Dan Pilla’s Research Reports

Dan Pilla has written dozens of Special Reports and hundreds of articles on issues regarding taxpayers’ rights, problems resolution and tax policy. Below is an index of some of Dan’s key reports.

New Home Foreclosure and Debt Forgiveness
What Every Citizen Needs to Know About Losing a Home Read Now!  With the current wave of mortgage foreclosures and credit card debt problems, every American needs to know about the hidden traps in the tax code. You also need to know about the new law that provides relief in the case of a home foreclosure. This Special Report examines several ways to protect yourself from all kinds of cancellation of debt income.

Is it Time to Re-Evaluate Your Tax Withholding?
Don’t Let the IRS Keep Your Money.
Read Now!  This article shows you now to adjust your wage withholding so you don’t over pay your taxes every month. This article is excerpted from the January 2008 issue of  Pilla Talks Taxes , our monthly electronic newsletter.

Dan Pilla's Guide to Starting Your Own Business
Considerations for a Business Structure and Operation
Read Now!  More people every year consider starting their own business, either because they are forced to due to loss of employment or because they wish to finally strike out on their own. Because of this, I am regularly asked whether it’s true that a small business in general, and a home-based business in particular, really can provide tax benefits that ordinary wage-earners usually miss out on. 

Releasing Wage and Bank Levies Read now!  A step-by-step guide to preventing and stopping IRS levies on your paycheck and bank account.

How to Challenge Tax Audit Decisions
What Every Citizen Needs to Know About a Notice of Deficiency
Read Now ! Every citizen needs to know how to challenge tax audit results, and that means every citizen needs to know how to challenge a Notice of Deficiency. If you have a Notice of Deficiency or are currently going through a tax audit, you need to read this report before another day goes by!

Penalty Special Report
Read Now!  A detailed guide on how to cancel tax penalties.

Tax Court Trouble Shooting Guide
Read Now! After helping countless hundreds of people with cases before the United States Tax Court, I know that you can be successful with your case only by paying attention to the details. The Tax Court’s Rules of Practice and Procedure establish the format that must be followed at all stages of a Tax Court case. Although the rules are not particularly complicated, they sometimes pose problems or questions which, if not handled properly, can lead to serious consequences. 

Implementing National Health Care
Read Now! Unless there is a substantial change in leadership in Washington in the next election, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will go into effect as planned.  Taxpayers and the IRS will be challenged as never before.

To Convert or Not to Convert
Considerations for Converting a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA
Read Now!  This report originally appeared as an article in the August 2006 issue of our newsletter Pilla Talks Taxes. The report spells out all the factors you should consider before converting your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. It also goes through the differences between the two retirement plans. Don’t make move with your traditional IRA before reading this report.

Treasury Inspector General Fingers the IRS
Read Now!   A firestorm of controversy preceded the release of the report of Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) on the IRS's handling of the applications for exempt status of certain advocacy groups. The report, released May 14, 2013, is the culmination of work by TIGTA that began because of complaints made to various congressmen about the way the IRS was handling applications for tax-exempt status under code section 501(c)(4).  See: "Inappropriate Criteria Were Used to Identify Tax-Exempt Applications for Review," TIGTA Reference No. 2013-10-053, May 14, 2013.  What does this all mean? How can it affect me?  Click here  to read the rest of my latest report the IRS Abuse Scandal.

Freedom to Prosper
Read Now! Analyzing the Merits of Replacing State Income Tax Systems with a Broad-based Sales Tax.

How the IRS Tries to Make You Die Poor
Read Now! A fascinating study of the problems with the current tax system and recommendations for a tax system that is simple, fair and efficient. In the study, Dan calls for the elimination of the income tax and the IRS.

A Monument of Deficient Wisdom
The Constitutional Conflict in Federal Income Tax Law Enforcement
Read Now!  This study was written for the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dan’s role as member of the editorial board of the Road Map to Tax Reform Project. Dan’s contribution studies specifically how the graduated income tax system is fundamentally at odds with our historical constitutional principles.

The Untax Promise
Read Now! A detailed guide to the popular tax protester and tax avoidance arguments. In this report, Dan debunks many myths about “untaxing” yourself. Dan’s thorough research includes court opinions and detailed analysis of the tax code

Why You Can’t Trust the IRS
Read Now! This is the study that Dan produced for the Cato Institute, a leading public policy research institute in Washington, D.C. This report shook the IRS like nothing else that ever hit Washington.

Why Trusts Don’t Work
Read Now! This is a thorough explanation of why one of the country’s most prominent tax scams cannot work to reduce or eliminate your income taxes. In this detailed report, Dan explains in simple terms why domestic and offshore trusts are doomed to failure and what you can do if you’re already involved in one.

Family Limited Partnerships: Not an Estate Planning Panacea
Read Now ! The latest fad in estate planning is the Family Limited Partnership. While this strategy offers some opportunity for tax savings, when mistakes are made, the results can be disastrous. This report shows how to avoid fatal mistakes with Family Limited Partnerships.

Why Pay Income Taxes: A Lesson Learned the Hard Way
Read Now ! On a large marquee outside his Las Vegas office, Irwin Schiff asks the question, "Why Pay Income Taxes?"  Irwin Schiff is a long-time tax protester who claims that "no law" requires the filing of tax returns or the payment of taxes. But as attractive as that idea might sound, Schiff’s legal theories are completely bogus.

The above reports are just a few of the many research reports and articles Dan has written in his electronic newsletter, Pilla Talks Taxes .  Since 1988, Dan has been keeping individuals current on the latest tax laws, strategies and defenses to protect and defend your rights, reduce your taxes and avoid problems with the IRS.     ORDER Now!   and stay ahead of the IRS.