Howard Richshafer joined Wood + Lamping in 2008, and his practice is focused on civil and criminal tax problems, estate planning and probate, tax court trial work, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate business matters. Howard is also a licensed Ohio CPA (inactive). Over the past 40 years, Howard has represented clients experiencing all types of civil and criminal tax problems with IRS. Those problems include IRS audits, IRS criminal investigations, enforced collection of unpaid tax liabilities involving levies, liens, and seizures of assets and income.
From 1968 to 1978, Howard served as an IRS agent with the United States Treasury Department. As a federal IRS agent, Howard held numerous technical and managerial positions. For the past 45 years, Howard has taught as an Adjunct Professor of Taxation in the University of Cincinnati’s Lindner College of Business. He taught six advanced federal tax courses in both the undergraduate and graduate curriculums. In May 2017, he received the Lindner College’s “Outstanding Professor in Tax and Accounting” award for more than 35 consecutive years as an Adjunct Professor of Taxation.
Howard was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in the 25th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America© for his work in Litigation and Controversy — Tax and Tax Law and has consecutively been recognized since 1999 — over 26 consecutive years. He was also recognized as the 2013, 2014, and 2017 Tax Litigation and Controversy “Lawyer of the Year” for Cincinnati. Only a single lawyer in each practice area and community is honored with a “Lawyer of the Year” award.
In December 2021, Howard spoke about “Ethics for Tax Practitioners” at the Cincinnati Bar Association Tax Institute Conference, and, the 54st University of Cincinnati Income Tax Conference.
Memberships and Affiliations
- Ohio State Bar Association
- Cincinnati Bar Association
- Taxation Committee
- Estate Planning Committee
- American Bar Association
- Taxation Committee
Education
- University of Cincinnati BBA, Accounting, 1968
- Salmon P. Chase College of Law Juris Doctorate,1975
- CPA (inactive), Ohio, 1978
Publications
- “What Tax Practitioners Should Know About the Corporate Transparency Act” (Cincinnati Bar Association, Tax Committee, December 2023, and, January 2024)
- “What New Lawyers Should Know About the Corporate Transparency Act” (Cincinnati Bar Association, May 2024).
- “What Estate Planning Attorneys Need to Know About the Corporate Transparency Act” (Cincinnati Bar Association, Advanced Estate Planning Institute, June 2024).
- “Summary of New Electric Vehicle Credits Under Inflation Reduction Act” (August 2022)
- “President Biden Signs ‘CHIPS’ Act” (August 2022)
- “Recent Developments in Cryptocurrency Tax Fraud” (August 2022)
- “Tax Changes and Inflation Reduction Act” (August 2022)
- “ABC’s of Statutory and Ethical Obligations of Federal Tax Practitioners” (December 2021)
- “Deductibility of Business Meals” (January 2021)
- “Individual Taxpayer Stimulus Relief Act” (March 2020)
- “New IRS Collection Policies” (March 2020)
- “IRS Actions and Covid-19” (March 2020)
- “Covid-19 IRS News Release” (March 2020)
- “New IRS Partnership Audit Rules: Updated” (November 2017 & December 2018)
- “61 IRS Phone Scammers Indicted and Arrested” (November 2016)
- “New IRS Partnership Audit Rules: Are Partnerships & LLC’s Ready?” (November 2016)
- “IRS Agents Arrest Five Phone Scammers” (June 2016)
- “Newest Phone Scam Involving IRS” (March 2016)
- “Tax Fraud—From the Defense Attorney’s Perspective” (October 2015)
- “IRS Considering New Information Reporting Thresholds for Gambling Winnings” (September 2015)
- “House of Representatives Cuts IRS’ Budget (Again)” (August 2015)
- “New Law Addresses Changes in Federal Tax Return Filing Dates” (August 2015)
- “Internal Revenue Service Taking Steps to Monitor and Control Payroll Service Providers” (August 2015)
- “House of Representatives Passes Seven Bills to Reform IRS” (May 2015)
- “IRS Wage Levies” (May 2015)
- “Ten Taxpayer Bill of Rights” (April 2015)
- “Discharged Home Mortgage Debt: Congress Extended Favorable Exclusion to Tax Year 2014” (April 2015)
- “IRS and Secret Offshore Accounts” (April and December 2014)
- “IRS’ Offer in Compromise Program: Nuts and Bolts” (September, November, and December 2014)
