Our education sessions focus on practical training for newcomers and veterans alike, with lots of ideas and strategies you can use every day to improve your business and advance your career. More tax law changes are surely coming, and our expert presenters are ready to tackle updates and new topics.
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Speaker: Derek Ganter, Director, IRS Stakeholder Liaison
Description: This session will cover the major tax provisions from the Inflation Reduction Act that affect you and your clients, including Energy and Clean Vehicle Credits. We will also provide an overview of the status of IRS transformation efforts pursuant to IRS Next and the Inflation Reduction Act, including Taxpayer Services, Compliance, Workforce Building, and Information Technology Modernization.
Learning Objectives:
Learning Level: Basic
Prerequisites: None
Advance Preparation: None
CE Credit Hours:
Speaker: Thomas A. Gorczynski, EA, USTCP
Description:
The Inflation Reduction Act created or enhanced dozens of tax credits. This session will review in detail the five credits most likely to be used by the average taxpayer and will provide planning advice in light of the most recent IRS guidance involving these credits.
Speaker: Darryl Brown, EA, Ph.D.
This session and materials are critical for anyone who provides services to partners and partnerships. A recent Tax Court case held that the taxpayer could not deduct his distributive share of partnership losses because the taxpayer provided no evidence of basis in his partnership interests. The Courts (and the IRS) take the position that a partner’s basis is zero unless he can substantively prove otherwise.
Using real-life examples, this session will provide a comprehensive analysis of a partner’s outside basis from inception of the partnership including contributions of cash and property, assumption of liabilities, distributions, sales and exchanges, liquidations and redemptions, and the partner’s share of partnership liabilities. The session will culminate with a comprehensive example instructing participants on reconstructing a partner’s outside basis.
Learning Level: Intermediate
Prerequisites: Basic understanding of basis.
Speaker: Matt Metras, EA
This session will take a deeper dive into the complex side of crypto taxation, including mining, staking, forks, airdrops, DeFi swaps, yield farming, liquidity pools, NFTs, gaming, and more. With little to no guidance in these areas, we will discuss existing code sections and how best to apply them to cryptocurrency situations. We will also cover using the blockchain itself to extract transactions and tools that can help in that process.
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of crypto and crypto tax treatment.
Speaker: Claudia Hill, EA, MBA
Our aging and affluent clients are challenging us with their use of a variety of trust vehicles. While the most frequent we see is the "living trust", it's important that we gain familiarity with a variety of other trusts, their uses, and their compliance requirements. This Q & A session takes on 20 questions frequently encountered by preparers of 1041s for Trusts. Additional audience questions will be addressed based on time availability.
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of Form 1041 return preparation.
While as tax practitioners we love what we do, we also want to be fairly compensated for the value we provide. Circular 230 has many provisions that interact with the fees that we charge - some direct, some indirect. This session reviews those provisions and uses case studies to discuss the ethics of actual pricing strategies. You might pick up some practice management ideas along the way!
Speaker: Laura A. Strombom, EA, MBA, USTCP
When is a deduction too much of a deduction? This session will use practical examples to compare different scenarios to determine the best "big picture" tax results for your clients when it comes to depreciation and will compare mileage deduction versus actual expenses for automobiles and related concepts.
Prerequisites: Basic understanding of depreciation concepts.
This session will start with a practical investigation into how to properly report cryptocurrency transactions for taxpayers that don't have 3rd party information returns, as well as those that do. We will review general cryptocurrency taxation and guidance and then apply that knowledge in an interactive exercise. We will take a group of raw crypto transactions, identify the taxable events and reportable income, and populate 1040 with them. We will utilize crypto tax software to create a completed 8949 from source documents.
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of cryptocurrency.
While the IRS does not require balance sheets for many business tax returns, a balance sheet can be essential in assisting preparers complete accurate income tax returns. This session will provide a “hands-on” practical understanding of accounting principles including accrual accounting. From transaction analysis to journal entries to the construction of financial reports, participants will learn the accounting cycle with an emphasis on how it works in practice, including the balance sheet. Whether one starts with a complete set of books and records, or a bank statement, or a “shoe box” of accounting records, one can generally construct a basic balance sheet to complete the picture.
The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 makes substantial changes to retirement-related tax law. This session will review provisions in the law most applicable to tax professionals serving individuals and small businesses. Topics will include, but not be limited to, changes to RMDs, new and expanded 10% early withdrawal penalty exceptions, increased access to Roth accounts, and new tax credits to incentivize retirement accounts.
