A recent tax ruling affects the value of hunting specimens that are donated to charity. The issue comes down to whether the specimens can be valued at comparable sales cost or replacement cost. For one recent case, it’s a difference of more than $400,000 that is now owed in back taxes.

A renowned biochemist just found out that tax codes can be more complicated than biotechnology. His mistake? Infusing his startup with millions in personal cash without paperwork to classify what the advance was: personal equity or a business loan.

An entirely new centralized partnership audit regime has finally replaced 1982’s TEFRA partnership procedures when it comes to partnership audits. The new rules, which are part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA), apply to partnership tax years beginning January 1, 2018. Partnerships can elect to apply them to returns dated as early as November 2, 2015.

While you were gone fishing this summer (or just buried knee-deep in your own business concerns), there have been some changes in federal labor and employee compensation rules you should know. From overtime and misclassification to joint employment, here’s a rundown on what has happened and what it could mean to your business.

Stephen Ross, billionaire real estate developer and owner of the Miami Dolphins football team, is the University of Michigan’s largest donor. Unfortunately, he caught the attention of the IRS along the way and it didn’t end well for him. After a decade of legal proceedings, a tax court recently disallowed a $33-million charitable deduction Ross and a group of business partners took on a donation to U-M. Instead, the court valued the deduction at only $3.4 million.

Hobbies are a great distraction from the hustle and bustle of work. Over time, some of us become so good at our hobbies that they start providing income for us. How many cupcake bakers, woodworkers, photographers, and other hobbyists do you know who have found an extra source of income doing what they love? 

All too often, the answer to the question, “Are corporation profits double taxed?” is a resounding YES. But double taxation doesn’t need to be a fact of life for corporate business owners if they know how to navigate around it within the boundaries of the IRS.

At face value, it seems the IRS has a very low barrier to personally penalize a member of business management when payroll taxes withheld from employee paychecks (called trust fund money) aren’t submitted to the IRS. Time after time, the IRS seems to win these cases. What it really comes down to is whether the stakeholder knowingly and recklessly disregarded the risk of non-payment. It’s why a Seinfeld icon and soup mogul was recently on the hook for back taxes (read that story here) and why tax practitioners rarely seem optimistic when the IRS claims a trust fund penalty is due. However, a recent case shows there is light at the end of the tunnel and that light is called “reasonable belief.”

The Boston Bruins professional hockey team just won a huge victory, only it wasn’t on the ice rink. Instead, it was in Tax Court. In a recent surprise ruling (see  Jacobs v. IRS, 148 T.C. No. 24

), the Tax Court ruled that the owners of the team  may deduct the entire cost of away game pregame meals as a qualifying de minimis fringe benefit.

From corporate leadership to government officials, it seems invoking the Fifth Amendment and declining to provide information during legal proceedings has

become popular. But if you assume the tactic can be used as a defense for not filing taxes, think again.