Anthony J. Moiseshyn and Mai Moiseshyn, T. C. Memo. 2026-114, filed 11/4/26, tried to get guidance from Anthony’s employer and the administrator of his employer’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan as to how to deal with his trading in his employer’s stock.

Needless to say, both of them disclaimed.

Judge Fung: “Mr. Moiseshyn contends that petitioners are not liable for tax on the gain from the disposition of the [employer] ESPP stock solely because that income was already included in the $272,568 in Box 1 of his Form W–2 from [employer]. He testified that [employer] did not provide him with any information about how to report the sale of the [employer] ESPP shares and that his only guidance was to direct any questions concerning the equities to [administrator], which he described as acting ‘as a fiduciary’ over the shares. He stated that he felt ‘kind of caught in the middle’ between [employer] and [administrator], each company pointing him to the other for the information he sought.” T. C. Memo. 2026-114, at pp. 5-6.

Moral of the story: If you have tax questions, you need your own advisor.