Speaker: Amber Gray-Fenner, EA, NTPI, USTCP
This session will help tax professionals develop confidence in retirement tax planning using a holistic approach. We will look at retirement planning at all stages of a client's financial life and also take into consideration their financial goals and needs other than retirement. We will also consider the benefits of taking an immediate tax deferral. The session will include recent changes made by SECURE Act 2.0 and how those changes may affect prior and current tax planning.
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of types of retirement plans (Traditional & Roth IRA, SEP, Qualified Plans, etc.).
Speaker: Marc J. Dombrowski, EA
Once a new prospective Rep client is in front of you (or on the phone), what details do you need to sign the client? What will the IRS need to bring them into compliance? What is the process in your office? Asking the correct questions to determine the real problem is critical. How do you contact the IRS to get the case started? Who do you speak to at the IRS? Who do you not speak to?
Speaker: Michael Tullio, EA
Tax practitioners should know how to treat their clients’ tax and sales requirements of Employee Stock Purchase Plans and Restricted Stock Units. This is a primer on the terms, differences, and calculations of these employee stocks as well as defining qualifying and disqualifying dispositions and how they affect taxes.
Prerequisites: Understanding of capital gains and losses.
Taxpayers who have multiple years of unfiled tax returns are a unique challenge. This session walks through a systemic process to evaluate non-filer cases, develop a strategy, file the missing returns, and manage any resulting refund or balance-due issues.
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of IRS representation procedures.
Speaker: Jane Ryder, EA, CPA
The new Corporate Transparency Act disclosure compliance will generally be required for any business entities registered in any U.S. state or tribal jurisdiction. It will be filed similar to an FBAR, Form 114, filing and hopefully our business tax software will support this filing. The few exemptions for this new compliance will probably not apply to most of our clients. We'll work through compliance requirements for filing for CTA, including filing deadlines which may cause us some scheduling challenges.
Every Revenue Officer (RO) puts their pants on one leg at a time, just like you do. What rules of engagement do they follow? Can you better position yourself to work successfully with an RO to resolve a case? There is a time to appeal when resolution can’t be reached.
Trusts and Estates are different types of entities: Someone has to die for there to be an Estate. Yet Form 1041 is used for reporting income of both Trusts and Estates. Often the rules are not the same for reporting the income and allowable deductions for the two entities. Using a Q & A approach, those differences are highlighted. This Q & A session takes on 20 questions frequently encountered by preparers of 1041s for Estates. Additional audience questions will be addressed based on time availability.
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of Form 1041.
Speaker: Karen Brosi, EA, CFP®
California tax professionals must really understand two sets of income tax laws: federal and state. With federal tax law on the move, it is crucial to stay abreast of differences to provide sound strategies and advice, including how to properly utilize California's pass-through entity tax election. This session provides a mid-year update of California's income tax rules and rulings, as well as news regarding payroll, property, and sales taxes. Find out early what the FTB, EDD and CDTFA have in store for California taxpayers in 2023.
Speaker:Frank R. Acuña, Esq., Attorney at law
Description: Most ethics courses are taught from the perspective of Circular 230, rules, and regulations. This session focuses on real-world case studies taken from panicked calls received from tax professionals over the past 25 years. Relevant principles, rules, and regulations will be applied to each of the case studies over what will probably be a very spirited discussion!
This session will review the types of innocent spouse relief, the requirements to qualify for relief, and the factors the IRS uses when evaluating relief requests. Emphasis will be given to writing an effective request and completing Form 8857 including "best practice" recommendations. The session will also describe what to expect during the process and next steps if the original request is denied.
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of Form 1040 and IRS administrative procedures.
Mastering K-1 reporting for Form 1040 and S Corp clients is critical due to Increased exposure for business tax compliance. It’s getting more complicated: shareholder and partner basis, loans to and from partners and shareholders, distributions, entity sale or dissolution, QBI, and more. Plus, there is new information related to PTET elections reported on Schedule K-1 and using Schedule K-3 to prepare Form 1116. Also trust K1s and related final year expenses, PTPs, and reporting LLC or partnership K1s received by business entities.
Speaker: David M. Woods, EA, USTCP
This session will teach you how to allocate and apportion business income for all business entities, including individuals. Emphasis will be made on governing principles and laws for sourcing income and how states differ in their approaches. Particular attention will be given to California statute and regulations as well as recent case law governing the topic.
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of business income required.
Tax strategies regarding real estate continue to be among our clients' most frequently asked questions. This fast-paced session covers recent law changes, IRS rulings and Tax Court decisions regarding both personal and investment property. We will also cover a host of planning ideas for our clients who own real estate.
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of real estate taxation.