP, if tax returns existed. If the entities were dormant, then I would have discussed that fact with the appeals officer and asked what he considered a reasonable next step.  By not doing so, the Tax Court decided that Pace was the one being unreasonable.  Being unreasonable, Pace lost his case.

Why Is IRS Appeals So Busy?

Sheldon Kay, deputy chief of IRS Appeals, stated during a February webcast that the case inventory for IRS Appeals reached 148, 000 for fiscal 2011. This is the highest it has ever been. To be fair, Appeals case closures were also at a record level, but not enough to gain ground.

A tax CPA working representation will be quite familiar with Appeals. The normal process is that a taxpayer is selected for examination, i.e. the “audit.” The audit can be through the mail, which is called a correspondence audit. The audit can be at the IRS offices, in which case you go to them. A third type is when they come to you, also called the “field” audit. You are working with a revenue agent. If you disagree you can appeal the agent’s adjustments to the agent’s supervisor, also called the “group manager.”

If you have no settlement there, you are bound for Appeals.

The cases in Appeals fall into two types: collection and exam. What we described above is exam. A collections case has normally gone through exam, and now the IRS is pressing for money. Congress gave taxpayers more protection from IRS collections in 1998 with the IRS Reform and Restructuring Act. Collections have now become half or more of the cases in Appeals.

Back to Sheldon Kay. He explained that the situation has been aggravated by IRS budget constraints. We have seen that here in Cincinnati, as the Appeals office is becoming a ghost town. It is not just the budget, though. Some long-term IRS careerists have also been retiring, reflecting incentives to retire as well as the demographic march of the Baby Boom generation.

There is also another reason. Practitioners comment among themselves that exam is experiencing a brain drain. I agree that a new hire cannot replace the experience and judgment of a career examiner. In the past, the group manager provided some continuity and savvy, but today it is possible that group manager has been there only slightly longer than the examiner.  The “system” is – too often – just not working.

Whether responding to examination or collection frustrations, practitioners are taking their clients to Appeals. The frustration may be because of IRS budgetary constraints, inexperienced personnel, excessive automated collection practices, unrealistic Congressional demands or other reasons. Practitioners are seeking the more experienced personnel available in Appeals.