Month: March 2023

Families With Deaths Require Your Knowledge From EA CPE

Whenever a death occurs, the remaining family members need help from a variety of professionals. Your enrolled agent expertise is one of those valuable services. Look to build your enrolled agent practice from simply promoting your knowledge for dealing with the tax matters related to a decedent.

Several tax return filing requirements exist after someone dies. This responsibility rests with the estate executor. By reaching out to these individuals, you alleviate a significant burden for them. Firstly, income tax reporting is required for decedents. This can require two tax returns if the death occurs before a prior year return is filed. The final tax return is for the year of death.

The income tax return for a decedent indicates that the taxpayer is deceased and the date of death. The final tax return for someone who has died can be jointly filed with a surviving spouse. In fact, surviving spouses are normally executors of the decedent’s estate and sign the return for the deceased taxpayer.

Your enrolled agent continuing education reinforces your skills to deal with separating the personal taxable income of decedents from their estates. Income earned after the date of death is taxable to a decedent’s estate. This occurs due to delay in transferring income-producing assets to beneficiaries.

Training for the enrolled agent test teaches you how to prepare income tax returns for estates as well as individuals. Estates use the same tax deductions and credits as individuals. All types of income that are normally taxable to individuals are reported on an estate income tax return when payment is received after death and before distribution to beneficiaries.

The big effect is that an estate gets a tax deduction for distributions to beneficiaries. Net income after deductions that’s transferred to an estate beneficiary is taxable to that individual recipient. The estate is only assessed income tax on the income it doesn’t distribute.

Your EA CPE also keeps you apprised on estate tax issues in addition to income tax matters. Most estates escape estate tax because their sizes are less than the exemption threshold. Starting in 2010, most estates with values of less than $5,000,000 are exempt from federal estate tax.

Making an estate tax determination requires considering all assets of the decedent’s estate. Any liabilities owed as well as charitable contributions and administrative expenses paid by the estate are subtracted from total asset value to ascertain whether estate tax is applicable.

Estate administrators commonly misunderstand tax procedures for decedents. That’s why they need to find out about the services of enrolled agents. They require assistance in gathering records and conducting accurate tax calculations. Working with estate executors is an excellent way to grow your tax practice because they benefit significantly from your expertise.

IRS Circular 230 Disclosure

Pursuant to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service Circular 230, we inform you that, to the extent any advice relating to a Federal tax issue is contained in this communication, including in any attachments, it was not written or intended to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (a) avoiding any tax related penalties that may be imposed on you or any other person under the Internal Revenue Code, or (b) promoting, marketing or recommending to another person any transaction or matter addressed in this communication.…

Continuing Education for Psychologists – Common Class Formats

If you need to take classes for your industry, note that there are a lot of options when it comes to the format of the courses. For example, there are several choices available for continuing education for psychologists. If you are in this industry, you should learn the many options you have when it comes to taking the courses that you need.

One of the most popular choices is online classes. In most cases, this involves watching a video of the teacher lecturing. You are then given either tests to complete or essays to write so you can show what you have learned. You may also have to participate in online discussions with class members. You typically do not have to watch the lectures at a particular time, but you can expect deadlines for all assignments. So, pay attention to these.

Another option you have when you sign up for continuing education for psychologists classes is to take the courses you need over the phone. This usually requires you to listen to lectures, instead of watching them on video. You may also have questions to answer so you can show you have learned the lessons.

You can also take classes in-person, such as on the weekend, but few people who need continuing education for psychologists courses choose this class format. This is because it requires you to travel to the location of the classes and spend your weekends learning. If you like to relax during your weekends and prefer to fit in continuing education for psychologists throughout the week, this format may not work for you.

There are additional options you may never have thought of. For example, you can read certain articles about psychology subjects, and then pay for the credits so you can show what you read. You can also purchase DVDs that teach you what you need to know. Plus, there are conventions that you can attend to get the credit you need. Since conventions usually only take a single day or weekend, they might be a good alternative to attending classes regularly. This way, you can get your credits finished within one weekend.

