KPM

Charity Scams Employee Fraud Fraud Loss In Multiple Locations Early Revenue Recognition Liquidity Overload Keep Fraud Out Of Your Restaurant Guarding Against Fraud with Gen AI Lifestyle Analysis To Investigate Fraud Fraud prevention FinCEN Beneficial Owner Scam Vendor Fraud Residual Risk Antifraud Tax-Avoidance Scams Remote work Social Engineering in ACH/Wire Transfers Fraud risk Money Laundering Fraud FTC Accounts Receivable Phoenix Companies

Steering Clear of Abusive Tax Shelters

As the year ends, many businesses look for ways to save on taxes. Purveyors of abusive tax shelters know this and are ready to take advantage of unwitting owners.

Abusive tax shelters are complex transactions that have no legitimate business purpose and are used solely to reduce or eliminate tax liability. As tempting the tax savings may seem, you should avoid such tax shelters, or you may face serious financial consequences.

Witting & unwitting victims

Unfortunately, abusive tax shelters are not always easy to identify. Even reputable companies may unwittingly market tax shelters the IRS deems abusive.

Some appear less innocent, though. For example, one company marketed products that functioned as loss generators, allowing buyers to offset paper losses against other income, sheltering that income from taxes. In such cases, not only is the seller of the products liable for penalties, but the taxpayers who use them generally are required to pay back taxes, interest, and penalties.

As part of a comprehensive strategy to combat abusive tax shelters, the IRS requires that certain tax shelters be registered and that lists of investors be maintained by those who organize them. Individuals who participate in a ‘listed transaction’ also must disclose their participation on their tax return. The list of transactions is available on the IRS website.

Avoid messy entanglements

How can you avoid becoming entangled in an abusive tax shelter? First apply the age-old rule that, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. These products usually are unsolicited. So, if someone approaches you with a proposal to make money through tax write-offs, it is probably not a legitimate business investment.

Second, understand that legitimate tax advantages are not available as one-size-fits-all products. Tax liabilities vary according to a business’ financial situation, and no tax shelter is appropriate for every company.

Finally, look carefully at shelters that involve third parties such as foreign corporations, tax-exempt entities, or entities with significant tax losses. If there is no legitimate business purpose for entering into a transaction, there is no legitimate tax shelter.

Shun the unknown

In short, if you receive an unsolicited offer to help you reduce your tax burden, carefully examine the proposal, purveyor, and participants. Contact us – we can help investigate any offer and steer you toward reliable and responsible tax-reduction strategies.

Related Articles

Talk with the pros

Our CPAs and advisors are a great resource if you’re ready to learn even more.