- “Parallel IRS Investigations: A Wolf in Lamb’s Clothing?” (November 2011)
- “Core Tax Topics” (December 2009)
- “IRS Liens and Levies” (December 2008)
- “New Code §6694 Penalty: Making All Tax Practitioners the Guarantors of the Accuracy of Their Clients’ Tax Returns” (December 2007)
- “Ohio vs. Florida Tax Issues; Ohio’s New Model Trust Code; Estate Tax Changes” (November 2006)
- “Partnerships and the AFTI” (October 2006)
- “Criminal Tax Matters: A Practical Guide” (December 2005)
- “Merging of Consolidating with Disregarded Entities” (December 2004)
- “Asset Protection” (September 2003)
- “Like-Kind Exchanges of Partnership/LLC Interests—Oil and Water?” (December 2003)
- “Common Asset Protection Planning Mistakes” (September 2003)
- “The ABCs of Tax-Free Reorganizations” (December 2002)
- “LLC/Partnership Liquidations” (November 2002)
- “Partnership/LLC Freezes—What Are They and How Can They Be Used in Estate Planning?” (September 2002)
- “The ABCs of LLCs” (November 2002)
- “New Federal and Ohio Estate Tax Changes” (Ohio Lawyer) (2002)
- New §355(e) – The Antidote to Morris Trust Transactions” (December 2001)
- “The New Tax Practitioner – Client Privilege” (December 2000)
- “The New Innocent Spouse Provisions” (December 1999)
- “Family Limited Partnerships: A General Primer” (October 1998)
- “S Corp/LLC Comparison Under the New Tax Laws” (May and October 1998)
- “Employee/Independent Contractor?: New Law & New IRS Program”
- “The ABCs of LLCs for Tax Administrators” (March 1998)
- “How Taxes Affect Your Funeral Home – Including Estate Planning Using Trusts” (February 1998)
- “Subchapter S Subsidiaries” (December 19997)
- “Basics of Buying & Selling a Corporation” (October 1997 and April 1998)
- “LLP’s vs LLC’s for Solo & Small Firm Legal Practitioners” (October 1997)
- “Choice of Entity – After S Corp Revisions & Check-the-Box Regulations” (June 1997)
- “The ABCs of LLCs” (October 1997, February 1995, October 1994)
- “Tax Considerations: A Comparative Approach” (May 1997)
- “A Primer on Charitable Estate Planning” (February 1997)
- “29th UC Income Tax Conference – Business Entities” (December 1996)
- “Update on Limited Liability Companies” (December 1996)
- “Individual Tax Update” (December 1996)
- “Current Developments in LLCs and LLPs” (October 1996)
- “Pass-Through Entities: S Corporations, Partnerships, and LLCs” (October 1996)
- “LLC Update” (September 1996)
- “Transferring a Family Business” (May 1996)
- “Life Insurance Trusts: A Wonderful Estate Planning Technique” (March 1996 and February 1995)
- “Personal Injury Awards Under the Small Business Protection Act of 1996” (February 1996)
- “The Duty of Confidentiality When Dealing with IRS” (December 1995)
- “Material Federal Tax Issues Involving Ohio LLCs” (June 1995)
- “The New Ohio Limited Liability Company: Material Federal Tax Issues” (December 1994)
- “Practitioner Responsibilities Upon Discovery of Errors on Prior Year’s Returns” (December 1994)
- “Family Limited Partnerships” (October 1994)
- “Pass-Through Entities: S Corporations, Partnerships, and Limited Liability Companies” (September 1994 and September 1993)
- “Supplemental Outline — Overview of Federal Income Tax Issues with Ohio LLCs” (August 1994)
- “Material Federal Tax Issues Relating to the New Ohio Limited Liability Company” (July 1994)
- “S Elections – Should They Be Revoked Now?” (June 1994)
- “Obligation of Tax Practitioners to File Amended Tax returns Upon Discovery of Errors” (December 1993)
- “Tax Law Changes & Commercial Real Estate” (December 1993)
- “Discovering Errors on Prior Year Tax Returns: What are the Legal & Ethical Issues Confronting a Practitioner?” (December 1993)
- “Ethics and Practice Before IRS” (July 1993 and July 1992)
- “Major Tax Crimes” (December 1992)
- “The Limited Liability Company: Another Player in the Choice Entity Game” (December 1992)
- “Major Title 26 Tax Crimes” (September 1992)
- “Review of Pass-Through Entities: S Corporations, Partnerships, and Limited Liability Companies” (September 1992)
- IRS Increases Reliance on Lender Liability Provision to Recover Trust-Fund Taxes” (WGL – Journal of Taxation) (June 1992)
- “New Tax Reporting Rules for Real Estate Transactions” (Ohio Lawyer) (July/August 1991)
- “Special Considerations When an S Corporation is Involved in an Acquisition” (December 1991)
- “Is an IRS Audit in Your Future?” (Corporate Controller) (July/August 1991)
