Overview
Honigman’s Insurance Tax practice group provides a broad range of services—from advising for-profit and tax-exempt clients of their U.S. state and federal tax filing requirements in cross-border insurance transactions to designing and implementing tax-efficient U.S. inbound, outbound and multi-state structures and joint venture arrangements.
Our attorneys counsel participants in insurance transactions at all levels, including policyholders, owners, privately held and publicly traded companies, subchapter S corporations, partnerships, LLCs, tax-exempt and governmental organizations, and trade associations, and assist them in navigating the web of complex tax issues inherent in the industry such as those involving:
International – tax treaties, withholding taxes, Subpart F/anti-deferral rules, US trade or business, passive foreign investment companies, non-controlled foreign corporations, foreign tax credits, federal excise taxes, and domestication elections
Federal - the deductibility and taxation of insurance premiums, return premiums, retrospective assessments/credits, policyholder and shareholder dividends, subscriber savings accounts, and loss reserves; treatment of stock insurance companies, mutuals, reciprocals, risk retention groups, and micro captives; unrelated business income tax, private inurement and other aspects related to tax-exempt status; and entity classification elections/choice of entity
State – in cooperation with our state and local tax practice, physical and economic nexus, direct/self/independent procurement taxes, surplus lines taxes, and premium taxes
As a complement to our extensive planning and advisory services, we have vast experience in representing taxpayers in connection with:
Compliance – preparation of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Forms 5471, 926, 720, 1120-F, SS-4 and the series of W-8/W-9 FATCA forms, Bureau of Economic Analysis survey forms, state procurement tax filings, and foreign bank account reports/FBARs
Controversy – in cooperation with our Litigation Department, responding to IRS audits and state tax examinations, assertion of defenses in penalty abatement situations and appearing in administrative tribunals and courts
Mergers & acquisitions/private offerings/rulings – in cooperation with our Tax practice group and Corporate Department, negotiation and drafting of tax provisions in purchase and sale agreements, preparation of documents in support of tax-free reorganization treatment, drafting of private placement memoranda/offering materials and processing of IRS private letter rulings
Financial statements - preparation of documentation and projections in support of tax return and financial statement positions, including matters involving FIN 48, FAS 5/ASC 450-20, and APB 23/ASC 740.
For purposes of following emerging trends and anticipating potential changes in tax laws or procedures that may affect our clients, we monitor, in cooperation with the practice groups and departments noted above, the development of tax laws through contacts with Congressional tax staffs, the U.S. Treasury Department, the IRS, state agencies/regulators, trade associations, and industry groups/insiders, in addition to accessing our vast library of digital information services and tax publications.