North Star Tax and Legal Briefing

Daily Debits Eating Your Revenue? A Bankruptcy Court Just Showed How Merchant Cash Advance Debt Can Be Attacked

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 02:40:05 -0500

A bankruptcy court avoided two merchant cash advance obligations as constructively fraudulent — wiping out promises to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars at triple-digit effective rates. We break down how the constructive fraud rules reach MCA debt, why New Mexico's repealed usury caps make this theory the main event, and what to check in any advance agreement before you sign. Full written analysis with citations: https://nm-legal.net/mca-merchant-cash-advance-fraudulent-transfer-new-mexico/

Ghost Preparers, AI Audits, and Fraud Victim Relief: Seven Tax Bills Just Moved, and Five Could Matter in New Mexico

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 04:18:20 -0500

Congress just advanced seven bills that change how the IRS operates, and five of them passed without a single no vote. This episode walks through what they would do — real penalties for ghost preparers, a theft-loss deduction for romance and impersonation scam victims, and oversight for AI-driven audit selection — and why they matter for New Mexico taxpayers. Full written analysis with citations: https://nm-legal.net/ways-means-tax-administration-bills-2026-new-mexico-taxpayers/

Funding a Child’s Trump Account? The IRS Just Drew the Gift Tax Line, and It Is Narrower Than You Think

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:47:24 -0500

Trump Accounts opened for contributions this summer, and the IRS's new Revenue Procedure 2026-25 safe harbor decides whether funding one is a reportable gift. This episode walks through the five all-or-nothing conditions, the routine family moves that quietly break the harbor, and the sequencing rule that keeps a family's contributions clean. Read the full analysis with citations at https://nm-legal.net/trump-accounts-gift-tax-safe-harbor-rev-proc-2026-25/

Scammed in a ’Pig Butchering’ Investment Fraud? The Tax Code May Give New Mexico Victims Back a Piece

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 20:46:15 -0500

Pig butchering scams cost victims billions, but the tax code may return a meaningful piece of what was stolen — if the loss qualifies as an investment-motivated theft. This briefing walks through who still qualifies after the 2017 law change, why the deduction lands in the year the theft is discovered, and what a retired Albuquerque couple's $120,000 loss is really worth at filing time. Full written analysis with citations: https://nm-legal.net/pig-butchering-scam-theft-loss-deduction-new-mexico/

The Receivership Order That Locked the Courthouse Door: Mount Acadia and the Fight Over Who Can File Chapter 11

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:46:56 -0500

A California bankruptcy court just dismissed a company's Chapter 11 petition because the receivership order had already stripped management of the power to file it. This episode breaks down the Mount Acadia decision, why the receiver's silence was not ratification, and what the tactic means for both lenders and borrowers heading into a Texas workout. Read the full written analysis at https://htx-legal.net/receivership-order-chapter-11-filing-authority-mount-acadia

How to Stop an IRS Wage Garnishment in New Mexico: What the IRS Can Take, and the Five Ways Out

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 20:03:32 -0500

An IRS wage levy needs no lawsuit and no judgment, and there is no percentage cap on what it can take from a New Mexico paycheck. This briefing explains how the levy actually works, the notice that opens your thirty-day hearing window, and the five paths that get a levy released — plus the separate New Mexico state tax levy that a federal fix leaves untouched. Read the full written analysis at https://nm-legal.net/stop-irs-wage-garnishment-new-mexico/

New Federal Crackdown on Off-the-Books Payroll and ITIN Accounts: What Houston Employers Should Know

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 04:41:56 -0500

A new FinCEN advisory puts off-the-books payroll, labor brokers, and ITIN-based accounts under coordinated scrutiny from banking regulators, the IRS, and immigration enforcement. This briefing covers what the June 2026 guidance says, why the real exposure falls on employers — including personal liability for unpaid payroll taxes — and what Houston businesses should do now. Read the full analysis: https://htx-legal.net/fincen-itin-payroll-tax-fraud-advisory-houston-employers

When Can a Servicer Keep Your Cash? The Seventh Circuit’s CMBS Cash-Sweep Ruling and What Borrowers Should Watch

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 01:35:33 -0500

A federal appeals court just revived a commercial borrower's fight over a CMBS cash sweep that trapped millions in rental income — all because two clauses in the same cash-management agreement pointed in opposite directions. This episode breaks down what a cash sweep is, what the Aberdeen decision means for borrowers, and the drafting fix that prevents the dispute. Read the full analysis at https://htx-legal.net/cmbs-cash-sweep-excess-cash-flow-ambiguity-borrower-protections

Can a Bankruptcy Trustee Claw Back Money From a Downstream Recipient? Section 550 After ONH

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 12:48:43 -0500

A bankruptcy trustee can reach past the person who took money straight from a failed business and sue whoever received it later. A recent Delaware decision holds the trustee must actually undo the original transfer, but does not have to sue that first recipient to do it. What it means for creditors chasing a recovery, and for anyone facing a clawback years after the deposit cleared: https://htx-legal.net/fraudulent-transfer-subsequent-transferee-section-550-onh-texas

Losing Your Appeal to Mootness Isn’t ’Irreparable Harm’: The Del Monte Stay Ruling and What Objecting Creditors Must Prove

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 19:36:54 -0500

When a Chapter 11 plan is consummated, an objecting creditor's appeal can die as equitably moot — and the Del Monte Foods ruling shows that the risk of mootness alone won't win a stay pending appeal. This briefing covers the four stay factors and the kind of concrete, non-economic harm objectors must actually prove. Read the full analysis: https://htx-legal.net/equitable-mootness-stay-pending-appeal-confirmation-order-del-monte

Who Owns the Fraud Claim? When a Customer’s Bankruptcy Doesn’t Take Your Right to Sue Its Officers

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 03:16:02 -0500

Your customer goes bankrupt after its officers assured you it was healthy — so who owns the fraud claim against them, you or the estate? A recent Delaware decision held vendor fraud claims stay with the vendors, because reliance is personal. What Houston suppliers and distressed-asset buyers need to know. Full analysis at https://htx-legal.net/insights

The Simmons Case: Why "It's in My Accounting Software" Won't Save Your Deductions

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:19:48 -0500

A real business spent real money, kept its books in accounting software — and still lost most of its deductions in Tax Court. One owner's income was recharacterized from about $6,000 to roughly $224,000, with a 20% penalty on top. We walk through where the Simmons case was lost, unpapered loans, cars with no documented business purpose, and the one place the taxpayers won. Build audit-proof records before the notice arrives. Full analysis at htx-legal.net.