Delia Law P.C.

09/10/2026

We're seeing a lot of IRS Final Notices of Intent to Levy lately, and these notices have bite.

A Final Notice of Intent to Levy is different from an ordinary IRS balance-due notice. It generally means the case has reached a point where the IRS may move from requesting payment to enforced collection.

It can also trigger an important deadline.

In most cases, a taxpayer has 30 days to request a Collection Due Process hearing. A timely request can provide an opportunity to have the proposed levy reviewed by the IRS Independent Office of Appeals and to raise appropriate collection alternatives before levy action proceeds.

Those alternatives may include an installment agreement, offer in compromise, currently not collectible status, penalty issues, or other challenges to the proposed collection action. In some circumstances, the underlying tax liability may also be at issue.

We handle these notices regularly, and the first things I look at are the deadline, the tax periods involved, whether the taxpayer is currently compliant, the collection history, and what resolution is actually supported by the taxpayer’s financial situation.

The important point is that a Final Notice of Intent to Levy is not the same thing as an actual levy, but the procedural rights that come with the notice can be extremely valuable.

We explain what happens after a Final Notice, the 30-day Collection Due Process period, what the IRS can levy, and the different resolution options in my latest article: What Happens After You Receive an IRS Final Notice of Intent to Levy? A Tax Attorney Explains.

https://deliataxattorneys.com/what-happens-after-you-receive-an-irs-final-notice-of-intent-to-levy-a-tax-attorney-explains/

After an IRS Final Notice of Intent to Levy, you have a 30-day deadline to request a Collection Due Process hearing and a few other options.

09/08/2026

Haven't filed tax returns in years and haven't heard much from the IRS? That doesn't necessarily mean the IRS has forgotten about you.

A new TIGTA report found that potential individual nonfilers increased from approximately 8.8 million for tax year 2015 to 14.7 million for 2022.

TIGTA also found that tens of thousands of high-priority nonfiler cases had stalled in the IRS system. As of June 30, 2025, 38,824 high-priority cases involving 33,653 taxpayers remained in first-notice status. The IRS subsequently moved the affected cases forward in March 2026.

We see taxpayers with multiple years of unfiled returns regularly in our practice, and one thing we hear often is, "But I haven't heard anything from the IRS."

The report is a good reminder that IRS silence doesn't mean the filing issue has disappeared. The IRS receives W-2s, 1099s and other third-party information and uses that information to identify potential nonfilers.

If returns remain unfiled, a case can eventually move into additional compliance programs, including the IRS's Substitute for Return process.

We'll be writing more about this because there is quite a bit in the TIGTA report that taxpayers with unfiled returns should understand.

Source: Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Report No. 2026-308-047, August 31, 2026:https://www.tigta.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2026-08/2026308047fr.pdf

09/08/2026

Behind on payroll taxes? This is one business debt that can follow you personally.

We see a lot of payroll tax problems in our practice, and there is one thing we hear over and over again from business owners:

“I thought I would catch up.”

A business hits a cash-flow problem and misses a payroll tax deposit. The owner expects next month to be better. Another payroll comes due. Then another quarter. Before long, the business is trying to pay current payroll taxes while also carrying an increasingly large IRS liability.

The IRS is using National Payroll Week as an opportunity to remind employers about their payroll tax responsibilities, including properly withholding employment taxes, making federal tax deposits and timely filing employment tax returns.

Payroll taxes are particularly serious because part of the taxes withheld from employees are trust fund taxes.

The business remains liable for its payroll tax debt, but the IRS can also pursue responsible individuals personally for the trust fund portion through the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty. That investigation can extend beyond the owner to officers, managers and others who had responsibility and authority over the company's finances and payroll tax obligations.

This is why “catching up” can become so difficult.

Each new payroll creates a new current tax obligation. If a business continues using payroll tax money to cover operating expenses, the old liability does not stand still while the owner tries to recover.

Business owners should address the problem as soon as they know the business cannot keep up. Confirm exactly what has been filed and paid, get current with ongoing payroll tax obligations, and then deal with the existing liability.

When we handle these cases, we look at the entire history: which returns were filed, which deposits were made, how payments were applied, what periods remain outstanding, whether the business is now compliant, and who may face potential Trust Fund Recovery Penalty exposure.

