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Erin Houck-Toll

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Erin is a dual Florida Bar Board Certified Health and Tax attorney. She concentrates her practice in the areas of federal and state taxation, including representing taxpayers before the IRS and Florida Department of Revenue. Erin also assists clients in many aspects of business planning, health care law matters, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property issues. She also represents nonprofits and tax exempt organizations in various matters, including assisting in initial organization and obtaining tax exempt status. Erin is admitted to practice in the State of Florida and before the United States Tax Court.

Erin may be reached at erin.houck-toll@henlaw.com.

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The Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, along with the Florida Department of Revenue, have extended deadlines for certain entity and tax filings, including payment requirements, including the following:

  1. Annual report filings for entities registered with the state of Florida has been extended to June 30, 2020 (normal deadline is May 1st).
  2. Property taxes for 2019 payment deadline has been extended to April 15, 2020 (normal deadline is March 31st).
  3. For sales and use tax, as well as other related tax returns and payments:
    • Taxpayers who were unable to meet the March 20th due date for taxes collected in February will have penalty and interest waived, if the taxes are reported and remitted by March 31, 2020.
    • Taxpayers who have been adversely affected by COVID-19 have an extended due date to April 30, 2020 for such taxes collected in March.
    • Taxpayers who have not been adversely affected by COVID-19 are required to continue to file and remit taxes no later than the normal due date of April 20, 2020.
    • An adversely affected taxpayer is defined as a business that:
      1. closed in March 2020 in compliance with a state or local governmental order and following the closure, had no taxable sales transactions as a result of such closure; or
      2. experienced sales tax collections in March 2020 that were less than 75% of March 2019 sales tax collections; or
      3. was established after March 2019; or
      4. is registered to file quarterly.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you should have any questions regarding the above.

#FlattenTheCurve

Continue Reading COVID-19: Florida Extends Deadline for Certain Entity and Tax Filings

March 28 Update

Please note that the original post has been updated in its entirety to provide a more comprehensive and final review of the CARES Act tax-related provisions. 

On March 25, the Senate unanimously passed a $2 trillion stimulus package to help individuals, states and businesses devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. On March 27, the House passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act” or the “Act”), and later that day, the President signed it into law.

Below are some of the notable tax-related impacts the CARES Act will provide:
Continue Reading The Impact of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act

There is a change in the federal partnership audit rules that take effect for tax years on or after January 1, 2018, that may impact you.

Who is Affected?

All entities classified as partnerships for federal tax purposes. This includes, for example, multi-member LLC’s that have not elected to be taxed as corporations (C or…

As our area recovers in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, one less thing we need to worry about in the immediate future are certain tax matters. The IRS has issued relief to taxpayers in Presidential Disaster Areas, which includes Lee, Charlotte, and Collier Counties. Among the relief granted, for affected individuals and businesses there is…

As the deadline for filing entity returns closes and the deadline for individual income tax returns approaches, there are issues outside the four corners of the return that taxpayers should keep in mind:

  1. Stay current with your tax obligations. To avoid default or rejection of an installment agreement or offer in compromise under review

…

tax burdenCommercial leases and short-term residential rentals are generally subject to sales tax, and it is the tenant’s responsibility to pay it, but the landlord’s responsibility to collect and remit the tax to the Florida Department of Revenue. Other than writing the check to the landlord for the rent, including the sales tax, the tenant often forgets about the sales tax issues. However, there are areas where the tenant could still be responsible directly to the Department of Revenue, as well as areas for planning when negotiating the lease terms.

What if the landlord fails to pay the Department of Revenue?

Sales taxes are what are commonly referred to as “trust fund taxes,” meaning the person collecting the tax (here, the landlord) is holding those funds in trust for the state. Those monies are the state’s property at the time of collection, and if the landlord fails to pay it to the state, the state can then seek the taxes, penalties, and interest not only from the landlord-entity, but from its owners, officers, and employees who were responsible for paying (or failing to pay) the tax. Depending on the circumstances, criminal sanctions may also be sought.Continue Reading Sales Tax on Leases – Traps for the Unwary