California Tax Legal Questions

All of your and your wife's community property can be reached to pay any tax liability owed since the time of your marriage. The same is also true for tax liability accrued before the marriage. See Family Code ? 910. A small exception exists for earnings by your wife that are kept in a separate deposit account to which you have no access. Family Code ? 911. Your wife's separate property is not subject to the payment of your debts, unless they are considered "necessaries of life." I have not researched whether tax liabilities fall within this category. Of course, your separate property is subject to attachment to pay your tax debt. There are ways to mitigate this problem by way what is known as a "transmutation agreement." You will need to consult a family law attorney for more information on or the preparation of this agreement.... Read More

You apparently have "CODI" - cancellation of debt income. That probably occurred because your basis in the property exceeded the debt. There are ways to avoid CODI. For that you must refer to Internal Revenue Code Section 108. If you cannot pay the IRS then, of course, there is always the possibility of entering into an installment payment agreement or, if you will never be able to pay the IRS, an offer in compromise.... Read More

When you are married, you must either file a joint return with your spouse or a separate return alone. (One exception, if you were separated for the whole year and have a dependent, you may be able to file as head of household or single.) If you are filing separate and had community income while you were living together, then half of your earnings go on his return, and half on yours. That's why they need to know your earnings, and you need to know his. Some couples agree to each report their own earnings, withholding, etc.... Read More

There is indeed a risk that the IRS would view all sales (including sales to people abroad) as being by the US subsidiary, assuming the sales proceeds passed through the US subsidiary's accounts. The arrangement would need to be structured extremely carefully to avoid this problem. I strongly suggest you speak to a tax and business lawyer in the US to assist you with structuring this set of transactions. It is not possible to give specific advice in a public forum like this.... Read More

Whether you need to register your single member LLC in Texas depends on the activities you are conducting under the various fictitious business names. Most states, including Texas, require foreign entities that are transacting business to register with the Secretary of State as a foreign business entity. Also like most States, Texas does not specifically define what constitutes doing business or transacting business. That said, what constitutes doing business in Texas is nearly identical to what constitutes doing business in California and many other states. Section 9.251 of the Texas Business Organizations Code sets forth a list of actions that do not rise to the level of doing business and sets forth the actions a foreign entity may engage in without registering as a foreign entity. If any of the activities engaged in by your single member LLC are other than the ones specified in Section 9.251, a fictitious business name filing will not be sufficient to satisfy the requirement that your foreign entity register in Texas.... Read More