Assignment of Income Doctrine: Did Hoensheid Turn the World Upside Down?

The anticipatory assignment of income doctrine has been used effectively by the Internal Revenue Service to tax gain from the sale of property to a donor even though the donor gave the property away before the sale closed. Many practitioners assumed that so long as there was not a binding commitment to consummate the sale, the assignment of income doctrine would not apply. Was that really the law? Did Hoensheid, a Tax Court memorandum decision, overturn over 40 years precedent? Or is it simply another step in the evolution of the doctrine? This session analyzes the development and current state of the assignment of income doctrine and its applicability to pre-sale gifts and charitable contributions. Our expert faculty will also discuss the appraisal and documentation requirements for ensuring that taxpayers get benefit of their charitable donations. During this course you’ll learn about: - Judicial development of the (anticipatory) assignment of income doctrine - Hoensheid case: the facts, the controversies, the holding, and lessons learned - Post-Hoensheid takeaways: File documentation, donation timing and the liquidity event, and evidentiary considerations - Statutory assignment of income doctrine