Tax

Holland & Knight attorneys are leaders in the tax sections of international, national, state and local bar associations. We serve on various committees charged with raising the ethical and professional conduct of attorneys in this area of practice. We constantly monitor our internal activities to ensure that advice rendered to our clients in tax-related matters is of the highest level of quality and integrity.

Our clients range from the largest Fortune 100 companies to individuals protecting their personal and business assets. The firm's multi-office platform enables us to draw on experienced practitioners in every major market center to deliver extensive knowledge and capabilities from across a wide range of industries and business formats. The value that we bring is the coordinated efforts of professionals with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and viewpoints to help ensure that our clients receive the most up-to-date interpretations of tax and business opportunities available anywhere. We are ready to help you to resolve your most vexing tax questions and disputes.

Premier outfit fielding a deep bench of highly experienced tax attorneys. … The firm is very proactive and responsive, and always takes the time to develop a deep analysis of the issues.

– Chambers USA 2022 guide

Transactional Services

Working closely with attorneys in our other practice areas, Holland & Knight's tax lawyers help to interpret, structure and negotiate client transactions to maximize tax benefits and minimize tax costs. Our attorneys provide creative and practical tax advice in corporate and general business matters, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A), business formation, reorganization and dissolution, and partnership and limited liability company structuring. While the principal focus of our tax advice in business transactions is usually on the federal tax impact, we also design plans and structures to minimize the tax impact of the transaction on the overall business plan.

Internationally, our attorneys regularly represent clients who are expanding into new territories and have accordingly developed a sophisticated cross-border M&A practice that includes advice concerning transactional joint ventures. As a result of our long history representing participants in the energy industry, we have a national reputation in the taxation of natural resources, partnerships, international joint ventures and other transactions common in the energy industry.

Tax Controversy and Litigation

Our tax controversy and litigation attorneys have a long history of advising and representing clients in tax audits and disputes before national and local offices of the IRS, before state and local tax agencies and appeal divisions, and in state and federal courts. Although most tax controversies are resolved administratively without litigation, we have extensive trial experience litigating tax disputes for major public companies, privately held companies, partnerships, private foundations, tax-exempt organizations, estates and trusts, and individuals.

Our cases often address complex and novel tax issues that set precedent, decide important industry issues, and develop previously unsettled issues of tax law. Our cases involve major petroleum industry issues, precedent-setting estate tax valuation, partnership taxation, international transfer pricing and foreign tax credit issues, Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) compliance, the tax-exempt status of agricultural cooperatives, the Employee Retirement Security Income Act of 1974 (ERISA) and other employee benefits/executive compensation matters, valuation issues, and domestic and foreign reorganizations of corporations and financial institutions.

Legislative Tax Practice

All industries are affected by tax policy, and we represent a diverse range of clients whose interests are at stake in tax legislation and the implementation of tax reform. Our team also has extensive experience that can assist with potential tax-related congressional investigations. The Holland & Knight Legislative Tax Team helps clients shape federal tax legislation and rulemaking by working with the leadership of Congress, the administration, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS.

International and Cross-Border Transactions

Holland & Knight's tax attorneys provide practical, creative tax advice to clients in all areas of inbound investment planning, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, leveraged and structured financings, employee benefit and compensation matters, financial products, investment funds, insurance companies, derivatives, tax credits, state and local tax, tax policy and other tax matters.

Our international tax lawyers provide ongoing counsel to U.S.-based multinational businesses regarding all U.S. federal and state income tax rules relevant to international operations, and work closely with local foreign counsel to provide general advice with respect to local country taxation. We work with clients to develop capital structures and repatriation strategies for minimizing worldwide taxation, including customizing repatriation strategies. We also structure and negotiate acquisitions and dispositions of foreign companies, planning for the most tax-efficient structures from both a U.S. and foreign tax perspective.

In planning for international clients, we have gained extensive knowledge of the laws of various foreign jurisdictions, including treaty and nontreaty countries, in developed and emerging markets.

Our tax attorneys have substantial experience in pre-immigration tax planning and outbound expatriation, including drafting and structuring foreign and domestic trusts and worldwide tax compliance.

Financial Transactions and Bankruptcy

We regularly represent creditors, equity investors and debtors in the tax aspects of complex financial transactions, including restructurings and workouts, with respect to both bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy proceedings. This advice regularly includes advising on preservation of net operating losses and other tax attributes.

Executive Compensation, Employee Benefits and ERISA

Holland & Knight's executive compensation and employee benefits attorneys counsel clients on qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, including 401(k) profit-sharing plans, defined benefit pension plans and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), and provide advice on plan investments, executive compensation, employee incentive compensation plans, health and welfare benefits and fiduciary responsibilities. Our attorneys handle the design, documentation, amendment and termination of retirement, deferred compensation and health and welfare plans, and advise clients with respect to compliance with ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code and other applicable statutes and regulations.

Our lawyers have extensive experience representing clients in benefits claims disputes and litigation, and in matters involving the IRS, U.S. Department of Labor and other federal and state governmental agencies. Members of our Executive Compensation and Benefits Team collaborate with attorneys from our Mergers and Acquisitions, Public Companies and Securities, Private Equity, Tax, Corporate Services, Banking, Financial Services and Litigation practices on client strategies and solutions to ensure that our legal services meet our clients' business objectives.

Tax-Advantaged Project Finance

Our Tax-Advantaged Project Finance Team creates tax-exempt bond financing techniques and designs financing structures that avoid the alternative minimum tax or allocation of state volume caps. In addition, we deal directly with government officials to minimize arbitrage rebate and to ensure compliance with the applicable rules when rebates are involved.

Holland & Knight's tax law practice is seamless among their offices and of the highest quality.

Client quote, Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" 2020 guide

Real Estate Tax

A national footprint and deep experience in all real estate tax matters characterize our real estate tax attorneys. Whether we are representing a multi-national business, real estate owner, developer or governmental entity, practitioners in various real estate and related areas (leasing, commercial development, real estate finance, syndication, environmental transactions, energy) provide comprehensive counsel. We have extensive real estate experience in all major U.S. markets. We also advise on both inbound and outbound foreign real estate investments for Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Our attorneys are experienced in the formation of financing vehicles using the real estate investment trust (REIT) structure and assist clients with all tax, securities and real estate issues that arise in the organization, funding and operation of REITs.

Section 1031 Exchanges

Our tax and real estate attorneys have significant experience handling "like-kind exchange" or "1031 exchange" transactions. A tax-free exchange, under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code, allows a property owner to transition from one parcel of real estate to another parcel of equal or greater value and to defer income taxes if certain requirements are met. Exchanges are not necessarily complicated, but certain rules must be followed to qualify for tax deferral.

Tax Credit Transactions

Holland & Knight's Tax Credit Transactions Practice is one of the largest in the United States, serving clients for more than 40 years. Our team handles every aspect of a tax credit transaction. Since 1975, and through periods of dramatic change in tax laws, we have continuously represented syndicators, developers, lenders, governmental agencies, broker-dealers, equity investors and credit enhancers in structuring, negotiating and documenting tax-advantaged debt and equity investments throughout the United States.

Investment Funds

We represent investment funds and their sponsors in connection with fund formations, portfolio investments and disposition transactions. Our tax attorneys work with private equity, infrastructure, real estate, hedge funds and debt funds, providing tax structuring, ERISA and transactional planning advice.

Nonprofit and Tax-Exempt Entities

Holland & Knight attorneys are well versed on the tax laws that apply to nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations of all types. Our clients include national and international charities, family and corporate foundations, universities, private schools and charter schools, student exchange organizations, cultural institutions, social service agencies and research organizations, trade and professional associations, religious organizations and advocacy groups. We also serve as legal counsel to a broad spectrum of other types of nonprofit organizations, including providers of housing for low-income families or for the disabled, hospitals, medical research organizations and other healthcare organizations, community foundations, national collegiate fraternities and sororities, trade associations and political organizations.

