Annual Federal Tax Refresher Course (156)

General Description:

This course is intended for non-exempt preparers who wish to earn the IRS Annual Filing Season Program record of completion. See IRS Pub 5646 to determine if you are exempt or non-exempt.
To receive attendance credit, the IRS requires you to pass a test (even if you are a CPA).
Enrolled agents are not allowed to earn credit for this course.

A self-study version of this course is also available. It incorporates video from the seminar taught live on 9/22/2025.

The course is a high level overview of IRS-specified topics related to preparation of 2025 tax returns in 2026, and in order to receive credit, the IRS requires you pass a 100-question exam over those topics. You take the exam online, any time after you attend the course through December 31, 2025. You have three hours in one sitting to complete the exam. You must complete the exam with a passing score (70%) by midnight on December 31, 2025. You may attempt the exam up to 8 times if necessary.

To receive the Annual Filing Season Program Record of Completion, there are additional CE requirements in addition to this AFTR course, and you must also consent to the Circular 230 duties and restrictions (through your PTIN account). For more information on the IRS Annual Filing Season Program and requirements, see IRS.gov/Tax-Professionals/Annual-Filing-Season-Program and IRS Pub 5646.

Learning Objectives:

This course meets the IRS 6-hour (300 minutes) AFTR CE requirement.
Course Topics Specified by the IRS

Domain 1 - New Tax Law/Recent Updates

• Annual inflation and cost of living adjustments (Rev. Proc. 2024-40) (OBBBA)
• New standard mileage rates (Notice 2025-05)
• Third Party Network Transactions (Form 1099-K) reporting requirements (FS-2023-27, IR-2024-33, Notice 2024-85) (OBBBA)
• Direct File Pilot Program (Directfile.IRS.gov) (OBBBA)
• SECURE 2.0 Act, Section 109, higher catch-up contribution limits for individuals aged 60-63 effective for 2025
• SECURE 2.0 Act, Section 124, increased age of onset blindness or disability for qualified ABLE programs effective for tax years beginning after 12/31/2025

Domain 2 - General Review

• Filing Status Review
• Taxability of earnings (such as wages, salaries and tips) (OBBBA)
• Schedule B: interest, dividends, foreign accounts and trusts (OBBBA)
• Reporting and taxability of retirement income (Social Security benefits, pensions, annuities, 401(k) distributions)
• IRAs (contributions, deductions, distributions and 10% penalty)
• Reporting and taxability of unemployment compensation
• Alimony (divorce agreements executed before 2019; executed or modified after 2018)
• Schedule C
• Determination of gross income & deductions [Schedule C]
• Business versus hobby
• Business use of home (regular vs. simplified method)
• Recordkeeping requirements [Schedule C]
• Entertainment expenses (50% of business meals deductible)
• Section 179 expense limits (OBBBA)
• Depreciation
• Bonus depreciation (including new 40% [or 100%] limit) (OBBBA)
• Luxury auto depreciation limits
• Listed property updates
• Overview of capital gains and losses
• Standard Deduction (OBBBA)
• Schedule A, Itemized deductions
• Medical and dental expenses
• State and local tax deduction [$40,000 married/$20,000 married filing separate] (OBBBA)
• Home mortgage interest and home equity loans
• Charitable contributions
• 60% AGI limit for cash contributions
• Contemporaneous written acknowledgement required for $250 or more (cash or property)
• Federally declared disaster area casualty loss deduction (including loss deduction for non-itemizers)
• Moving expense deduction suspended and reimbursement taxable (except active military)
• Recordkeeping and documentation of deductions
• Tax credit eligibility (child tax credit, credit for other dependents, child and dependent care tax credit, education tax credits, earned income tax credit) (OBBBA)
• Energy credits (Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, Residential Clean Energy Property Credit)
• Clean vehicle credits (IRC 30D(g), 25E(f)) (OBBBA)
• General Topics
• Tax treatment of the acquisition and disposition of digital assets
• Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) - exemption/phaseout amounts
• QBI deduction (including Form 8995 and Form 8995-A)
• Kiddie Tax
• Section 529 Plans
• Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account
• Cancellation of student debt (when to exclude from income)
• Net operating loss (NOL)
• Premium Tax Credit, including no income cap through 2025 (Inflation Reduction Act)
• Employee fringe benefits
• Depreciation of rental property
• Withholding and estimated tax payments
• Balance due and refund options
• Tax return due dates and filing for extensions

Domain 3 - Practices, Procedures and Professional Responsibility

• Tax-related identity theft (Pub. 5199)
• Safeguarding taxpayer data (Pub. 4557)
• Overview and expiration of Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) (Pub. 1915)
• Preparer penalties (inflation adjustments to penalty amounts)
• Tax preparation due diligence
• E-file requirements (no pay stub filing, when to get signature form, timing for handling rejects)
• Annual Filing Season Program
• Annual Filing Season Program Requirements (Rev. Proc. 2014-42, Pub. 5227, Pub. 5646)
• Circular 230 and consent to Circular 230 rules
• Limited representation

Instructors:

Mark A. Vogel is a retired professor and director of the University of Denver Graduate Tax Program, where for 38 years he taught courses in individual, fiduciary, tax accounting, partnership, and corporate taxation. He is the author of Divorce Taxation Guide (John Wiley & Sons) and Individual Taxation (Shepards/McGraw-Hill). He received a J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Denver College of Law and an undergraduate accounting degree from the University of Notre Dame. He is also a CPA licensed in Illinois.

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