Pro Asset Protection

Attorney Ike Devji

  • Articles
  • Contact
  • Facts and FAQ’s
  • Asset Protection Attorney Ike Devji – Bio
  • Home
  • Off the Record
  • Reputation and Recognition

Tax Planing Schemes Every Physician (and Business Owner) Should Avoid

February 6, 2012 by Ike Devji, Asset Protection Lawyer Leave a Comment

The next 60 days marks the final push to sell physicians and private business owners across the United States tax plans of both good and questionable value. Promoters of various plans are well aware of the pressures affecting your income and will make a variety of frivolous arguments that appeal to your desire to save. As always a great CPA is your first line of defense against both tax exposure itself and the risk of committing tax fraud through an overreaching plan, but there are a number of common markers that are easy to spot. 

The IRS creates an annual list of the “Dirty Dozen” tax schemes; here’s a breakdown of the top ones that affect or target doctors and business owners.

 

Remember that the higher your income, the more likely you are to face an audit and substantial civil and criminal penalties that I guarantee will exceed any short-term savings gleaned from any bad planning. This simply means that you and your team must be committed to strictly adhering to the tax code, full and accurate reporting, and being realistic about how you pay yourself and the amount of income you declare. In most cases, it is not “commercially reasonable” to pay yourself less than six figures when the average salary for specialists like you in your state is much higher but we see doctors and CPAs abuse this discretion on a regular basis.

Hiding income offshore
I use offshore tools for a variety of my clients business and asset protection purposes regularly; tax planning is not one of them.

Taxpayers have tried to avoid or evade U.S. income tax by hiding income in offshore banks, brokerage accounts, or through the use of nominee entities. Taxpayers also evade taxes by using offshore debit cards, credit cards, wire transfers, foreign trusts, employee-leasing schemes, private annuities, or insurance plans. (via the IRS)

You have a well-defined legal right to have an offshore account and in our global economy even manage certain business and investment activities offshore but that income is taxable and even the mere existence of an account has a reporting requirement. Simple rule, full disclosure, and compliance mean never having to say, “I’m sorry.”

Frivolous arguments
These schemes are increasingly sophisticated in their arguments and packaging and often even include either false or off-point private letter rulings on the legality of a specific plan or letters of opinion from a “top tax law firm.” The IRS has a very specific guide to understanding those arguments.

Abusive retirement plans
The IRS continues to find abuses in retirement plan arrangements, including Roth Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs). The IRS is looking for transactions that taxpayers use to avoid the limits on contributions to IRAs, as well as transactions that are not properly reported as early distributions. Taxpayers should be wary of advisers who encourage them to shift appreciated assets at less than fair market value into IRAs or companies owned by their IRAs to circumvent annual contribution limits. Other variations have included the use of limited liability companies to engage in activity that is considered prohibited, a common exposure in self-directed IRAs without professional guidance.

Disguised corporate ownership
Corporations and other legal entities are formed and operated in certain states for the purpose of disguising the ownership of the business or financial activity by means such as improperly using a third party to request an employer identification number. Such entities can also be used to facilitate underreporting of income, fictitious deductions, non-filing of tax returns, participating in listed transactions, money laundering, financial crimes, and even terrorist financing. The IRS is working with state authorities to identify these entities and to bring the owners of these entities into compliance with the law.

While the actual list is much longer, some of the issues like identity theft exposure are applicable to the public at large. Others, including filing false or incomplete W-2s, claiming excessive fuel tax credits, and over-reporting withholding to reduce income are simply intentional tax fraud that we will assume you are not ever going to consider. Make sure you understand the nature of the methods used on your return, you are responsible for what’s on it regardless of who prepared it, and keep tight records on deductions for travel and dining.

Finally, carefully discuss the value of claiming excessive business usage for vehicles and a home office deduction with your CPA; they are common over-reaching red flags and typically of limited value.

As always, the information presented here is general and educational and can never replace the advice of experienced counsel specific to your assets or situation. This article originally appeared at www.PhysiciansPractice.Com where Ike Devji is a regular contributor, and is reprinted here with permission.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: abusive tax schemes, business survival, closely held business, cpa, dentists, Doctors, FINANCIAL ISSUES FOR DOCTORS, financial literacy, foreign bank accounts, Ike Devji, medical practice mangement, tax deductions, taxation, taxes Tagged With: 2011 taxes, CPA, Dentists, Doctors, physicians investing, tax fraud, tax scams, taxes

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

See Ike’s Work In Action

· Ike Devji on Acrimoney.com
· Ike Devji on CFO ADVISORS
· Ike Devji on Infosec Island
· Ike Devji on Risk and Threat Management

Money Matters Interview

Recent Posts

  • The Business Roundtable Podcast: Asset Protection
  • The Risks of Doing Business With Family Members
  • Campaign Contributions: What Business Owners Need to Know
  • Recession Asset Protection – Is My Bank Safe?
  • Asset Protection for Pain Management Doctors and Anesthesiologists

