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Plenty of people who have discovered an effective method to lower income tax make their ways into the offices of enrolled agents. Their tax reduction system is simply introducing a large amount of deductible expenses. For them, underreporting income and claiming ineligible credits is for suckers who are eventually caught.
Taxpayers who consider themselves smart know that rich people legitimately reduce their tax burdens with deductions. What these individuals don't understand - or don't want to understand - is that tax deductions are limited to following specified rules.
A multitude of tax scenarios for identifying deductible expenses comprise the IRS enrolled agent exam. Therefore, an EA knows to stop someone from claiming a tax deduction that is not allowed under the law. The EA only needs to hear a description of the deduction in order to understand the circumstances. This results in rendering an explanation for taxpayers about exactly what expenditures are tax-deductible.
Most expenses are not tax deductions unless they are related to business or investing. Some exceptions exist for home mortgages and medical costs. Because business and investing activities create taxable income, the associated expenses are usually tax-deductible. However, tax deductions are not allowed for expenses that merely could have a business relationship but do not for a particular individual. Deducting expenses that are unrelated to activities entered into for profit is a violation of enrolled agent ethics.
Two recent tax cases illustrate disallowed deductions for activities the IRS considered hobbies. Both are excellent additions to an IRS enrolled agent study guide. In the first matter, a taxpayer deducted his world travels during a sabbatical from his job. His justification was that he intended to publish a book of photographs from the trip. He did devise a business plan for the activity. However, the Tax Court disallowed the travel costs as business expenses because the traveler had no experience writing or publishing books. Plus, no book existed five years later, which indicated the lack of business purpose to sustain a livelihood as a writer.
The next case in Tax Court went against a taxpayer who had deducted the costs of flying lessons. He deducted losses on the plane he purchased and pilot training by attempting to connect them to his real estate activities. The Court found that flight lessons did not maintain or improve skills as a commercial realtor.
Direct evidence is required that correlates deductible expenditures with a business or investment activity. Taxpayers with claims for extraordinary tax-deductible expenses are wise to make preparation of their tax returns into jobs for enrolled agents. This decision results in accuracy that averts improper deductions. Two taxpayers who failed to choose that path were caught and charged for back taxes by the Tax Court last year.
IRS Circular 230 Disclosure
Pursuant to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service Circular 230, we inform you that, to the extent any advice relating to a Federal tax issue is contained in this communication, including in any attachments, it was not written or intended to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (a) avoiding any tax related penalties that may be imposed on you or any other person under the Internal Revenue Code, or (b) promoting, marketing or recommending to another person any transaction or matter addressed in this communication.
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