Course Information

Course description and objectives: Designed to make the practitioner comfortable with “high traffic” issues, this program enables participants to discuss and handle individual tax essentials. The course examines and explains the practical aspects of return preparation and individual planning, bridging the gap between theory and application. Significant new developments are summarized with emphasis on tax savings ideas. Practical applications and illustrations are used to systematically explore tax deferral, reduction, and elimination opportunities accompanying return preparation. For example, the analysis of gross income is discussed together with income splitting techniques; property transactions are examined alongside like-kind exchanges and involuntary conversions. The result is an extraordinary blend of the latest developments affecting individual returns and their related planning ideas.

Chapter 1: Individual Tax Elements 1. Identify federal revenue tax sources citing the definitive role of gross income, and determine a client’s tax liability using current rates, tables, exemptions and statutory amounts, and their withholding and/or estimated tax responsibility. 2. Specify the various filing statuses and their filing requirements recognizing the advantages and disadvantages of each. 3. Determine what constitutes gross income under Section 61 stating the tax treatment of compensation, fringe benefits, rental income, Social Security benefits, alimony, prizes and awards, identify dividend and distribution types and their tax differences, and specify how debt dis-charge can result in taxable income. 4. Identify the mechanics of income exclusions such as education-related exclusions, gift and inheritance exclusions, insurance, personal injury awards, interest on state and local obligations, and the foreign earned income exclusion. 5. Recognize income tax deductions and their use to reduce tax liab