David E. Kahen

Partner

P: 212-903-8763

David E. Kahen has concentrated on corporate, partnership and real estate taxation, as well as executive compensation for more than 30 years.

He has structured acquisitions and sales of businesses through asset and stock transfers; planned and executed tax-free reorganizations, spin-offs and other distributions of stock; advised on like-kind exchanges of property and other real estate transactions; and designed and implemented complex joint ventures.

He advises clients on tax and structural issues related to executive compensation from both an employer and employee perspective. He has negotiated and designed employment contracts, agreements for providing services in a non-employee capacity, stock bonus and stock option plans, and supplemental executive retirement plans and other deferred compensation arrangements.

He is a member of the Tax Section of the New York State Bar Association and of the S Corporation Committee of the ABA Section of Taxation. He is co-author of a bi-monthly column on corporate taxation in the New York Law Journal.

Education

Columbia Law School, J.D., Stone scholar
Yale University, B.A.

Admissions

New York
New Jersey

News & Insights

June 18, 2026
Publications

Exclusion of Income Under Claim of Right Doctrine

Elliot Pisem, David E. Kahen
New York Law Journal

In their latest article for the New York Law Journal, Elliot Pisem and David Kahen discuss a recent decision of the Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit that addresses the potential for the “claim of right” doctrine to exclude amounts from a corporation's income.

June 11, 2026
News

Client Alert: New York City Pied a Terre Tax

Joseph Lipari, Lary S. Wolf, Stuart J. Gross, Elliot Pisem, David E. Kahen

The newly enacted surcharge creates intricate valuation, residency, and compliance issues for owners of luxury homes, condos, and co‑ops. Read more from attorneys Joseph Lipari, Lary S. Wolf, Stuart J. Gross, Elliot Pisem, and David E. Kahen in their latest client alert.

April 17, 2026
Publications

Consequences of Corporate Status Suspension

Elliot Pisem, David E. Kahen
New York Law Journal

In their latest article for the New York Law Journal, Elliot Pisem and David E. Kahen explain, "Consequences of Corporate Status Suspension: Arbor Vita Corp. v. Commissioner."

February 19, 2026
Publications

Taxpayer’s Attempted Characterization of Stock as Debt Rejected: Aventis, Inc. v. Commissioner

Elliot Pisem, David E. Kahen
New York Law Journal

Elliot Pisem and David E. Kahen provide an analysis of Aventis v. Commissioner: why the FASIT failed statutory and grandfather rules, and how the court applied substantial compliance and debt vs. equity tests.

December 18, 2025
Publications

Tax Treatment of Payments to Seller’s Creditors: ‘Temnorod v. Commissioner’

David E. Kahen, Elliot Pisem
New York Law Journal

October 23, 2025
Publications

Substance over Form and Sham Arguments Rebuffed: ‘Perrigo Co. v. United States’

David E. Kahen, Elliot Pisem
New York Law Journal

In an article for the New York Law Journal, Elliot Pisem and David E. Kahen discuss a recent District Court decision regarding the application of substance over form and other “tax common law” doctrines in a context in which the Internal Revenue Service also proposed adjustments under IRC section 482.

08/21/2025
Publications

“Break Fee” Classified as Ordinary Deduction: AbbVie, Inc. v. Commissioner

David E. Kahen, Elliot Pisem
New York Law Journal

A "break fee" paid in connection with the termination of a plan to combine two companies under a holding company structure was determined by the Tax Court to be allowable as an ordinary deduction.

07/10/2025
Publications

Loss Deduction Denied Under Public Policy Doctrine: Hampton v. Commissioner

David E. Kahen, Elliot Pisem
New York Law Journal

A recent memorandum decision of the Tax Court confirms that a loss otherwise deductible under Section 165 of the Internal Revenue Code may nonetheless be disallowed under the "public policy" doctrine.

04/30/2025
Publications

Benefits & Compensation Update: Department of Labor Updates Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program To Add A New Self-Correction Option

Norman J. Misher, David E. Kahen, Allen J. Erreich, Chase B. Steinlauf, Mikhail Spivakovsky-Gonzalez

In this Update, we discuss the Department of Labor’s updates to its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program to include a new Self-Correction Component.

4/17/2025
Publications

Inclusion in Taxable Income of Government Aid: CF Headquarters Corp. v Commissioner

Elliot Pisem, David E. Kahen
New York Law Journal

This article discusses a recent decision of the Tax Court, CF Headquarters Corp. v. Commissioner, that concluded that a government grant under a program intended to aid businesses affected by the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, could not be excluded from the income of the corporation that received the grant as a “contribution to capital” (or otherwise).

02/20/2025
Publications

“All Events” Test for Accrual of Deductions: Morning Star Packing Co. v. Commissioner

David E. Kahen, Elliot Pisem
New York Law Journal

The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a decision of the Tax Court that two partnerships engaged in a food processing and packaging business failed to establish that all the events had occurred to establish liability for anticipated costs of annual reconditioning of manufacturing equipment during each of the four years at issue, where the reconditioning did not occur until the year after the year in which the expenses were treated for tax accounting purposes as having been incurred.

01/31/2025
Publications

Benefits & Compensation Update: IRS Proposes Regulations Implementing an Expanded Definition of “Covered Employee” Under Code Section 162(m)

Norman J. Misher, David E. Kahen, Allen J. Erreich, Chase B. Steinlauf, Mikhail Spivakovsky-Gonzalez

In this Update, we discuss recently proposed regulations that implement an amendment to Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code made by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”).