Cohan or Bust: How to Reconstruct Missing Information (Currently Unavailable)

Author: Eva Rosenberg

Give my Regards to Broadway! Can’t you just hear George M. Cohan belting that out on Vaudeville stages and old records? Cohan wasn’t just famous as a performer, but also for a landmark case about keeping records for tax purposes. This course is designed to teach you how to use Cohan vs. Commissioner to your client’s advantage and when it just won’t work. In those instances where Cohan won’t protect your client, we’ll show you what can.

Publication Date: August 2018

Designed For
Practitioners at all levels regardless of practice concentration, whose clients don’t keep adequate records, or have had their records destroyed, confiscated, or lost for any reason whatsoever.

Topics Covered

• History of the Cohan Rule
• IRC 162 — Ordinary and Necessary
• Limitations on the Cohan Rule under present law
• Reconstructing records from the Cloud
• Getting data from third-parties
• When affidavits from associated persons, businesses, clients, etc. can help
• Playing detective - proving costs based on Social Media or other clues.
• Reconstructing costs based on common sense
• Court cases

Learning Objectives

• Recognize the logic behind the Cohan Rule and how to applies to your clients
• Identify when the courts will reject the Cohan argument and why
• Differentiate how to reconstruct client records, seemingly from thin air and how to stand up to IRS and court scrutiny
• Describe when your client is better off without records or deductions
• Identify ways of verifying income
• Differentiate which kind of expenses can qualify for the Cohan Rule and be deducted
• Identify correct statements under IRC Section 274
• Recognize methods for reconstructing expenses
• Differentiate ordinary or necessary expenses
• Identify factors needed for substantiation for travel expenses
• Describe Section 7491
• Recognize best practices when using estimates to claim expenses

Level
Basic

Instructional Method
Self-Study

NASBA Field of Study
Taxes (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
None

Advance Preparation
None