Categories

  • 2012 Economy (3)
  • 2013 Economy (3)
  • 2020 Recession (1)
  • 529 and College Savings Plans (1)
  • abusive tax schemes (13)
  • APT (3)
  • Arizona (19)
  • arizona anti-deficiency statutes (5)
  • Arizona Asset Protection (33)
  • arizona bankruptcy (4)
  • arizona economy (13)
  • Arizona Estate Planning (11)
  • arizona forclosure (8)
  • arizona real esate (12)
  • Asset Protection (174)
  • Asset Protection Education (16)
  • Asset Protection for Doctors (36)
  • Asset Protection for Your Home (7)
  • Asset Protection Fraud and Failures (22)
  • asset protection law (25)
  • asset protection strategies (42)
  • asset protection trusts (33)
  • Baby Boomers (5)
  • Banking and Bank Solvency (5)
  • Bankruptcy (8)
  • Best Money Market rates (1)
  • brokers (1)
  • Business Asset Protection (3)
  • business law (3)
  • business legal planning (72)
  • business owner and entrepreneur (15)
  • Business Owners (28)
  • business survival (48)
  • business valuation (6)
  • buy sell agreement (5)
  • captive insurance company (8)
  • Cars and Automobile Liability (4)
  • Cash Alernatives (2)
  • CEO (27)
  • children (8)
  • chiropractors (35)
  • CIO (1)
  • closely held business (30)
  • commercial real estate (8)
  • Coronavirus (2)
  • cpa (20)
  • creditor negotiation (4)
  • creditor protected cash alternatives (5)
  • Crisis Management Planning (7)
  • CTO (1)
  • DAPT (3)
  • debt (4)
  • deficiency judgment (2)
  • defined benefit plans (2)
  • dentists (57)
  • Director and Officer Liability (10)
  • disability insurance (2)
  • Divorce (5)
  • doctor sued (44)
  • Doctors (54)
  • Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (2)
  • Due Dilligence (11)
  • economy (9)
  • employee social media usage (3)
  • Employment law (25)
  • Entrepreneurs (5)
  • equity (1)
  • ESTATE MANAGEMENT (2)
  • estate planning (29)
  • estate tax (12)
  • estate taxes (3)
  • Expatriation (1)
  • face book (3)
  • family business (19)
  • Family Legal Planning (7)
  • family liability (11)
  • family limited partnership (4)
  • Family Office (8)
  • FAMILY OFFICE ISSUES (6)
  • FDIC Insurance Limits (2)
  • finacial advisors (7)
  • Finance (12)
  • financial advisors (23)
  • FINANCIAL ISSUES FOR DOCTORS (47)
  • financial literacy (56)
  • financing (6)
  • firearms (5)
  • forclosure (2)
  • foreclosure (3)
  • foreign bank accounts (7)
  • fraud (18)
  • fraudulent conveyance (3)
  • funding (3)
  • Geri Custer (1)
  • gifting (1)
  • Gifting – Wealth Transfer (4)
  • Greg George (5)
  • GTI ADVISORS (5)
  • Gun trusts (1)
  • guns (7)
  • HEALTH CARE LAW (6)
  • high net worth (17)
  • HIPPA violations (1)
  • homeowner's liability (13)
  • HR (3)
  • IAPT (2)
  • id theft (4)
  • Ike Devji (100)
  • Ike Devji – Asset Protection Expert (5)
  • ILIT (2)
  • information security (5)
  • intangible assets (3)
  • intellectual property (1)
  • investing (12)
  • investment exposure (14)
  • IRA creditor protection (1)
  • IRA Trusts (1)
  • Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (3)
  • IRS (7)
  • Jeff Christenson (4)
  • Jumbo CD Rates (1)
  • kids (6)
  • lawsuit awards (23)
  • lawyers (8)
  • Leadership & Management (12)
  • leading wealth and legal advisors (2)
  • legal documents and records (3)
  • Legal Strategies (19)
  • liability (46)
  • liability insurance (35)
  • Life Insurance (13)
  • life Insurance conversions (1)
  • LIFE INSURANCE CREDITOR PROTECTION (2)
  • Life Insurnace Conversions (2)
  • Limited Liability Companies (2)
  • Limited Partnerships and FLPs (1)
  • linkedIn (1)
  • LLC Asset Protection (3)
  • LLC Myths (2)
  • Loan default (4)
  • Lotzer Law Group (1)
  • malpractice (14)
  • malpractice insurance (2)
  • marketing and reputataion management (2)
  • Marriage and Family (2)
  • Medical Marijuana (1)
  • Medical Practice Management (23)
  • medical practice mangement (31)
  • Medical Practice Risk Management (14)
  • mexican real estate (1)
  • Mortgage (1)
  • Municipal Bonds (2)
  • Nevada (1)
  • offshore (16)
  • offshore banking (9)
  • offshore trusts (13)
  • parenting (7)
  • partnerships (2)
  • personal finance (2)
  • personal injury (8)
  • personal security (9)
  • physicians (41)
  • physicians personal finance (3)
  • privacy and identity (2)
  • professional athletes (27)
  • professional entertainers (17)
  • property insurance (7)
  • rachel weiss (5)
  • Raisng Capital and Funding Your Business (1)
  • real estate investing (14)
  • recession (12)
  • recession lawsuits (13)
  • recession survival (32)
  • Reputation and Recognition (1)
  • reputation management (1)
  • Retirement Plan Creditor Protection (2)
  • retirement plan funding (2)
  • Richard Arnold (1)
  • risk management (11)
  • scams (13)
  • Scottsdale (1)
  • Sean Shepherd (3)
  • SEC (1)
  • secret bank accounts (6)
  • SECURITY (5)
  • shelf corporations (1)
  • small business (3)
  • social media (5)
  • start-ups (7)
  • startup (5)
  • Strategic Default (4)
  • Succession and Transition Planning (5)
  • Surgeons and Surgical Centers (5)
  • tax deductions (19)
  • tax fraud (7)
  • taxation (17)
  • taxes (23)
  • THE VAULT (2)
  • Trisha Lotzer (1)
  • trusts (4)
  • twitter (1)
  • Uncategorized (52)
  • up front fees (1)
  • Urgent Care Centers (1)
  • vacant real estate liability (4)
  • venture capital (6)
  • wealth transfer (5)
  • Wealth Transfer Strategies (13)
  • women & money (8)
  • Workplace Violence (2)
  • worth magazine (4)

Copyright © 2021 · Dynamik-Gen on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in