From there, we can address the business liability and any potential personal assessments and determine the appropriate resolution strategy.

Source: IRS, IR-2026-105, September 4, 2026

IRS: National Payroll Week is time for a paycheck checkup

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-reminder-national-payroll-week-is-time-for-a-paycheck-checkup

IR-2026-105, Sept. 4, 2026 — The Internal Revenue Service today encouraged workers and employers to review withholding and payroll tax responsibilities ahead of National Payroll Week.

09/04/2026

As we head into Labor Day weekend, we want to take a moment to recognize the hard work and dedication of our clients, colleagues and community.

Life and the world around us can feel especially hectic these days. There is always another email to answer, another deadline, another problem to solve, and something that needs our attention.

This weekend, we hope everyone gets a chance to really step away and enjoy the simple things. Spend time with the people you love, enjoy your family and animals, get outside, have a great meal, laugh, rest, and maybe keep the phone quiet for a while.

Wishing our clients, colleagues, friends and community a safe, happy and relaxing Labor Day weekend.

09/02/2026

The government just made it a little harder for fraud, including tax fraud, to hide between agencies.

The Department of Justice recently launched the National Fraud Detection Center, a prosecutor-led initiative bringing together IRS Criminal Investigation, TIGTA, FinCEN, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and numerous other federal and state partners.

TIGTA has now formally joined the effort, committing dedicated analysts and investigators.

The goal is significant: break down the information silos that have historically existed between government programs and use shared technology and analytical capabilities to identify fraud that crosses agencies.

That is the part worth paying attention to. Tax problems do not always exist in isolation.

A business may have payroll tax problems along with issues involving federal loans or benefits. A taxpayer may have foreign accounts or transactions that create both tax and financial reporting obligations. Bank activity, information returns, business filings and records submitted to other government agencies can overlap.

Different agencies may hold different pieces of that information. The NFDC is specifically designed to make it easier for the government to connect them.

That does not mean every tax discrepancy is fraud. Far from it. Most tax problems are civil matters, and taxpayers can find themselves seriously out of compliance for all kinds of reasons.

But it does mean that when a taxpayer discovers a significant problem, particularly one involving multiple years, businesses, substantial amounts, foreign transactions or inconsistent filings, looking at only one IRS notice or one tax return may not be enough.

Many clients come to us after tax problems have been building for years. The first job is to figure out exactly what happened, what was filed, what wasn't filed, what the IRS records show, whether those records are correct, and what needs to be fixed.

Then we can get the taxpayer into compliance and determine the appropriate strategy for resolving the underlying tax problem.

With agencies increasingly sharing information and using technology to identify patterns, getting ahead of a problem is becoming even more important.

The government is getting better at connecting the dots. Taxpayers should make sure they understand their own picture first.

Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, Department of Justice Announces Launch of National Fraud Detection Center to Combat Fraud Against Taxpayer-Funded Programs, August 24, 2026; Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, TIGTA Announces Partnership with the National Fraud Detection Center, August 26, 2026.

Read the DOJ announcement: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-announces-launch-national-fraud-detection-center-combat-fraud-against

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the launch of the National Fraud Detection Center (NFDC), a prosecutor-led, multi-agency team designed to investigate the most harmful actors defrauding federal government programs, including illicit actors overseas and those operating fraud schemes ac...

09/01/2026

Fewer IRS auditors. Less enforcement? Not necessarily.

CBS News reported today that revenue from IRS examinations fell 35% in FY 2025, from $10 billion to $6.5 billion, amid substantial IRS workforce reductions.

But the underlying TIGTA report tells a more complicated story.

Examination and Collection staffing declined 27% from FY 2024 to FY 2025 and continued falling into January 2026. Yet IRS Collection still generated approximately $81.8 billion in enforcement revenue in FY 2025, accounting for 87% of total IRS enforcement revenue.

The IRS also sent approximately 3.2 million notices to individual nonfilers in FY 2025, after sending none in FY 2023.

That distinction is important. As a tax law firm, we represent many taxpayers who come to me with years of unresolved tax problems, substantial balances, unfiled returns, collection notices, tax liens or potential levies.

The first step is often getting the taxpayer into compliance. That may mean filing missing returns, correcting account problems, addressing current withholding or estimated taxes, and making sure new tax debt is not continuing to accumulate.

