Housing problems are all over the news (and with some of our clients), but today's story is a housing problem of a different sort.  We look at a case where lots of things went wrong in building a taxpayers' dream home where the taxpayers attempted to claim a casualty loss on their tax return.  In the cases of Grief v. Commissioner and Bui v. Commissioner, TC Summary Opinion 2009-18, the Tax Court finds that this couple is not going to get any relief from the IRC.The materials for this week's podcast can be downloaded at http://www.edzollars.com/2009-02-09_Casualty.pdf .I also note in the podcast that I'm posting updates on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com) .  My Twitter name is "edzollars" and if you want to follow me there that's fine.The podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, located on the web at http://www.leimbergservices.com .

What if a customer tells you they are going to reduce what they pay you for the work you just delivered to them because you owe them to fix for a bad job you did on an earlier contract?  If you are on the accrual basis, can you reduce your accrued receivable or record an expense if you are disputing that claim?  That is the issue being dealt with this week in the case of Trinity Industries v. Commissioner, 132 TC No. 2.The written materials can be downloaded at http://www.edzollars.com/2009-02-02_Timing.pdf .The podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, located on the web at http://www.leimbergservices.com .

This week I look at a case involving a Northwest Airlines mechanic who was laid off and ended up using his "bumping" rights in other cities while hoping to return to his original home base.  The question of whether the taxpayer could deduct the expenses of working in the various locations is considered by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals after the Tax Court decided no deduction was allowed in the case of Wilbert v. Commissioner, 2009 TNT 12-12, CA7, affirming TC Memo 2007-152.The materials can be downloaded at http://www.edzollars.com/2009-01-25_TaxHome.pdf .The podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, located on the web at http://www.leimbergservices.com .

Last year when Congress added the first-time homebuyer credit found in Section 36, they included the ability for unmarried individuals who jointly acquire a residence to allocate the credit among themselves, and gave the IRS the ability to write the rules to allow this to happen.  In Notice 2009-12 the IRS has outlined those rules, and they proved to be very taxpayer friendly.The materials for the podcast can be downloaded at http://www.edzollars.com/2009-01-20_UnmarriedCredit.pdf .The podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, located on the web at http://www.leimbergservices.com .

The new year opens up with a podcast based on a topic that was part of a panel I was a part of at the Arizona Forum for Improvement of Taxation's winter conference.  I spoke with attorney Tracy Essig of Phoenix regarding these matters.  The materials can be downloaded at http://www.edzollars.com/ForeclosureDebtandTaxes.pdf .The podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Service, found on the web at http://www.leimbergservices.com .

Medical expenses were the issue this week in the case of Magdalin v. Commissioner, TC Memo 2008-293.  In this case the taxpayer had paid expenses for obtaining eggs and the services of a surrogate mother, and argued that these expenses should be treated as deductible medical expenses, pointing to the IRS's 2003 private letter ruling (PLR 200318017) that allowed a woman the expenses related to in vitro fertilizaiton, including expenses paid for an egg donor.  The IRS (and the Tax Court) didn't find the situations to be comparable and denied the deduction--but it gives us a chance to look at the rules around §213.The materials are at http://www.edzollars.com/2008-12-28_Medical.pdf .The podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, located on the web at http://www.leimbergservices.com .

The podcast this week is based on a presentation I made Thursday at the Arizona Tax Institute on the current state of Section 6694.  The session was scheduled back a few months ago, but proved timely given recent tax law changes.  A copy of the slides can be downloaded at:http://www.edzollars.com/2008-11-09_6694Slides.pdf .The podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services at http://www.leimbergservices.com .

We continue with issues related to S Corporation debt and the many ways to end up not being able to use debts to deduct losses flowing through.  This week we look at the Tax Court's opinion in the case of Russell v. Commissioner, TC Memo 2008-246.The materials for the podcast can be downloaded from http://www.edzollars.com/2008-11-03_SDebt.pdf .The podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services at http://www.leimbergservices.com .

The IRS has issued final regulations on S Corporation open account debt that will change the way that many clients have to deal with their loans to the corporation.  These changes are effective immediately, so we have to understand how these rules work.  The podcast is being recorded this week while I'm at the Hilton Garden Inn in Owings Mills, Maryland.The materials are available at http://www.edzollars.com/2008-10-31_S_OpenAccount.pdf .The podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Services, located on the web on http://www.leimbergservices.com .

Another taxpayer found out well after filing his return with less than stellar results from his trading activities that there had been an option to file an election under §475(f) to use mark to market accounting which also converts the transactions from short term capital gain/loss to ordinary gain/loss.  Since the taxpayer had over $90,000 in net losses.The materials can be downloaded at http://www.edzollars.com/2008-09-29_LateElection.pdf .The podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, located on the web at http://www.leimbergservices.com .