May I Have A Deduction, Please?

Recently released final regulations under section 162(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), make it a necessity to properly draft settlement agreements and court orders between a taxpayer and the government (federal, state or local or any of their agencies) to put the taxpayer in the best tax position possible.  Code Section 162(f) was amended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017 to limit the deductibility of payments made to the government with respect to violations of law or the investigation or inquiry by the government into a potential violation of law by a taxpayer ("Government Payments").

Government Payments may consist of fines, penalties, restitution, remediation and other damages paid as a result of SEC, EPA, and Stark and False Claims Act violations just to name a few.  The general rule is that no portion of a Government Payment may be deducted by a taxpayer.  Fortunately, there is the proverbial exception.  Government Payments