Then we can determine the appropriate resolution for the existing liability, whether that involves an installment agreement, financial hardship, penalty relief, an appeal or another collection alternative.

This is where the changing IRS environment matters.

The IRS can automatically identify a missing return, generate a balance-due notice and move an account through the collection process. But complicated tax problems often cannot be resolved by automation. Someone still has to determine what happened, whether the IRS records are correct, what deadlines apply and how the case should be resolved.

TIGTA cautioned that the effects of the workforce reductions may become more apparent over time.

So while headlines about fewer audits may sound reassuring, taxpayers should not interpret them as a reason to ignore an existing IRS problem.

Get into compliance. Stay current. Know what is actually on your IRS account. And if you have years of unresolved tax problems, develop a strategy to resolve them.

Sources: CBS News, September 1, 2026; Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Trends in Compliance Activities Through Fiscal Year 2025, August 26, 2026.

Read the TIGTA report:https://www.oversight.gov/sites/default/files/documents/reports/2026-08/20263S0045fr_0.pdf

08/28/2026

Offshore tax problems can come back many years later.

A recent federal criminal tax case involving the so-called “Singapore Solution” is a striking example.

According to the Department of Justice, Roderic Sage, the founder and CEO of a Hong Kong financial services firm, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States in connection with a scheme that helped high-value U.S. taxpayers conceal more than $60 million in income and assets held in undeclared offshore bank accounts.

The conduct described by the government dates back to approximately 2008 through 2014.

According to the DOJ, funds were transferred from undeclared accounts at a Swiss private bank through nominee bank accounts in Hong Kong and other locations before ultimately being returned to newly opened accounts structured to conceal the U.S. taxpayers’ ownership of the funds.

Sage was arrested in the United Kingdom in May 2025, extradited to the United States, and pleaded guilty in May 2026. On August 27, 2026, Law360 reported that Judge Gregory H. Woods sentenced him to a $40,000 fine rather than additional prison time.

As a tax law firm, what stands out to us is the timeline.

The underlying conduct began nearly two decades ago. Moving money through foreign accounts, nominee accounts or offshore entities does not necessarily put it beyond the reach of the IRS or U.S. law enforcement.

We have many clients come to me with older foreign account and reporting problems. Sometimes they have known about the issue for years and were afraid to address it. Others did not fully understand their U.S. reporting obligations until much later.

The important thing is to address the problem and determine the appropriate path back into compliance.

Depending on the facts, that can mean determining what returns or information reports were missed, whether FBARs should have been filed, what income was not reported, what penalties may apply, and what IRS compliance option is appropriate. The taxpayer’s history and intent can be extremely important in determining how to proceed.

Ignoring an offshore tax problem generally does not make it safer. Identifying the problem, understanding the potential exposure and developing a strategy to get into compliance is a much better approach.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, May 8, 2026; United States v. Roderic Sage, No. 20 Cr. 497 (GHW), S.D.N.Y.; sentencing reported by Law360, August 27, 2026.

DOJ: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/uk-executive-pleads-guilty-tax-fraud-conspiracy?utm_source=chatgpt.com

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced that RODERIC SAGE pled guilty today to conspiring to defraud the United States in connection with a scheme to help high-value U.S. taxpayer-clients conceal more than $60 million in income and assets held in undeclar...

08/27/2026

IRS transcripts are one of the first places we look when a taxpayer comes to us with an IRS problem.

The IRS recently issued Tax Tip 2026-65 explaining the different types of transcripts available to taxpayers. But transcripts are much more than documents you might need for a mortgage or loan.

In tax controversy work, they can help tell the story of a taxpayer’s IRS account.

Depending on the type of transcript, we can use them to identify and monitor issues such as:

• whether tax returns have actually been filed and processed

• balances, assessments, penalties and interest

• payments and credits applied to an account

• changes the IRS made after a return was filed

• information reported to the IRS on Forms W-2 and 1099

• certain collection activity and account status

• important dates that may affect collection or assessment issues

We regularly use transcripts throughout a representation to monitor a client’s accounts and determine what has changed.

But there is an important caution: a transcript is not necessarily the final word.

