Phyllis Horn Epstein’s practice includes tax planning, estate planning, tax controversy matters before the IRS and in the Tax Court, trust and estate administration, Orphan’s Court litigation, corporate transactions, non-profit organizations, and elder law. In addition to her law practice, she is a participant in the IRS/Pennsylvania Practitioner Liaison with Senior IRS Stakeholder Outreach representatives for the advancement of practitioner systemic & procedural problem-solving.
A graduate of Temple University, Phyllis received both her J.D. and Master of Laws in Taxation from it’s School of Law. In 2013, she was elected as a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel. Recently she served as past-Treasurer of the Pennsylvania Bar Association from May 2011–2014. Notably, she is the recipient of the 2014 PBA Presidential Achievement Award for her service as Treasurer for ensuring the best financial security for PBA members. In addition to serving as Treasurer, Phyllis has been a member of the PBA’s House of Delegates and Nominating Committee. She has served as Co-Chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession.
Phyllis has authored numerous articles on tax and corporate matters for various legal publications and is a co-author of the CCH Federal Income Tax Service recently included in its tax internet service provided to tax professionals. She has been a member of the faculty of continuing legal education programs on various tax matters.
An active member of the American Bar Association Section on Taxation, Phyllis is the recent-past Chair of the Individual and Family Tax Committee and a member of the Committee on Court Procedure and the Section’s Nominating Committee. She has served as Editor of the Section Newsletter, a publication of updated tax information and tax matters which is distributed quarterly to the Section’s 25,000 members nationally and is the liaison to the ABA’s Commission on Women for the ABA’s Section on Taxation.
Phyllis serves as a member of the Eastern Pennsylvania Working Together Conference Steering Committee, “A Joint Effort of Public & Private Tax Professionals” which “promotes the positive ongoing relationship between the tax practitioner community and two taxing agencies, the Internal Revenue Service and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue,” and has been a speaker at Working Together conferences which are co-sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service, PA department of Revenue, PA Institute of Certified Public Accountants, PA Society of Public Accountants, PA Society of Enrolled Agents, Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Bar Association, and PA National Association of Tax Professionals.
Phyllis is the author of Women-at-Law: Lessons Learned Along the Pathways to Success, published by the American Bar Association Press, a finalist in the ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Award. She is a contributing author of chapters on taxation to the recent publication Issues Affecting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Clients (Pennsylvania Bar Institute 2009, 2013, 2016, and 2018). Ms. Epstein is also a contributor to the The Road to Independence published in 2011 by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession which charts the careers of 101 women attorneys who started their own law firms. From her extensive survey of more than 500 women lawyers, Phyllis has published her article “Where are Senior Women Attorneys” which is available on the web.
In 2010, Phyllis was named as a Vision 2020 Ambassador to participate in a decade-long national project inspired by the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting the right of suffrage to women. The goal of Vision 2020 is to move toward gender equality and to inspire new generations of leadership.
Articles by Phyllis Horn Epstein
- Understanding Long-Term Health Care Insurance: Considerations for you and your clients The Pennsylvania Lawyer, May/June 2024
- What Are the Chances of My Being Audited by the IRS? The Pennsylvania Lawyer, July/August 2022
- Alimony Unraveled, The Pennsylvania Lawyer, July/August 2018.
- TCJA Miscellany, The Practical Tax Lawyer, Winter 2018.
- Owe Taxes? Stay Home., The Pennsylvania Lawyer, May/June, 2017.
- Misclassification of Employees and Section 530 Relief., Tax Notes, March 13, 2017.
- Private Debt Collection Arrives at the IRS., Tax Notes, November 14, 2016.
- Tax Time 2016: Help is Not on the Way, The Pennsylvania Lawyer, March/April 2016.
- Help Around the House: What It Could Cost You, The Pennsylvania Lawyer, January/February 2016.
- Taxation of Damage Awards and Settlements, The Pennsylvania Lawyer, November 2014.
- The Transfer of Professional Goodwill, Corporate Business Taxation Monthly (CCH), December 2006.
- Statistical Evidence of a glass ceiling for Women Attorneys, Page 4: The Insider, Philadelphia Business Law Section, December 2010.
- MIT@150 Reports on the Status of Women Faculty, Page 3: The Insider, Philadelphia Business Law Section, April 2011.
- Employment Tax, Page 6: The Insider, Philadelphia Business Law Section, September 2011.
- What’s Happening in Utah?, Page 9: Voices and Views, Commission on Women in the Profession, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Winter 2011.
- Under the Microscope: Studies on Careers of Men, Women, Page 7: Voices and Views, Commission on Women in the Profession, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Spring 2011.
- Attrition of Senior Women Lawyers: The Leaky Pipeline
- Representing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Clients in Pennsylvania, PBI 2009 Revised 2012 and 2016, contributing author.
- Top Five Issues for LGBT Clients to Consider about Wills, Trusts and Estate Tax, Open Court, a Newsletter of the PBA Gay and Lesbian RIghts Committee, Vol 2, No.1 (Winter 2012).
- Scammers are Targeting You, PA Lawyer Magazine (May/June 2012).
- Officer and Owner Liability for Corporate Tax, May 2012 edition of Corporate Business Taxation Monthly (CCH).