Getting the IRS to Pay Your Attorney’s Fees

The IRS is required to pay a taxpayers attorney’s fees for defending unsupportable positions. This can even include attorney’s fees when the matter is settled administratively before court. But the IRS is not required to pay attorney’s fees if the IRS’s position is substantially justified. The Bontranger v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2019-45, helps clarify how…

IRS Can Collect from Property Purchased in Corporation

Can a taxpayer put property beyond the IRS’s reach by purchasing the property in the name of a corporation or a third party?  The answer is typically “no.”  The recent Arlin Geophysical Co. v. United States, No. 2:08-cv-00414-DN-EJF (C.D. Utah 2018) provides an example. Facts & Procedural History The court case involves an individual who…

Family Member’s Mortgage Filing Trumps IRS Lien?

If a child owes unpaid taxes to the IRS, can the parent file a lien against the child’s property to prevent the IRS from levying on the property?  The court considered this in United States v. Allahyari, No. C17-668 TSZ (W.D. Wash. 2018). The Facts & Procedural History Upon graduating from law school in the early…

Agreeing to an IRS Real Estate Foreclosure Sale

Can you ask the IRS to take real estate to satisfy your unpaid tax liability?  The answer is “yes,” but it is usually not the best option.  The recent order in United States v. Leroy, No. 2:18-cv-01777-MCE-DB (E.D. Cali. 2018) provides an example of this. The Facts & Procedural History Ms. Leroy owed $177,653.70 in unpaid…

Dormant IRS Levy Precludes Wrongful Levy Suit, IRS Wins

What happens if the IRS issues a levy to someone who does not owe taxes to the IRS, but the IRS does not receive anything from the levy?  The levy sits dormant for several years.  Everything is good, right?  But then the third party pays the IRS.  Can the person’s right to challenge the levy…

Can the IRS Take Property Purchased in a Business Name?

If you owe the IRS back taxes but want to buy real estate or some other type of property, can you form a legal entity and use it to acquire property and thereby put the property beyond the IRS’s reach? The court recently addressed this in United States v. Jones, No. 8:17-cv-2389-T-24 AEP (M.D. Fla.…