IRS transcript entries and dates can require further investigation. Information may be incomplete, an entry may not mean what a taxpayer assumes it means, and certain dates or account information may need to be confirmed against the underlying IRS records. I have encountered situations where what appears on a transcript does not tell the entire story.

That is particularly important when significant rights or deadlines are involved. A taxpayer should not make a major decision based solely on one transcript entry without understanding what it represents.

For taxpayers with years of unfiled returns, substantial tax debt, liens, levies or other collection problems, obtaining the right transcripts is often one of the best places to start. They can help establish what the IRS has on its books...and what needs to be investigated further.

Taxpayers can obtain IRS transcripts for free. For more complicated tax problems, consider having them reviewed by a tax attorney or other qualified tax professional who understands how to read the account history in context.

Source: IRS Tax Tip 2026-65, “Tax transcripts: Know the different types and how to get them.”

08/26/2026

A federal tax credit for employers providing paid family and medical leave is now permanent, and more businesses may be able to take advantage of it.

The IRS recently highlighted several important enhancements to the Employer Credit for Paid Family and Medical Leave.

Eligible employers may claim a general business tax credit ranging from 12.5% to 25% of qualifying wages paid to employees for up to 12 weeks of family and medical leave each tax year.

The recent changes expand the credit in several ways. Employees may now qualify after six months of service, and eligibility has been expanded to certain part-time employees working at least 20 hours per week.

Employers also now have two ways to claim the credit. They can use a wage-based method, based on qualifying wages paid while an employee is on leave, or a new premium-based method, based on qualifying premiums paid for paid family and medical leave insurance.

There is also an important change for employers operating in states or localities with their own paid leave requirements. Leave provided under a state or local mandate may count toward determining eligibility for the federal credit, although those mandated amounts are not included in calculating the federal credit itself.

From a tax planning perspective, this is worth reviewing rather than assuming paid family and medical leave is simply another employment expense. Businesses already providing these benefits may have a federal tax credit available to them, and the expanded rules could make the credit relevant to employers that previously did not qualify.

Source: IRS Tax Tip 2026-64, “What employers need to know about the enhancements to the Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit.” https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/what-employers-need-to-know-about-the-enhancements-to-the-paid-family-and-medical-leave-tax-credit

Tax Tip 2026-64, Aug. 20, 2026 — Employers, including small businesses, that provide paid family and medical leave to their employees may be eligible for an employer tax credit.

08/24/2026

Can paying thousands of dollars to meet celebrities qualify as a business marketing expense? The Tax Court recently said no.

In Sami v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2026-69 (Aug. 18, 2026), the taxpayer operated several business activities and also claimed to be a social media influencer. During 2019 through 2021, he spent substantial amounts attending high-profile events and meeting celebrities, later arguing that the expenses helped build his social media presence.

Among the expenses were:

• $10,000 for two tickets to the Grammys

• $8,912 to meet Benedict Cumberbatch

• $4,151 to meet Matt Damon

• $2,600 to meet Mark Ruffalo

• $6,500 to attend a Tiger Woods charity event

• $831 to catch a pass from Drew Brees

• $779 to return a serve from John McEnroe

He also paid for an opportunity to catch a pass from Tom Brady. He dropped the pass — but posted the video anyway.

The taxpayer argued that these experiences generated social media content, increased views and followers, and could ultimately produce advertising revenue.

The Tax Court acknowledged that some of the celebrity interactions may have had positive consequences for his business. But that wasn't enough.

Under IRC §162, a business expense must be ordinary and necessary, and the Court focused on whether these particular expenses were undertaken primarily for business rather than personal purposes. Based on the evidence, the Court concluded that the celebrity experiences were primarily personal and denied the deductions.

The Court also noted something particularly relevant today: although it had not previously addressed these principles in the context of social media influencers, an influencer business is subject to the same general tax rules as any other for-profit business.

That's the important takeaway. An expense doesn't become deductible simply because it generates content, attracts attention, or provides some incidental benefit to a business. There needs to be a genuine business purpose, and taxpayers need adequate records to substantiate both the expense and its connection to the business.

The line between personal and business spending can become especially important for influencers, content creators and other businesses where personal activities are part of a public-facing brand.

Source: Sami v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2026-69 (Aug. 18, 2026).