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Tax

Overview

While taxes are always front of mind for businesses, recent changes to federal tax law and a significant boost in funding for tax enforcement in the U.S. have reinforced the need for sophisticated guidance in this area. In this new era, businesses need experienced lawyers who can help with their most challenging and complex tax issues.

Crowell’s Tax Group is a full-service team that provides U.S. federal and state tax advice and representation in all types of business transactions as well as tax controversies and litigation. We represent public and private businesses of all types in the insurance, energy, communications, software, high technology, consumer goods, chemicals, hospitality, financial services, automotive leasing, and retail sectors. We also advise tax-exempt organizations, including not-for-profit health care organizations, educational institutions, cultural institutions, foundations, and trade associations in a wide range of matters.

Experienced and Collaborative Team

With decades of experience advising clients on tax issues – and only tax issues – our team has deep knowledge of this area and all aspects of IRS and state administrative proceedings. Our lawyers are also deeply familiar with the inner workings of the government. Clients benefit from the prior government experience many of our lawyers have with the Department of Justice Tax Division, and IRS Office of Chief Counsel. Agency staff know and respect our firm, are willing to work with our team, and have developed highly productive relationships with our attorneys. 

A hallmark of working with Crowell, and an advantage for clients, is the collaboration between attorneys in the tax practice who call on each other as needed and draw on the experience of attorneys and professionals within other practices as well.

How We Can Help You

Tax Audits, Appeals and Litigation

Crowell & Moring’s Tax Group handles more active tax litigation matters than many of its much larger competitors. In recent years, members of the group have handled tax controversies and litigation on behalf of leading insurance, telecommunications, software, defense, and financial services firms.

Clients appreciate our long history of achieving outstanding results in tax controversy and litigation. Our tax group has litigated numerous tax cases before the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, U.S. district courts, U.S. bankruptcy courts, U.S. courts of appeals, and various state courts.

We recognize that litigation is a last resort and make innovative use of IRS Appeals, Fast Track Settlement, Post‐Appeals Mediation, Industry Issue Resolution, Pre‐Filing Agreements, Compliance Assurance Program (CAP), and other alternative dispute resolution techniques.

Administrative Practice

The Tax Group has a robust administrative practice representing clients before the IRS and state tax authorities. This part of our controversy practice, which is by its nature non-public, involves large-dollar controversies for companies across a number of industries (involving asserted tax liabilities from $50 million to over $700 million).

Clients trust us with large-dollar cases because we have a strong track record in resolving cases administratively with the IRS. Our clients also have confidence that, if necessary, we have the trial experience to bring large, complex tax cases to court and win.

Transfer Pricing Practice

Our transfer pricing practice helps multinational companies resolve international tax disputes through the United States’ tax treaty network, most recently in the furniture, hospitality, and chemical industries.

We regularly appear before the IRS’s Advance Pricing and Mutual Agreement office (APMA), where we have been successful in resolving transfer pricing disputes involving hundreds of millions of dollars as well as penalties in the tens of millions of dollars. 

Our other service areas include:

  • ERISA, Employee Benefits, and Executive Compensation
  • Inflation Reduction Act
  • International Tax
  • Non-profit and Tax-Exempt Organizations
  • Partnership Tax
  • State and Local Tax
  • Tax Accounting
  • Transactional Tax

Contacts

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Insights

Client Alert | 5 min read | 05.05.25

Is Your 501(c)(3) Audit-Ready?

In the wake of the Trump Administration’s recent scrutiny of various nonprofit organizations, including Harvard University, and threats to revoke organizations’ tax-exempt status, nonprofit organizations should take proactive steps in the event of an IRS audit that may target their federal tax-exempt status. Proactive planning and preparation measures are essential to being well-equipped to deal with potential IRS inquiries or an audit. The faster and more efficiently an IRS inquiry can be concluded, the better likelihood of avoiding a full audit or worse, revocation of status. An organization may be particularly vulnerable where there has been any level of political involvement that could be viewed as controversial, but also involvement with activities and efforts focused on renewable energy and diversity, equity & inclusion (“DEI”) may now cause additional scrutiny of an organization’s tax-exempt status. Common potential foot-faults that can bring an organization into the crosshairs (and which are oftentimes not fully considered in light of potential risk of revocation of tax-exempt status) include negotiating typical agreements, including commercial contracting and similar arrangements, where contractual provisions may call for representations and commitments from a non-profit around its DEI efforts or similar efforts. Extra care should be taken to review such instances and other potential activities that may increase the organization’s risk of IRS audit....

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Representative Matters

  • Representing a foreign-based multinational retail company in a competent authority matter involving a Swiss affiliate’s sale of tangible goods to U.S. subsidiary. 
  • Representing a U.S.-based hospitality company in bilateral U.S.-Swiss and unilateral advance pricing agreements related to high-value services. 
  • Advised a multinational software company on transfer pricing options to restructure its Luxembourg intellectual property management company in light of changes in local and European Union law and under the BEPS initiative (129 subsidiaries in 38 countries).
  • Represented technology companies in IRS Exam, IRS Appeals, and competent authority proceedings concerning buy-in royalty and cost-share payments; when the IRS proposed designating one company’s cost-sharing case for litigation, we succeeded in resolving the matter without litigation. 

