taxgirl

05/31/2026

This week’s Tax Breaks is out, and we’re officially entering our asset planning era.

Yes, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce make an appearance—but the real story is about prenups, property, privacy, taxes, and what happens when “mine” and “ours” start to get complicated.

Prenups may not sound as romantic as an engagement post, but for couples with businesses, real estate, kids, royalties, retirement accounts, or even a beloved set of glasses that no one wants to give up, those conversations can be worth having before there’s champagne problems.

Also this week:
• Why AI chats are not the same as conversations with your lawyer
• What families should know about the Trump Accounts rollout
• Why most moving expenses are still in the vault
• Unearned income, royalties, and the kiddie tax
• The answer to this week’s “Taylor Swift Tax” trivia question

Read this week’s Tax Breaks here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tax-breaks/2026/05/30/tax-breaks-the-tortured-taxpayer-department-edition/

Plus: Estate planning abroad, AI isn’t your lawyer, Trump Accounts launches an app, OECD updates, new jobs and moving expenses, Taxes from A to Z, tax trivia and more.

05/28/2026

I’m excited to be speaking at in San Antonio, Texas, June 3–6! 🤠🌵

You can catch me at:

📍 Tax Tea w/ Lemons & Erb
🗓 Thursday
⏰ 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM CT

AND

📍 Tax Trivia w/ Lemons & Erb
🗓 Friday
⏰ 3:15 PM – 4:15 PM CT

I’m looking forward to great conversations, fresh ideas, and some Texas-sized fun with an incredible community of tax professionals. Hope to see y’all there!

Learn more: https://www.taxretreat.org/

05/27/2026

The IRS will offer Saturday hours at select Taxpayer Assistance Centers on May 30.

TACs will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to provide in-person assistance on a range of tax issues. Visit IRS.gov/SaturdayHours ahead of time to confirm participating locations and available services before heading to an office.

05/25/2026

The latest edition of Tax Breaks is out—and it’s free (no paywall).

This week, I’m writing about something a little more personal: the tax, paperwork, and practical realities that families face after a death. Even relatively simple estates can become complicated once you start sorting through final tax returns, retirement accounts, old records, inherited property, and all the “stuff” that accumulates over a lifetime.

I’m also covering:
• a case involving foreign gift reporting penalties
• a practical look at how U.S. Tax Court works
• a reader question about the new car loan interest deduction
• and Shakira’s major residency tax win in Spain

You can read the full newsletter here:

Plus: Not reporting foreign gifts can cost you, U.S. Tax Court, the new car loan interest deduction, and Shakira’s latest residency tax win in Spain.

05/20/2026

It should be obvious, following the Supreme Court (and federal court) rulings, that this is *not* happening, but scammers gonna scam. Stimulus checks are *not* officially back.

If you receive an email like this, do not click on the link. Just delete it.

05/19/2026

Shakira just won a major tax residency case in Spain—but the fight may not be over yet.

A Spanish court ruled that tax authorities failed to prove she was a Spanish tax resident for 2011, meaning she could be entitled to more than €55 million back. Spain’s tax agency says it plans to appeal.

The case is a reminder that residency disputes are rarely just about where you say you live. Tax authorities may look at:
• travel schedules
• social media posts
• family ties
• financial activity
• even everyday records and purchases

In Shakira’s case, investigators reportedly reconstructed parts of her schedule using social media activity and other records to argue she spent enough time in Spain to qualify as a resident.

And yes, this kind of dispute can happen in the U.S., too.

More here:

A court found that Spain failed to prove the singer was a tax resident in 2011. The case is a reminder that where you live—and how you document it—can matter at tax time.

05/18/2026

Per TIGTA: Because of staff reductions and the government shutdown, IRS inventory in key tax processing programs increased from 1.5 million to 2 million (33 percent) from December 2024 through December 2025.

05/18/2026

This week’s Tax Breaks is out, and it starts with golf—which is a sentence I did not expect to write when I became a tax attorney.

The PGA Championship is near Philly this week, so I took a look at the tax side of professional golf: winnings, endorsements, caddies, travel, and why state taxes can make where a golfer lives almost as interesting as where they play.

Also this week: gas taxes, gas pump skimmers, Social Security planning, missed senior deductions, safe harbors, and baby names. Because taxes really do show up everywhere.

As always, the newsletter is free:

Plus: Baby names, Social Security, gas prices, card skimmer fraud, safe harbors, tax trivia and more.

05/18/2026

The PGA Championship is happening just outside Philadelphia this week—but while fans are watching birdies and bogeys, tax advisors are watching something else entirely: sourcing rules, endorsements, deductions, and state taxes.

Professional golfers don’t just earn tournament winnings. They may also earn endorsement income, appearance fees, and investment income—all potentially taxed differently depending on where they live and where they play.

A few things that stood out to me:
• Caddies are typically paid by the golfer and often receive Forms 1099
• Country club dues are generally not deductible
• Golfers may operate multiple entities to separate income streams
• State taxes can dramatically change what a player actually keeps

For example, a Florida golfer winning the PGA Championship could owe about $105,000 in Pennsylvania taxes. A California golfer? Potentially more than $426,000 in combined state taxes.
There’s a reason so many pro golfers seem to love Florida.

More here:

Professional golfers lead complicated financial lives, with prize money, endorsements, taxes owed to multiple states, and expenses ranging from travel to caddies.

05/17/2026

Scam alert!

You cannot email an initial summons and complaint for standard service of process. U.S. District Courts require formal, physical service, like US Mail or handing it to a person, to satisfy due process.

A few other things.

"District Court" is not the full name of any court. In my area, for example, it's U.S. District Court - Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Ditto for the formatting. A real summons would prominently indicate the real name of the case (like Clooney v. Erb) and provide actual contact information. And legitimate emails from federal courts end in .gov.

**DO NOT** click on the link. This is a scam. You'll want to delete it. You can also report it to the FTC.