You can choose the format that most appeals to you. Just make sure the one you decide on will get you the credits that you need for continuing education for psychologists. Not every class qualifies for credit. So, if you are unsure, you should check with the APA to find out. Then, you can rest assured that the courses you are taking will help you in your profession while also improving your knowledge.…

Continuing Education Can Create New Opportunities

Furthering your education can certainly open new doors in a variety of different ways. Studies show, the individuals with more education typically make more money. For instance, if you selected a sample size of individuals with a bachelor’s degree and compared their salaries to a sample size of individuals with a master’s degree; we should see that the majority of the students who completed a master’s degree have a significantly higher overall salary. Of course, this is not always the case. If someone only has three years of work experience and an MBA, they may not make as much as someone with a B.A. but has 25 years of work experience. Every industry is a little different.

Overall, if you compare two individuals with the same skill set, the one with the highest degree awarded will typically get the position. Education is very important to most corporations. They truly value the hard work an individual puts in to complete a degree. Depending on the subject matter, many degrees help the individual perform better on a day to day basis. This positively impacts the performance of the overall organization. The more employees with advanced degree, the more efficient the organization can be. Many times an employer will help pay for their employee’s tuition. This is a huge bonus for employees. Educational cost rises every year, so a discounted degree is very important when an individual is deciding to accept an offer or not.

Once you receive your advanced degree you have some options. Should you stay with your current company and try to advance within your department? Or, should you start sending out your resume and see if you can get an offer from another company? This is usually a very tough decision to make. The economy, job outlook, and pay increase are all factors when deciding what to do. Is the economy booming? Are there other jobs available? Is there room for advancement in your current company? And of course, one of the most important factors is how much more money can you make working for a different company. Overall, if the company you currently work for is able to compensate you and challenge you the majority of people would probably stay. However, if that is not the case one would understandably look for a different opportunity. One of the main reasons an individual seeks employment elsewhere is their relationship with their direct supervisor.…

If you’re thinking about redesigning, but have no clue where to begin, this article is for you! A little consulting and planning with someone who knows about interior design can really help you out. Keep reading for more great ideas about this.

Decide on a mood for a room or space before beginning to actually work on designing the space. The mood can be anything you want it to be. When you know what feeling you would like your room to give you, you will find that it’s much easier to plan out projects to complete the room design.

Set a budget. Nothing is worse than starting a project when you cannot afford it. That way, you will be free to design your space without feeling anxious.

If you want to do an easy redecorating task, de-clutter your home. Removing clutter can give a homeowner a more clear idea of what needs to be done to a room, and clutter is often not pleasing or inviting looking to others who see it. Give excess things to a recycling center, to charity, or try to have a garage sale to get rid of some of them.

Many people have opinions with regards to interior design, but you shouldn’t listen to all of it. You won’t be able to create a place that you love without trusting your personal judgement and creating something that expresses your personality.

When you are redesigning a child’s bedroom or playroom, make it fun! Their perspective will often be very different from your own. Keep in mind their Homesearch size, and make sure everything is accessible for them. Look at the things from the child’s point of view to avoid doing anything hazardous.

You may think you need to hire a professional and spend a lot of money to update your home, but that is just not the case. By investing a little time and effort, you can make great things happen for a minimal amount of money. Remember what you have learned in this article to help get you started.…

Miscellaneous Taxable Income

As more tax revenue is sought to alleviate the growing US government budget deficit, the IRS is working to assure reporting of income from all sources-including miscellaneous income. Expanded requirements are in place for reporting of paid amounts on Form 1099. In addition, the IRS requires tax professionals to follow ethical standards for helping taxpayers identify and report all sources of income. Enrolled agent continuing education requirements include an enrolled agent ethics course.

The fiscal deficits of state governments are also leading to increased scrutiny of income by state tax collection agencies. In addition to requirements for California tax preparers to guide taxpayers toward accurate income reporting, other states are initiating registration of tax preparers. Tax continuing education requirements in most of these states is similar to coursework for CA enrolled agents.

Many taxpayers neglect to account for income from miscellaneous sources, such as side jobs, bartered exchanges, gambling, contest winnings, prizes, and awards. Income from all of these sources is taxable. Such income is subject to income tax for US citizens even when earned in another country. It usually incurs state income tax for the state in which it’s earned.

