This comprehensive federal Tax Update will cover all new tax legislation, including a comprehensive review of the changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and current status of technical corrections and tax extenders. All significant pending regulations, cases, and rulings in primary areas of federal taxation through October 15, 2019, will be covered. The seminars taught after Dec. 20, 2019, will include the tax extenders, retirement plan changes, and other tax provisions of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act signed into law on Dec. 20.

Learning Objectives

After completing this course the participant will be able to:

• Discuss the new deduction under Section 199A for qualified business income, how to calculate the deduction, and the problems that have been encountered by tax return preparers, including defining a specified service business, safe harbor test of Rev. Proc. 2019-38, alternative options to Rev. Proc. 2019-38, self-leasing rules, aggregation rules, IRS FAQs on Section 199A, and new Forms 8995 and 8995-A.
• Describe the latest changes that affect individuals who itemize deductions, including the current status of the deductibility of qualified residence interest, interest and tax deductions for the home office, treatment of state income tax refunds, investing in a Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund, and the treatment of transportation fringe benefits.
• Describe the effect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on depreciation; bonus depreciation, Section 179 deduction, and treatment of qualified improvement property, including the new auto depreciation limits and maximum value of an employer-provided vehicle as well as options available for missed elections between 9/28/2017 and 12/31/2017.
• Summarize the most recent tax accounting provisions, including changing from accrual to cash after the TCJA, qualifying for an automatic method change, filing Form 3115, the latest designated change numbers for automatic method changes, and the newly issued proposed regulations for accrual basis taxpayers with an AFS and the options available for the treatment of advance payments by an accrual method taxpayer.
• Review the changes to Forms 1120S and 1065 and explain new developments that affect S corporations, LLCs, and partnerships, including compensation, distributions, and second class of stock problems, as well as what to do with separately stated excess business interest expense under Section 163(j) listed on a Schedule K-1.
• Discuss recent developments in employment and self-employment tax, including using a PEO as the payer of wages for shareholders and partners.
• Discuss the latest changes affecting passive activity losses, including the rules that apply to real estate professionals.
• Discuss the current status of return preparer rules, e-filing requirements, rejection of return when e-filed and late filing penalties, and current status of PTINs.
• Describe the latest developments in IRS procedures and practices, including Circular 230, FBAR penalties, updating last known address, and Section 6701 problems of aiding and abetting. Earn one hour of ethics credit! (Federal only; may not be accepted as ethics credit in states that require state-specific ethics content.)

 Course level: Update / Intermediate

 Prior knowledge required:
 Working knowledge of federal income taxation

 Prior knowledge required:
 Working knowledge of federal income taxation

 CFP Program ID:  267678 (8 hours)