Overview
David Fuller focuses his practice on matters involving employee fringe benefits, independent contractor/employee classification, payroll taxes, information reporting, corporate aircraft, supplemental unemployment compensation benefits (SUB Pay), Section 139 qualified disaster relief payments and the contingent workforce (outsourcing, PEOs, and employee leasing). His unique practice includes tax litigation on a wide range of significant FICA and tax refund matters. In the area of SUB Pay plans, David was either the IRS drafting attorney, reviewing manager or the private sector submitter on more than three-fourths of all of the SUB Pay rulings issued by the IRS National Office during the past three decades.
A former manager of the IRS National Office’s employment tax/fringe benefits branch, David has experience in employment tax, employee-independent contractor, and fringe benefits planning strategies, as well as handling tax controversy matters with IRS Exam and IRS Appeals. He has also handled an array of non-litigation issues with attorneys, agents and officials at all levels of the IRS, including voluntary payroll tax compliance submissions.
David advises mid-sized, large and Fortune 500 clients on tax planning and controversy matters involving employment taxes, fringe benefits and contingent workforce issues. He has helped business and government entities address matters relating to payroll taxes, with special focus on worker classification, Social Security taxes, federal income tax withholding, Section 530 relief and Section 3121(v)(2) compliance.
David frequently speaks and publishes on fringe benefits, payroll tax and worker classification issues. Including as a frequent contributor to Bloomberg Law. He is the past contributing editor for the Employer’s Guide to Fringe Benefit Rules and Complying with IRS Employee Benefit Rules.
Results
- Handled audits and appeals involving payroll tax and corporate deduction issues for companies in the health care, airline and technology industries where the proposed taxes and penalties, in the aggregate, totaled more than $350 million*
- Led the IRS settlement negotiations for a large financial service entity in a customer and HR sensitive voluntary self-disclosure/self-correction matter before the IRS settling an issue of approximately $75 million for $2 million despite the fact the taxpayer had booked a reserve of more than $20 million*
- 100% abatement of a $3 million stock option late deposit penalty involving a large corporate client’s next-day federal tax deposits*
- Obtained more than $20 million in employment tax refunds for two separate outsourcing clients involving application of the FICA and FUTA tax single wage base limitations*
- Settlement of multi-million dollar IRS examination audit of long-term travel away from home expenses for an oil and gas client for pennies on the dollar despite the IRS’s increased allocation of audit resources to this issue*
*Matter handled prior to joining McDermott.
Recognitions
- The Best Lawyers in America, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Washington, DC, 2023 and 2024
- The Legal 500 US, 2019
Credentials
Education
Anderson University, BA, 1980
University of Cincinnati College of Law, JD, 1983
New York University School of Law, LLM, 1984
Admissions
District of Columbia