Many types of income from odd jobs are not reported on Form 1099, usually because the amount paid by any single source is less than $600. This includes fees received for babysitting, lawn care, house cleaning, and repair services. All of these amounts are reportable by the recipient as self-employment income. The only exception is for recipients with income that’s too low to require filing a tax return. Ordinary and necessary expenses incurred to generate the income are deductible before calculating the tax liability. Self-employment tax is also assessed on this income.

Even when no money changes hands, income may be reportable. This occurs when property is exchanged for services in a barter arrangement. In such cases, the fair market value of the goods-or services-obtained in the exchange are taxable income.

Gambling winnings are taxable as miscellaneous income. This includes amounts received from casinos and racetracks plus winnings from lotteries, raffles, and tournaments. The full amount received is reported as income. Taxpayers who itemize deductions and have accurate records may deduct gambling losses up to the amount of gambling winnings.

In most cases, an amount received as a prize or award is miscellaneous taxable income. This includes cash prizes and the fair market value of any merchandise or products awarded.

These sources of income can have substantial effects on tax liability. Penalties apply when an insufficient amount of tax liability is paid through either withholding or quarterly estimated tax payments. This requires taxpayers with miscellaneous income to anticipate the tax consequences as well as accurately report final results. Enrolled agent continuing education provides the knowledge to help taxpayers address these matters.…

Advice From Enrolled Agent School Graduates Averts Big Tax Mistakes

Advice from a high quality tax expert helps people avoid mistakes they can make with limited information. A top source of assistance on tax matters is enrolled agents. Graduates of enrolled agent school learn about only tax subjects for their professional examination. By contrast, the CPA exam covers other topics.

Differences in the services of an enrolled agent vs. CPA became clear when national accounting firm KPMG marketed a tax shelter to owners of S corporations. As it turns out, the arrangement appears to have destroyed taxpayer S corporation elections.

The tax shelter involved S corporation shareholders donating shares to a tax-exempt entity. When the type of income was interest and dividends, the charity had tax-free income and did not incur tax on “unrelated business income.” During a pre-determined period, the S corporations made no distributions to shareholders. At the end of the period, the charitable organizations donated the shares back to the original owners.

The income that had accumulated tax-free within the corporations was then available for distributions to shareholders. Instructions from enrolled agent exam preparation convey that distributions to S corporation shareholders are not taxed because the shareholders have already paid tax on the corporate income. But the KPMG program sheltered the income from tax. The result was nontaxable distributions on income that was never taxed.

It all seems like a neat way to legally avoid tax. However, enrolled agent classes reveal that nothing is ever neat when applying the tax code. The work is always fraught with difficulty and challenges.

One of the measures KPMG had to implement in the tax shelter was assurance that the stock shares would revert back to an original owner. To protect against a charity’s refusal to return shares, warrants were issued to the original shareholder. These warrants enabled potential purchase of a large number of new shares that could dilute the charity’s holdings into insignificance. In addition, shareholders retained control over their S corporations during the donation periods by only donating non-voting stock. They retained a separate class of all the voting shares.

These facts would have raised an eyebrow of any IRS enrolled agent if only a purchaser of the KPMG tax shelter had consulted with one. The troubling feature of the entire program is the multiple classes of stock. S corporations can only have one class of stock. Distribution and liquidation rights must remain identical for all shares.

The court pointed out that warrants are alternative “instruments, obligations and arrangements” that are prohibited for S corporations. That is, the warrants prevent the charity from future enjoyment of the full rights of distribution and liquidation. This case points out the trouble with S corporations using warrants or options to achieve discriminatory results among shareholders. Adding that information to EA continuing education can allow enrolled agents to save many taxpayers from the agony of losing S corporation status.

IRS Circular 230 Disclosure

Pursuant to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service Circular 230, we inform you that, to the extent any advice relating to a Federal tax issue is contained in this communication, including in any attachments, it was not written or intended to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (a) avoiding any tax related penalties that may be imposed on you or any other person under the Internal Revenue Code, or (b) promoting, marketing or recommending to another person any transaction or matter addressed in this communication.…