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5 Top Tax Tips In-House Counsel Need to Know

By Casey C. Sullivan, Esq. on April 28, 2016 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Tax day has come and gone. But that doesn't mean in-house counsel can stop worrying about the IRS. Helping to keep the company on the right side of the tax code, while helping minimize its tax burden, is a year-round job.

To help you out, here are our five top tax tips for in-house counsel, from FindLaw's archives.

1. IRS Has a New Program to Help Employers Stay on Top of Payroll Taxes

This past December, the IRS announced the launch of its Early Interaction Initiative. That's a new program designed to alert employers who could be behind on payment of their employment taxes. If your company pays its share of employee income taxes on a quarterly basis, the IRS can track those payment patterns and alert you when things seem amiss. And if you get such a notice, here's a few tips on how to react.

2. 3 In-House Pitfalls to Avoid This Tax Season

Tax season is past us -- thankfully -- but now is a good time to reflect on what went well and what could have gone better. So, when evaluating your performance, keep these three pitfalls in mind.

3. Ireland Closes One Loophole for U.S. Companies, Opens Another

Surely you're familiar with the infamous "Double Irish," the complicated tax loophole pioneered by Apple that can save companies billions in taxes. Sadly, for tax-averse, IP-rich American companies at least, Ireland has shut the loophole down. But the Emerald Isle is not pleased to see American businesses flee its shores like so many snakes before Saint Patrick. So they've created a new tax benefit to help keep them around.

4. Why Is Yahoo Spinning Off Its Core Businesses? The IRS.

Yahoo may not be the same Yahoo we've grown to know for very much longer. In order to hang on to its stake in Alibaba, the giant Chinese e-commerce company, Yahoo is planning to spin off its core businesses. The plan is the exact opposite of what the giant Internet company originally considered -- and it's largely the result of an IRS clamp down on treating spin offs as tax-free exchanges. Here's what you need to know.

5. Former Ohio In-House Counsel Gets Prison for Tax Fraud

If you try to play fast and loose with the tax codes, you might not just find yourself facing an audit and massive fines, you could end up in federal prison. One Ohio in-house attorney learned that the hard way. Find out what landed him in jail here.

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