Russell J. Haynes

Russell ("Russ") Haynes is a tax attorney with the firm of Burton J. Haynes, P.C., in Burke, Virginia. Russ graduated magna cum laude from George Mason School of Law in 2011, with a concentration in tax law. Russ works mainly on employment tax cases for businesses with large tax delinquencies, unfiled returns, and when assessment of the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty is threatened against responsible persons. But he also handles cases for individuals with unfiled tax returns and unpaid balances. Russ lectures frequently for tax classes and industry groups on how to resolve federal tax liabilities in bankruptcy. He has also successfully negotiated Offers in Compromise with the IRS and state tax authorities for individual and business taxpayers. Russ is experienced in accounting issues, including the forensic accounting reconstructions often necessary in criminal and civil cases, payroll accounting, and is a Quickbooks Pro Advisor. Russ is a member of the Virginia State Bar ("VSB"), the VSB Section of Taxation, the Virginia State Trial Lawyers' Association, the American Bar Association ("ABA"), the ABA Section of Taxation, and the ABA Committee on Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties.

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Virginia

Since 2011

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

U.S. Tax Court

Attorney

Burton J. Haynes, P.C.

2011 - Current

Paralegal

Burton J. Haynes, P.C.

2006 - 2011

George Mason University School of Law

J.D. (2011) | Tax Law

Honors: Magna cum laude

University of Texas - Austin

DMA, Doctor of Musical Arts (2006)

University of Cincinnati

MM, Master of Music (2001) | Music Performance

University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign

B.A. (1999) | Music Performance

American Bar Association

Current

Activities: Taxation Section

Virginia State Bar

Current

Virginia Bar Association

Current

Activities: Taxation Section

Virginia State Bar

Current

Activities: Taxation Section

Is Bankruptcy the Cure for Your Client's Tax Problems, Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service CLE, Baltimore, MD

November 7, 2017

Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service, Inc.

A continuing legal education seminar on recognizing when and if bankruptcy can be helpful to resolve clients' tax problems.

Discharging Tax Debts in Bankruptcy, University of Baltimore Law School, Baltimore, MD

June 11, 2019

UB Law School

LLM-level course on the treatment of federal and state tax liabilities in chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcy cases, and how to determine when tax liabilities will become dischargeable, non-priority debts.

Discharging Tax Debts in Bankruptcy, University of Baltimore Law School, Baltimore, MD

May 31, 2017

UB Law School

LLM-level course on the treatment of federal and state tax liabilities in chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcy cases, and how to determine when tax liabilities will become dischargeable, non-priority debts.

IRS Transcripts & Statutes of Limitations, 2018 ABA Tax Section Mid-Year Meeting, San Diego, CA

February 9, 2018

American Bar Association - Tax Section

Joint presentation with Giovanni Alberotanza and Joshua Wu on interpreting IRS transcripts and calculating statutes of limitations.

Discharging Tax Debts in Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Tax Course, University of Baltimore Law School

June 5, 2013

University of Baltimore Law School, Graduate Tax Program

Survey course on the treatment of tax debts in bankruptcy, including calculation of the time periods under BC 507 and BC 523, treatment of penalties and interest, and the effect of collection actions and liens on how tax debts can be handled in bankruptcy.

Q. My loans were forgiven due to a medical hardship (disability). Is there any exception to making that income?

April 7, 2016

A: Yes, Congress in its infinite wisdom, chose to treat the forgiveness of debt as income for tax purposes, despite the liquidity problem that comes with a taxpayer being so broke a bank won't chase them for money, but then hitting a broke person with a big income tax bill. But they do it anyway. The most common exception to the inclusion of "discharge of indebtedness income" is the insolvency exception found Internal Revenue Code Section 108(a)(1)(b). That exception states that you do not have to include the forgiven debt in income for tax purposes to the extent you were insolvent at the time the debt was forgiven. This requires an analysis of your income and liabilities as of the date the loan was forgiven, which takes place on a Form 982 attached to your income tax return. If your debts exceed your assets, you are insolvent. If your debts were at least $77,710 more than your assets on the date the loan was forgiven, then none of the forgiven debt needs to be included in income. You can get more information on cancellation of debt income by reading IRS Publication 4681. You should also have a CPA prepare your tax return for the year the debt was forgiven and provide them with all of the information necessary to complete the insolvency worksheet. If you cannot claim the insolvency exception, or it provides incomplete relief, you may be stuck with the tax bill. But there is a world of options after that for dealing with unpayable tax debts, for which you should consult knowledgeable tax counsel. ... Read More

Q. i was recently (sept 2015) discharged from a chapter 13 bankruptcy, the irs was included in my payment plan i recently

April 7, 2016

A: The IRS is often very bad about posting payments received during bankruptcy to the correct modules. A chapter 13 plan must pay all of the "priority" tax debts in full over the life of the plan. So the IRS should have applied the money they received from your plan payments to your priority tax debts. So the question is, which of your IRS debts were priority debts as of the date of your bankruptcy petition. The nonpriority debts should have been subject to the discharge upon completion of your plan payments. If the IRS is attempting to collect tax debts that were discharged, then they are in violation of the permanent injunction that arises upon entry of the discharge order and your bankruptcy attorney should be willing to help. The same is true if they screwed up posting the plan payments and are attempting to collect debts that were, in fact, paid during the bankruptcy. Often, the analysis of how tax debts should be classified and handled in bankruptcy is complicated and difficult to understand, by debtors, bankruptcy attorneys, and the IRS Insolvency Unit. However, it is possible, after the fact, to figure out where the payments should have been applied and get it corrected by working with IRS Insolvency. The bankruptcy attorneys can usually handle this. But if yours are unwilling to do so, then you may need to hire new bankruptcy counsel or specialized tax counsel to assist. ... Read More

Q. Can the IRS overrule a court document for claiming dependants.

April 7, 2016

A: In general, the person who provides more than half the support for the dependent is entitled to claim the exemption for that dependent on their tax return. However, exemptions for dependents can be allocated between former spouses by agreement. It is quite common in divorce cases for spouses to allocate the tax attributes in this manner. It sounds like there is a provision in your marital separation agreement ("MSA") saying you are entitled to the exemption. If I had to guess, your son's mother has continued claiming him as a dependent despite the provision in the MSA. The IRS computer is set up to catch when two returns are filed listing the same person as a dependent. If your ex-wife filed her return first, claiming your son, then your return would have tripped the system and resulted in adjustments. But the proper response to the adjustments would be to provide a copy of the MSA and proof that you have been, at all times, current with your support payments, and the IRS should have adjusted your ex-wife's return and left yours alone. You may be able to file amended tax returns to reverse the IRS adjustments, but you may want to hire counsel in order to do this as the amended returns will almost certainly be subjected to scrutiny with regard to the exemption. In addition, there is a limited time for you to do this. You have only until 4/15/16 to file an amended return for your 2012 taxes in order to claim any refund due to you. For the years before 2012, I'm afraid you're out of luck unless you have made any payments within the last two years. ... Read More