News & Events

The IRS has conducted relatively few audits in recent years. In 2019, the IRS audited just 0.45 percent of individual tax returns, down from 0.59 percent in 2018—and even further down from 1.11 percent a decade prior. But, as New Jersey tax attorney Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Partner of Thorn Law Group, explains, this may change in 2021.

The IRS is prioritizing cryptocurrency tax compliance in 2021. In addition to sending warning letters to known cryptocurrency investors, the IRS is also seeking to identify investors who have failed to report their cryptocurrency investments on their federal returns. As New Jersey tax lawyer Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Partner of Thorn Law Group, explains, it is doing so through the use of what is known as a “John Doe” summons.

Earlier this year, we reported that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was sending warning letters to micro-captive insurance companies and their clients. On April 9, the IRS issued a News Release that underscores its intent to target taxpayers who participate in abusive micro-captive insurance arrangements in 2021. New Jersey tax attorney Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Partner of Thorn Law Group, explains:

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced a safe harbor for certain Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan recipients. The safe harbor allows eligible loan recipients to claim deductions that they failed to claim in 2020. As New Jersey tax lawyer Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Partner of Thorn Law Group, explains, small businesses must meet certain requirements in order to claim safe harbor protection; and, when claiming additional deductions under the safe harbor, they must be careful to ensure that they are otherwise in full compliance with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Tax Relief Act of 2020, and other pertinent federal tax laws.

For U.S. taxpayers who fail to disclose their offshore accounts to the IRS, streamlined filing and voluntary disclosure provide two potential options for coming into compliance. However, both of these options are very different, and taxpayers must choose wisely when deciding how to address past filing deficiencies. Here, New Jersey FATCA attorney Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Partner of Thorn Law Group, explains the key differences between these two options for remedying delinquent foreign financial asset disclosures: