Michael Karlin is a lawyer with over 40 years of experience advising corporate and individual clients on tax, estate planning and business matters involving a cross-border element. Michael began his career in London in 1975 as an articled clerk and assistant solicitor at the firm of D.J. Freeman & Co. (now part of Locke Lord LLP). He was admitted as a solicitor in 1977. In 1980, he became a member of the California Bar and he has resided in California ever since. After three years with Gelles, Singer & Johnson, a boutique private client firm in Los Angeles, he became an associate and then a partner of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. He then spent three years (1997-2000) as a principal in the international tax services group of KPMG, before starting his own firm in 2001. That firm is now part of Karlin & Peebles, LLP, co-founded in 2007 by Michael together with Jane Peebles, a well-known domestic and international estate planner and expert on cross-border philanthropy. Michael’s practice often overlaps with Jane’s and they, as well as three younger partners, work closely together on many matters.
Private client work was always a part of Michael’s practice and it became a significant focus after he started his own firm. Michael advises individuals and families from abroad who invest in or move to the United States as well as U.S. individuals and families who invest and move abroad, including the ever increasing regulatory and reporting obligations associated with such activities. Pre-immigration and expatriation planning are an important part of his practice. He also advises individuals and closely held businesses on the tax and business aspects of operating outside their home jurisdiction. He has helped to establish corporations, companies, partnerships and joint ventures in many parts of the world and worked extensively on foreign and domestic trusts. In recent years, he has helped many taxpayers deal with the tax and reporting consequences of foreign financial accounts and holdings, including through offshore voluntary disclosures, streamlined disclosures, and other ways of handling non-compliance.
Michael has been an active member of various professional organizations, including the American Bar Association, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, the USC Institute on Federal Taxation, the State Bar of California and the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He was elected in 2020 as a fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel. He has spoken on many occasions to those and other groups and he also is a prolific contributor of articles to professional publications, which have included the Tax Notes, the Tax Lawyer, the Journal of International Taxation, Tax Management International Journal and Major Tax Planning. Over the years, he has submitted or participated in the submission of many comments on tax legislation, regulations and tax reform and in 2020 started and led a national group that obtained relief from the IRS on the application of U.S. tax residence rules for non-citizens stranded in the United States because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michael was educated at St. Paul's School, London as well as schools in Israel, New York, Lisbon and Paris. He is a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge University (B.A. (Hons.), History and Law, 1973; M.A., 1977).
Michael has been married since 1973 to Fiona Karlin. They have two children, born in 1983 and 1985. He has been active for many years as a youth soccer coach, referee and instructor in American Youth Soccer Organization Region 76 (Beverly Hills) and in other nonprofit organizations, including Invertigo Dance Theatre, of which he is the Treasurer. He is also the webmaster for websites of AYSO Region 76, AYSO Area 1-P and the Docent Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Michael is fluent in French and conversant in several other European languages. For several years, he has been learning Japanese – compared to which he considers international tax to be trivially easy.
Recent Speaking Engagements:
“Taxation of, and Withholding on, Transfers of Partnership Interests Under the Section 864(c)(8) and 1446(f) Regulations,” Panelist, American Bar Association Section of Taxation Winter Meeting, January 29, 2021.
“Tax Residence and Nexus in the Time of the Plague,” Moderator, American Bar Association Section of Taxation Fall Meeting, October 2, 2020.
“United States Tax Residency: COVID-19 and Beyond”, Panelists, STEP Los Angeles, June 24, 2020.
Publications:
Tax Residence and Nexus in the Time of the Plague – Presentation to the American Bar Association Section of Taxation Fall Meeting, October 2020, co-presented with Heather Ripley of Alston & Bird, Lara Banjanin of the IRS Office of Associate Chief Counsel (International), and Jim Wang, Attorney-Advisor, U.S. Department of Treasury
United States Tax Residency: COVID-19 and Beyond – Presentation to STEP Los Angeles, June 2020 (co-presented with Paul Sczudlo and Megan Jones of Withers Worldwide and Ryan and Sarah Stein of the IRS Office of Associate Chief Counsel (International))
Home Thoughts From Abroad: When Foreigners Purchase U.S. Homes – Michael Karlin co-authored this article with Stanley Ruchelman with the Ruchelman Law Firm.
Letter to IRS, Treasury and Congress regarding the definition of resident alien and the impact of the coronavirus – Michael Karlin wrote this letter on behalf of the Los Angeles International Tax Club, with comments from many of the members, March 22, 2020
U.S. Houses and Other Private Use Assets Held by Non-resident Aliens in the United States – Presentation to STEP Los Angeles (co-presented with Bianca Ko of Karlin & Peebles, January 2020
The Forgotten Soldier: Outbound Planning For Individuals And Pass-Through Entities After Tax Reform – Michael Karlin and Thomas Giordano co-authored this article with Pam Drucker (now with Armanino LLP) and Mike Miller of Roberts & Holland
In, Out, and Sometimes Upside Down: Choice of Entity in Cross-Border Transactions following the 2017 Tax Act – Presentation to STEP Wyoming on September 21, 2018
Taxation of Foreign Persons Who Dispose of Interests in Partnerships – Article (Volume 15, Chapter 300A) in The Partnership Tax Practice Series 2018, Practicing Law Institute (co-author, Alan Appel, Professor, New York School of Law, February 2018
Taxation of Foreign Persons Who Dispose of Interests in Partnerships – Article (Volume 15, Chapter 300A) in The Partnership Tax Practice Series 2018, Practicing Law Institute (co-author, Alan Appel, Professor, New York School of Law, February 2018
Structuring Inbound Investments In U.S. Real Estate – Presentation to STEP Los Angeles (co-presented with Bryan H. Kelly, Venable LLP, July 2017
Privacy, Transparency and Wealth Planning for Today's International Client – Professional Responsibility – Presentation to STEP Pacific Rim Conference, May 2017
We Will Be Landing Soon: A Multinational Survey of the Treatment of Income and Gains of Individuals Who Change Residence, Journal of International Taxation – Three-part article edited by Michael Karlin (with contributors from 10 other countries), March-May 2017
Request for Guidance Regarding Dual Residents under Treasury Regulations Section 301.7701(b)-7 Who Are Treated as Nonresident Aliens of the United States - Paper presented on behalf of The State Bar of California Taxation Section to Congress and the Administration, May 2015 (co-author with Liliana Menzie of DLA Piper, LLP)
Outward Bound – Structuring Considerations for Closely Held Businesses Expanding Abroad - Presentation to STEP Los Angeles Mini-conference, November 2014
Foreign Investment in U.S. Real Estate - Presentation to the Los Angeles County Bar Association Crocker Symposium, November 2014
Foreign Financial Assets: You Can Run, But You Cannot Hide - Presentation to USC Gould School of Law 2015 Tax Institute, January 2015 (co-presenter with Edward M. Robbins, Jr., Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez, PC, Beverly Hills and Andy Mattson, Moss Adams, LLP, Silicon Valley)
Offshore Compliance Update – The (Swiss) Clock Is Ticking - Presentation to STEP Los Angeles, July 10, 2014 (with Scott Michel of Caplin & Drysdale and Matthieu Balmer, RBC Geneva). Additional materials available on request.
Landing Safely in Area 51 – Counseling Aliens About U.S. Taxes - Presentation to the Orange County Estate Planning Council on November 13, 2012
Planning for Foreign Individuals with U.S. Activities: Where Tax and Immigration Law Meet (and Sometimes Collide) - Presentation to 2012 Annual Meeting of the California Tax Bar and Tax Policy Conference, November 1, 2012 (co-presenter with Linda Dodd-Major)
Fundamentals of United States Taxation of Foreign Trusts, Grantors and Beneficiaries - Presentation to The 1st Annual STEP Wyoming Conference, September 2012 (co-presented with G. Warren Whitaker)
Now You See Them: U.S. Reporting Requirements for Tax Treaty Nonresidents - Tax Notes International, July 16, 2012
Tax Structuring of Foreign Investment in U.S. Real Estate With a N.Y. Twist - Proceedings of the New York University 70th Institute on Federal Taxation, May 2012 (co-author with Alan Appel, John Barrie and Michael Hirschfeld)
Foreign Investment in U.S. Real Estate - Presentation to New York University 70th Institute on Federal Taxation, November 2011 (in collaboration with Michael Hirschfeld)
Fundamentals of United States Taxation of Foreign Trusts, Grantors and Beneficiaries - Presentation to STEP Pacific Rim Conference, May 2011 (co-presenter with M. Katharine Davidson and Kent D. Lawson)
The Meaning of Residence for FBAR Purposes - Journal of Tax Practice & Procedure, February-March 2011 (the version on this site was updated in May 2011 from the one published by the Journal to fully take into account the final FinCEN regulations on FBARs...
Planning for Mobile Executives and Business Owners Relocating to the U.S.- Presentation to the ABA Section of Taxation, Boca Raton, January 2011 (co-presenter with Gary Lusk, KPMG LLP, and Grace Fleeman, Office of IRS Chief Counsel (International))
Is It Safe? Dealing with the International Aspects of the United States Tax System - Presentation to UBS Securities on June 8, 2010
International Estate Planning - Major Tax Planning (Proceedings of the 61st Annual Institute on Federal Taxation of the USC Law School), published summer 2009 (co-author with Jane Peebles)
Living with the Final Partnership Withholding Regulations - Tax Management Memorandum, February 2009 (co-author)
Expatriate Games – New Sections 877A and 2801 - Presentation to ABA Tax Section Meeting, January 2009. The outline deals with the new tax regime, effective June 17, 2008, relating to U.S. citizens and long-term green card holders who become “covered expatriates”.
Strangers in Paradise – and what to do about them - Presentation to UBS Securities, September 2008
Home Thoughts From Abroad – Foreign Purchases of US Homes - Tax Notes, September 2007 (co-author). More detailed discussion of the issues considered in “Home Sweet Home Away From Home”
Home Sweet Home Away From Home - Outline for ABA Section of Taxation panel presentation, October 2006. The outline deals with the tax considerations that apply to the purchase by a foreign person of a home in the United States.
Kissing the Blarney Stone – A Practical Guide to Structuring Partnership Agreements and Limited Liability Company Operating Agreements in Light of the Section 1446 Regulations - Tax Management Memorandum, May 2006 (co-author with Alan Appel, now Professor, New York School of Law). Note: This paper has been updated in 2018. Please contact the author for an update.
Uncle Sam Meets Uncle Scrooge – The Temporary Regulations on Foreign Partner Withholding - Journal of International Taxation, December 2005, part 2 of two-part article (co-author)
At Long Last . . . The IRS Issues Final Regulations on Foreign Partner Withholding - Journal of International Taxation, October 2005, part 1 of two-part article (co-author)
American Bar Association Section of Taxation, “Comments on Proposed and Temporary Regulations under Section 1446” - October 2005 (co-author and principal editor). These comments dealt with proposed and temporary regulations under section 1446 issued in May 2005 as well as a couple of issues under the final regulations issue at the same
American Bar Association Section of Taxation, “Comments on Proposed Regulations under Section 1446” - January 2004 (Section 1446 deals with withholding on foreign partners in partnerships engaged in a U.S. trade or business – Michael served as co-editor and principal author of the comments);
U.S. Estate Planning for Nonresident Aliens Who Own Partnership Interests - Tax Notes, 2003 (editor and co-author)
Coming to America – When Does Tax Residence Begin? - Journal of International Taxation, 2002
Virtual Withholding: Expanding the Observable Universe - Journal of International Taxation, 1999
On-Line, Off-Base: The Computer Program Final Regulations Miss an Opportunity - Journal of International Taxation, 1999 (co-author)
Using the Portfolio Interest Exemption - U.S. Taxation of International Operations, Warren Gorham & Lamont, 1988-1999 (looseleaf)
Introduction to The Portfolio Interest Exemption - U.S. Taxation of International Operations, Warren Gorham & Lamont, 1988-1999 (looseleaf)
Pocket Switching – The Taxation of Electronic Commerce - Major Tax Planning (Proceedings of the 50th Annual Institute on Federal Taxation of the USC Law School), 1998
Foreign Trusts and Gifts: It’s Getting Warm Offshore - Journal of International Taxation, 1997 (two parts) (editor and co-author)
Computer Program Prop. Regs. Are a Good But Cautious Start - Journal of International Taxation, 1997