Litigation

  • AT&T Advertising, L.P. v. United States, No. 1:16-cv-00272- RTH (Fed. Cl. filed Feb. 26, 2016) (section 199 deduction).
  • BrokerTec Holdings Inc. v. Commissioner, 117 T.C.M. (CCH) 1146, rev’d, 967 F.3d 317 (3d Cir. 2020).
  • Vesta Corporation v. Commissioner, Nos. 26847-16, 26503-17 (T.C. Nov. 13, 2018) (section 199 deduction for software).
  • Trusted Media Brands, Inc. v. United States, 2017-2 U.S.T.C. ¶ 50,359 (S.D.N.Y. 2017), aff’d, 899 F.3d 175 (2d Cir. 2018) (statute of limitations applicable to claim for refund based on change to deduction of foreign taxes paid).
  • District of Columbia Office of Tax & Revenue v. BAE Systems Enterprise Systems, Inc., 56 A.3d 477 (D.C. 2012) (tax credits and incentives for qualified high technology companies).

Contacts

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Insights

Client Alert | 5 min read | 05.05.25

Is Your 501(c)(3) Audit-Ready?

In the wake of the Trump Administration’s recent scrutiny of various nonprofit organizations, including Harvard University, and threats to revoke organizations’ tax-exempt status, nonprofit organizations should take proactive steps in the event of an IRS audit that may target their federal tax-exempt status. Proactive planning and preparation measures are essential to being well-equipped to deal with potential IRS inquiries or an audit. The faster and more efficiently an IRS inquiry can be concluded, the better likelihood of avoiding a full audit or worse, revocation of status. An organization may be particularly vulnerable where there has been any level of political involvement that could be viewed as controversial, but also involvement with activities and efforts focused on renewable energy and diversity, equity & inclusion (“DEI”) may now cause additional scrutiny of an organization’s tax-exempt status. Common potential foot-faults that can bring an organization into the crosshairs (and which are oftentimes not fully considered in light of potential risk of revocation of tax-exempt status) include negotiating typical agreements, including commercial contracting and similar arrangements, where contractual provisions may call for representations and commitments from a non-profit around its DEI efforts or similar efforts. Extra care should be taken to review such instances and other potential activities that may increase the organization’s risk of IRS audit....

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Insights

Client Alert | 5 min read | 05.05.25

Is Your 501(c)(3) Audit-Ready?

Webinar | 04.22.25

The Evolving AI Legal and Policy Landscape: Mid-2025 Update

Speaking Engagement | 04.22.25

"The Evolving AI Legal and Policy Landscape: Mid-2025 Update," Crowell & Moring Webinar, 2025.

Speaking Engagement | 03.27.25

"Not as Easy as it Looks - Choosing the Ethical Path in Tax Matters," IFA USA 53rd Annual Conference

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Professionals

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Insights

Client Alert | 5 min read | 05.05.25

Is Your 501(c)(3) Audit-Ready?

In the wake of the Trump Administration’s recent scrutiny of various nonprofit organizations, including Harvard University, and threats to revoke organizations’ tax-exempt status, nonprofit organizations should take proactive steps in the event of an IRS audit that may target their federal tax-exempt status. Proactive planning and preparation measures are essential to being well-equipped to deal with potential IRS inquiries or an audit. The faster and more efficiently an IRS inquiry can be concluded, the better likelihood of avoiding a full audit or worse, revocation of status. An organization may be particularly vulnerable where there has been any level of political involvement that could be viewed as controversial, but also involvement with activities and efforts focused on renewable energy and diversity, equity & inclusion (“DEI”) may now cause additional scrutiny of an organization’s tax-exempt status. Common potential foot-faults that can bring an organization into the crosshairs (and which are oftentimes not fully considered in light of potential risk of revocation of tax-exempt status) include negotiating typical agreements, including commercial contracting and similar arrangements, where contractual provisions may call for representations and commitments from a non-profit around its DEI efforts or similar efforts. Extra care should be taken to review such instances and other potential activities that may increase the organization’s risk of IRS audit....

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Practices

Contacts

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Insights

Client Alert | 5 min read | 05.05.25

Is Your 501(c)(3) Audit-Ready?

In the wake of the Trump Administration’s recent scrutiny of various nonprofit organizations, including Harvard University, and threats to revoke organizations’ tax-exempt status, nonprofit organizations should take proactive steps in the event of an IRS audit that may target their federal tax-exempt status. Proactive planning and preparation measures are essential to being well-equipped to deal with potential IRS inquiries or an audit. The faster and more efficiently an IRS inquiry can be concluded, the better likelihood of avoiding a full audit or worse, revocation of status. An organization may be particularly vulnerable where there has been any level of political involvement that could be viewed as controversial, but also involvement with activities and efforts focused on renewable energy and diversity, equity & inclusion (“DEI”) may now cause additional scrutiny of an organization’s tax-exempt status. Common potential foot-faults that can bring an organization into the crosshairs (and which are oftentimes not fully considered in light of potential risk of revocation of tax-exempt status) include negotiating typical agreements, including commercial contracting and similar arrangements, where contractual provisions may call for representations and commitments from a non-profit around its DEI efforts or similar efforts. Extra care should be taken to review such instances and other potential activities that may increase the organization’s risk of IRS audit....

View All Insights