Private Wealth Services

Our attorneys have been representing wealth for generations and will for generations to come. We know that in order to provide the best value, we must first provide personalized solutions tailored to client needs. Our Private Wealth Services Practice is the largest estate planning group of any law firm in the United States that is focused almost exclusively on the needs of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, multi-generational families and family offices. We put our legal knowledge to work for clients in a practical manner and apply our extensive experience in fields as diverse as estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax planning, sophisticated charitable giving, charitable organizations and private foundations, fiduciary and tax dispute resolution, international wealth planning and taxation, probate and IRS litigation, business succession planning, family office services, life insurance planning and asset protection. We also represent individuals in complex probate litigation and elder abuse situations and help to achieve optimum results through negotiation, litigation, trial, appeal and alternative dispute resolution methods in matters of fiduciary misconduct.

Energy Tax

As a preeminent global energy and natural resources firm with a strong focus on the oil and gas sector as well as the renewable and alternative energy industry, Holland & Knight is at the forefront of tax issues involving all types of energy transactions.

In the oil and gas sector, our clients include numerous private equity-backed companies, large and small independents and major integrated multinationals, whom we advise on the tax aspects of acquisitions, dispositions and sharing arrangements. We strive to achieve maximum tax efficiency in complex and innovative international financing transactions, including those backed by production payments and mortgage loans. Our attorneys also structure a wide range of investment vehicles, from large and small public and private equity investments to investments suitable for tax-exempt entities.

Holland & Knight's Renewable and Alternative Energy Tax Team stands ready to assist clients in taking full advantage of the tax incentives provided for in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other legislation. Our team is distinctly positioned to advise clients in all aspects of energy tax credit transactions and controversies, including those involving renewable power, energy storage, carbon capture, hydrogen, manufacturing, and alternative and clean fuels.

Corporate Tax

Holland & Knight's attorneys provide creative tax advice in corporate and general business matters, helping companies form, reorganize and, when necessary, dissolve their business entity structures to take maximum advantage of the increasingly complex tax laws. We are well versed in all tax aspects of business combinations involving stock and asset purchases and sales, leveraged buyouts, mergers and spinoffs, including tax-free reorganizations through acquisition and divestiture.

Partnership Tax

Holland & Knight's tax attorneys represent clients in forming and structuring partnerships, limited liability companies and joint ventures engaged in private equity investment, energy, real estate, agriculture, research and development, manufacturing and sales, and many other industries. We develop optimal structures for business operations and investment, utilizing creative strategies to navigate complex and changing tax laws in order to maximize tax efficiency.

State and Local Tax

Holland & Knight's tax attorneys represent clients in planning and structuring their transactions in a manner that achieves optimal state and local tax efficiency, and we also advocate for clients in the resolution of state and local tax disputes with taxing authorities. We have an extensive practice involving income, franchise, sales and use, severance and production, property, and other state and local taxes.

Leading Lawyers on Your Side

Our Tax Practice provides comprehensive tax planning and compliance advice to individuals and all types of business entities and organizations. Highly qualified and highly responsive to change, members of our team have been recognized as leaders in the tax industry by a variety of publications.

Recent recognitions include:

• First-tier national ranking in Tax Law by Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" guide, 2014-2024
• First-tier ranking in Florida Tax by Chambers USA – America's Leading Lawyers for Business guide, 2017-2023
• 13 attorneys in District of Columbia, Florida and Texas recognized for tax practices in 2023 Chambers USA guide
• Band 3 ranking in U.S. Taxes: Contentious by The Legal 500 United States 2023 guide; Partner Mary McNulty named among Leading Lawyers; Partner Lee Meyercord named among Next Generation Partners
• Band 4 ranking in U.S. Taxes: Non-Contentious by The Legal 500 United States 2023 guide
• Band 4 ranking in International Tax by The Legal 500 United States 2023 guide