Tax Attorney in Fort Worth, TX

No to both. Texas has no personal income tax — the Texas Constitution requires a statewide voter referendum to impose one. Fort Worth has no city wage tax either. What the city and county do levy is ad valorem property tax (collected by the Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector at 100 E Weatherford Street) and a combined 7.75% sales tax inside Fort Worth (6.25% state under Chapter 151, 1% Fort Worth city, 0.5% Fort Worth Transportation Authority/Trinity Metro, 0% Tarrant County). Federal income tax under IRC Subtitle A still applies in full to Fort Worth residents through Form 1040 filings with the IRS.

The U.S. Tax Court does not hold trial sessions in Fort Worth itself. The nearest designated place of trial is Dallas, at the Earle Cabell Federal Building, 1100 Commerce Street, on the 13th floor courtrooms — about 30 miles east of downtown Fort Worth. A Tarrant County petitioner designates Dallas as the preferred place of trial under Tax Court Rule 140 in the petition; the Court routes the case accordingly. Cases involving deficiencies of $50,000 or less per year qualify for Small Tax Case procedure under IRC §7463 with simplified rules of evidence and no right of appeal.

Generally no. 49 USC §40116(f) preempts state taxation of compensation paid to an air-carrier employee performing duties in more than one state. Pay is taxable only by the state in which the employee resides and, in limited circumstances, by a state where the employee earns more than 50% of compensation. For a pilot or flight attendant who resides in Texas and is based at DFW, no other state generally has the right to tax flight-crew compensation. We have unwound state PIT assessments where a former-residence state continued to issue notices after the move — the federal statute controls, and we cite it in the protest. The IRS still applies federal income tax under IRC Subtitle A on the same wages.

RSU vesting is taxed as ordinary income under IRC §83 when the shares vest, with employer supplemental withholding capped at 22% for the first $1M of supplemental wages and 37% above that — which leaves a gap if your marginal rate is higher. The standard playbook for a Lockheed or Bell Textron engineer: (1) confirm the vested-share basis on the W-2 and the broker 1099-B match (this is where most CP2000 notices originate); (2) file the return on time even if you cannot pay; (3) request a Streamlined Installment Agreement if the balance is under $50,000 or a Non-Streamlined IA above that; (4) consider a partial-pay structure if the balance and your runway justify it. If the bill grew because of ISO AMT exposure stacked on RSU income, the analysis is different — AMT credit carryforward under IRC §53 can recover the tax in later years. Cleared employees should also treat an unpaid balance as a potential SF-86 adjudication issue.

Several federal tax provisions specifically protect reservists and active-duty members assigned to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth. Combat-zone exclusion under IRC §112 removes qualifying pay from gross income while serving in a designated combat zone or qualified hazardous duty area. IRC §7508 postpones tax deadlines (filing, payment, deficiency, claim for refund) for at least 180 days after the last day of combat-zone service. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act caps interest at 6% on pre-service debts and provides additional protections against collection while on active duty. The Military Spouses Residency Relief Act lets a spouse keep a prior state's domicile when the family relocates on orders — useful when a Texas-based family came from a state with a PIT and wants to keep claiming Texas domicile. We can handle the IRS side and coordinate with JAG for SCRA enforcement where needed.

Railroad Retirement Board benefits split into two pieces for tax purposes. Tier I (the Social Security-equivalent portion) is taxed under IRC §86 the same way Social Security benefits are taxed — up to 85% is includible in gross income depending on combined income. Tier II (the contributory annuity above Social Security) is treated as a private pension under IRC §72(r), with after-tax employee contributions recovered tax-free under the Simplified Method. BNSF employees who took lump-sum distributions or who started benefits mid-year often have W-2 / Form RRB-1099 / Form RRB-1099-R reconciliation issues that generate CP2000 letters. We pull the transcripts and reconcile the reporting.

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 is extended where the return was not filed, where fraud is found, or where the taxpayer signs a written waiver. Texas has no state PIT, so there is no individual-income-tax SOL to worry about. The federal IRS Collection Statute Expiration Date (10 years from assessment under IRC §6502) runs independently from any state SOL.

Yes. The California Franchise Tax Board applies the nine-factor residency test from FTB Publication 1031 and routinely audits former Californians for years after a Texas move — particularly where the taxpayer kept a California home, family ties, professional licenses, voter registration, or vehicle registration in California. Post-2020 the FTB has been especially active against tech and entertainment movers settling in Tarrant County and the Plano-Frisco-McKinney corridor. The departing-resident audit can reach the year of departure and any year the taxpayer maintained meaningful California contacts. VTL handles federal-IRS work directly and coordinates with California counsel on the state-residency audit through Form 2848.

Probably yes. A U.S. person (citizen, green-card holder, or resident under the Substantial Presence Test) with signature or financial interest in foreign financial accounts that aggregate more than $10,000 at any point during the calendar year must file FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR). Higher thresholds apply to Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets) attached to the 1040. Inherited accounts count from the date of inheritance forward. For Tarrant County Vietnamese-American families whose elders held accounts in Vietnam, Cambodia, or Thailand, this is one of the most common compliance gaps we resolve. Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures may be available for non-willful violations; voluntary disclosure is the path for willful exposure. Penalties for willful non-filing reach 50% of the account balance per year, so the early conversation matters.

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 employee FICA and federal income-tax withholding portion of Form 941, not the employer's matching share. 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. The Texas Workforce Commission state-unemployment side is separate. The Texas Comptroller sales-tax responsible-person liability operates under 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 Installment Agreement is in place, an accepted OIC is in force, an active CDP hearing is pending, or Innocent Spouse Relief is in process. For American Airlines flight crew based at DFW, Lockheed F-35 customer-support liaisons traveling to allied air forces, Bell Textron rotorcraft engineers on overseas programs, and BNSF executives crossing into Mexico, decertification is often urgent and can be processed in 30 days or less once the right vehicle is in place.

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 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 complexity. 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 Enrolled Agents but does not extend to criminal-tax matters. An attorney handling your federal tax case retains the broader privilege that survives a criminal-investigation transition.

For administrative redetermination at the Texas Comptroller Hearings Section and the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH), taxpayers may represent themselves or be represented by an attorney, a CPA, or another authorized representative under Comptroller rules — Texas-bar admission is not required at the administrative stage. Redetermination is requested on Form 50-307. For judicial review proceeding 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 franchise-tax and sales-tax disputes resolve at the SOAH stage without ever reaching state court.

Yes, generally. IRC §6331(k)(1) suspends levy action while an offer is pending and for 30 days after a rejection, and 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. CSED is also tolled during the pendency. A poorly-prepared OIC that gets returned (not rejected) does not provide the same protection — processability matters.

IRC §2032A allows a qualifying estate to value farm or ranch real property at its agricultural-use value rather than its highest-and-best-use market value for federal estate-tax purposes, subject to an annual cap on the reduction (indexed; about $1.39M for 2026). The election has strict requirements: a qualified heir, at least five of the eight years preceding death of active material participation by the decedent or a family member, continued qualified use for ten years after death, and a recapture tax if the property is disposed of or stops being used for the qualified purpose during the ten-year period. The election must be made on a timely-filed Form 706. For Fort Worth Stockyards-heritage ranching families whose land has appreciated to developer-market value, the difference between §2032A valuation and FMV can be the difference between paying estate tax and not paying it. We coordinate the federal estate-tax filing and the §2032A election; Texas-bar counsel handles probate.