Tax Justice Warriors

This episode is a discussion of how workers can challenge their misclassification as independent contractors through the IRS SS-8 process.

I discuss best practices for how practitioners can identify, address, and remedy misclassification on behalf of clients. I discuss the IRS procedures, including the accurate reporting of misclassification income as wages on tax returns, that individuals should know. 

Here are some important re...

In this episode, I discussed what I learned at the ABA Tax Section May 2023 Meeting in Washington, D.C. I mentioned several important sessions I attended and how I had the chance to ask IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel a question during his closing plenary remarks. 

This episode also includes interviews I conducted, at the conference, with two great colleagues and mentors, Leslie Book and Mandi Matlock. They both generously agreed to...

In this episode, I break down the 2023 tax filing season as I offer reflections on how the $80 billion in additional funding for the IRS, from the Inflation Reduction Act, appears to have notably improved service for taxpayers and tax practitioners.

I also delve into the history of the fedreal refund statute of limitations as it is an issue that became salient when the IRS announced that July 17, 2023 is the refund deadline for unf...

At the Annual Low Income Taxpayer Clinics Conference in Phoenix on December 7, 2022, I had the privilege of sitting down with Professor Keith Fogg, a mentor and colleague. Keith practiced at the IRS Office of Chief Counsel for over 30 years before he began an academic career in 2007 first running the Villanova Law Federal Tax Clinic and then running the Harvard Law Federal Tax Clinic from 2015 until his retirement in 2022.

Addition...

At the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Taxation Midyear Meeting in San Diego on February 10, 2023, I sat down with one of my mentors, former National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson, a tax law titan and legend thanks to her nearly two decades of service leading the Taxpayer Advocate Service, and ABA Christine A. Brunswick Fellow Anna Gooch, an esteemed colleague and dedicated practitioner. We discussed their work at the Cent...

Omeed sits down here with National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins at the 2023 Annual Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) Grantee Conference in Phoenix, Arizona on December 8, 2022. Collins spoke about the difficulties taxpayers and tax practitioners faced with the IRS in 2022.

She also discussed how her office is working to address these problems. Since this interview was conducted, the LITC maximum grant, which was discussed here, ...

From William Schmidt-

I am going from being a Clinic Director for Low Income Taxpayer Clinics to working for the Kansas City branch of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel (Small Business/Self-Employed) as a Tax Attorney.  Today’s episode is a short one as I make my farewells.

In September, I finished working for the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic and legal aid worlds, where I worked for 6.5 years. I worked for over 5 years for Kansas Leg...

If you have been following news from the Inflation Reduction Act, you probably heard news that the IRS received nearly $80 billion in funding over the next decade.  There have been reactions of all kinds.  In this episode, I look at how the funding is divided among the departments at the IRS.  Some of the goals are examinations of high-income individuals, building back the staff from retirement and other departures, and modernizing...

On May 12 through 14, 2022, the American Bar Association Section of Taxation held the 2022 May Tax Meeting.  It was a hybrid meeting, the first in-person meeting for the Section since 2020.  Portions of the meeting were also broadcast virtually.

There was a large group gathered and it seemed that people were happy to be meeting in person again.  William Schmidt attended the meeting and went to several of the committee presentatio...

This episode has a whole variety of topics:

• The offer in compromise forms are now updated – what about the grace period to transition to sending the new forms to the IRS? How many years of tax returns need to be submitted for the taxpayer to be compliant?
• The local standards for 2022 have been released. These are to be used for offers in compromise and to submit for a client to be in currently not collectible status.  What else...

The Boechler case before the Supreme Court was previously discussed in episode 173.  In the case, the question before the Supreme Court was whether the Tax Court correctly treated the deadline in this collection due process case as jurisdictional.  Spoiler – the Supreme Court did decide in the taxpayer’s favor that the deadline was not jurisdictional and that equitable tolling could apply.  The case has been remanded for a decision...

Welcome to a further discussion from William Schmidt (Legal Aid of Western Missouri) and Andrew Belter (Wisconsin JudiCare) on issues when calling the Practitioner Priority Service.  This time, there are issues when representing a client who is listed as the secondary person on the tax return.  Some of are clients are widows or divorced.  Recently, the IRS has been given difficulty or wanted a power of attorney form for the deceden...

Andrew Belter and William Schmidt talked through the different instances when to sign for clients on submissions to the IRS or the Tax Court.  Some forms allow for either a taxpayer or their attorney to sign.  However, clients don’t always get the forms to us or keep in contact close to the deadlines.  What are some of the ethical considerations with those issues?

Next, they compare notes on the LITC grant report.  By now, clinic...

Andrew Belter and William Schmidt discuss some recent topics of concern for Low Income Taxpayer Clinics.  For one, Andrew brings up the difficulties with regard to reaching the IRS on the phones to get help for clients.  Both Andrew and William talk about their recent attempts to find assistance for clients by calling the IRS.  Then, William brings up the LITC grant report.  That leads to a discussion of the difficulties in trackin...

This week, Andrew Belter and William Schmidt look at some U.S. Tax Court topics.

First, the case Boechler v. Commissioner is before the U.S. Supreme Court where they have heard oral arguments.  In brief, an individual was a day late and missed the statutory deadline for a Collection Due Process hearing.  The Tax Court ruled that there was a strict jurisdictional deadline.  At issue before the Supreme Court is whether that deadline ...