Tax Attorney in Austin, TX

Often yes — on income sourced to California even after the move. Under Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §17041 and FTB Publication 1031, equity compensation that vested while you rendered services in California is California-source income on sale, even years after you relocate. Severance and deferred comp tied to California services follow the same rule. The FTB issues residency audits on a four-to-six-year lookback. The move itself is fully legal — what catches people is filing as a nonresident for the year of relocation without sourcing the pre-move California-earned items properly. We see this pattern weekly with Tesla, Oracle, Apple, and Google transplants.

No. Texas is one of nine states with no personal income tax. The Texas Constitution prohibits a state income tax on individuals without a statewide voter referendum. That said, Texas does impose franchise tax on most business entities under Tex. Tax Code Chapter 171, sales-and-use tax under Chapter 151 (8.25% in Austin including the 2% local rate), and Texas Workforce Commission unemployment tax on employers. Federal income tax filed on Form 1040 with the IRS applies in full.

The U.S. Tax Court holds Austin trial sessions at the Homer Thornberry Federal Judicial Building at 903 San Jacinto Boulevard, Austin TX 78701. A petitioner designates Austin as the preferred place of trial on the petition under Tax Court Rule 140. Sessions are scheduled on rotation rather than monthly. If the Austin calendar is overcrowded, the case may also route to San Antonio, Dallas, or Houston depending on the judge's schedule. Small-tax-case procedure under IRC §7463 is available for deficiencies of $50,000 or less per year.

An incentive stock option exercise creates an Alternative Minimum Tax preference equal to the spread between exercise price and fair market value on exercise date, under IRC §56(b)(3) and §55. If you exercise-and-hold past the calendar year, you owe AMT on that phantom spread even if you never sell, and even if the stock subsequently drops below the exercise price. The AMT credit under IRC §53 lets you recover the prepayment over future years when regular tax exceeds tentative minimum tax — but the cash-flow squeeze in the exercise year is real. Disqualifying-disposition planning (selling within the same year) avoids AMT but converts the spread to ordinary income.

Under Tex. Tax Code §111.201, the Comptroller generally has four years from the date a tax becomes due to assess the deficiency. The period extends where the return was not filed, where fraud is found, or where the taxpayer signs a written waiver to extend. The federal IRS Collection Statute Expiration Date (10 years from assessment under IRC §6502) runs independently from the state SOL. For Austin transplants, the California FTB applies a four-year SOL on assessment (extended to six years for substantial omissions and unlimited for unfiled returns) under Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §19057.

Yes. A levy under IRC §6331 reaches property and rights to property held by or for the taxpayer, including brokerage accounts. Once the broker (Fidelity, E-Trade, Charles Schwab, Morgan Stanley) receives a levy, it segregates the account and holds funds for 21 days under IRC §6332(c) before remittance. Pre-IPO restricted positions and unvested RSUs sit in different categories — the IRS levy power on contingent property is narrower — but cash-settled vested positions and vested-but-unsold shares are fully reachable. Acting in the 21-day window matters: a properly-filed CDP request or accepted CNC suspends the levy before the broker remits.

Probably yes for the federal trust-fund portion. IRC §6672 assesses a Trust Fund Recovery Penalty against any "responsible person" who "willfully" failed to pay over withheld taxes — the FICA and federal income-tax withholding portion of Form 941. The IRS conducts a Form 4180 interview to identify responsible persons. Anyone with check-signing authority, payroll-decision authority, or knowledge of the unpaid taxes can be assessed personally — that means founders, head-of-finance, even a controller in certain fact patterns. For Austin SaaS startups, this often catches multiple people because cap-table authority and check-signing authority overlap. On the state side, Texas Comptroller sales-tax responsible-person liability operates on similar principles for entities that collect sales tax in trust.

Yes. IRC §7345 authorizes the IRS to certify "seriously delinquent" tax debt — currently $62,000 for 2026, indexed for inflation — to the State Department, which may then deny passport renewal or revoke an active passport. The certification reverses when the debt is paid, an IA is in place, an accepted OIC is in force, an active CDP hearing is pending, or Innocent Spouse Relief is in process. Austin engineers traveling internationally for work, founders raising capital overseas, and remote workers on extended trips abroad face real revocation exposure. Decertification typically processes within 30 days once a qualifying resolution is in place.

Three federal items recur on Austin STR audits. First, IRC §280A limits deductions when personal use exceeds the greater of 14 days or 10% of rental days — many Austin owners trip the personal-use clock with SXSW and ACL season blocking. Second, if the average rental period is seven days or less, the activity is not "rental" for passive-loss purposes — it is a trade or business under Treas. Reg. §1.469-1T(e)(3), which means material-participation testing under IRC §469 controls whether losses are deductible. Third, schedule and depreciation classification — furniture, fixtures, and the 27.5-year residential schedule versus cost-segregation acceleration under IRC §168 — is frequently mishandled on the original return and reopened on audit.

Federal tax-resolution fees vary by matter complexity. A straightforward Installment Agreement typically falls between $1,500 and $3,500. A full Offer in Compromise with Form 433 financial analysis runs $4,000 to $7,500. Audit defense depends on the audit type and the number of issues. A U.S. Tax Court petition with case workup and trial preparation generally starts at $6,000 and rises with case complexity. A combined federal-plus-California FTB residency audit defense for an Austin transplant runs higher because it involves two agencies and two statutes. VTL provides a written fee quote after the free consultation. Cal Bar Rule 7.1 prohibits comparisons claiming we are cheaper or faster than competitors without verifiable substantiation, so we do not market on price.

Yes. Communications between you and a licensed attorney for the purpose of seeking legal advice are protected by federal common-law attorney-client privilege, subject to the usual exceptions (crime-fraud, waiver, third-party presence). The narrower federally-authorized tax practitioner privilege under IRC §7525 applies to non-attorney CPAs and EAs but does not extend to criminal-tax matters or to written tax-shelter communications. An attorney handling your tax case retains the broader privilege that survives criminal investigation, which matters significantly if a civil audit shifts to a Criminal Investigation Division referral.

A Tax Court trial is a bench trial — no jury — before a Judge or Special Trial Judge of the U.S. Tax Court. The session opens with calendar call where the Court hears scheduling and motion issues. Most cases on the calendar settle before trial; the IRS Office of Chief Counsel attorney for the case meets with petitioner's counsel during the days before trial. If trial proceeds, the petitioner generally bears the burden of proof, presents evidence and witness testimony, and the Court issues a written opinion typically within several months after trial. Small-tax-case procedure under IRC §7463 applies to deficiencies of $50,000 or less per year per period and uses simplified evidentiary rules.

Yes, generally. IRC §6331(k)(1) suspends levy action while an offer is pending and for 30 days after a rejection, plus during any timely-filed Appeals review of a rejection. The IRS will not levy on you while a processable OIC is being evaluated. However, the IRS may still file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien during the OIC pendency to protect its position — the lien is not a levy. CSED is also tolled during pendency, which can matter when the original ten-year clock is close to expiring. A poorly-prepared OIC that gets returned (not rejected) does not provide the same protection — processability matters, and Forms 433-A(OIC) and 433-B(OIC) must be technically complete.

For administrative redetermination at the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings, taxpayers may represent themselves or be represented by an attorney, a CPA, or another authorized representative under Texas Comptroller rules. SOAH sits in Austin so most contested-case hearings happen locally. For judicial review in Travis County district court, an attorney admitted in Texas is required. VTL handles the federal side of overlapping matters and coordinates with Texas counsel where state-court litigation is necessary. Many Comptroller disputes resolve at the SOAH stage without ever reaching state court.