By the way, all the knee-jerk "protect the revenue" IRS auditor wannabes should be aware of the only Tax Court decision on "cash for keys," where the taxpayers won and did not have to pay tax on the $20,500 they received from the bank in return for a deed in lieu of foreclosure.  

Their return was prepared by a smart CPA.  

https://casetext.com/case/bobo-v-commr-2