Description

Tax professionals are often challenged when clients complain about not getting a tax advantage from their charitable contributions. During this session, we will look at the different charitable giving opportunities, and which one provides the greatest tax benefit your clients. Additionally, we will investigate whether a real estate contract sale is a good move for your client. The discussion will revolve around how to put together a plan to compute the taxes involved and how to minimize the overall net present cost of taxes.

Details

Instructor

Les Marti, EA

Duration

100 minutes

Prerequisite

General understanding of federal tax law

Advanced preparation

None

Delivery method

Group Live

Description

Class covers update of Illinois general updates for individuals and businesses, real estate exemption and bonus depreciation.

Details

Instructor

Kristin Clay, CPA

Duration

100 minutes

Prerequisite

General understanding of state tax law

Advanced preparation

None

Delivery method

Group Live

Description

IRS Updates and Highlights

Details

Instructor

Dan Belamino

Duration

50 minutes

Prerequisite

None

Advanced preparation

None

Delivery method

Group Live

Description

The Reasonable Comp Reality Check is a practical, audit-minded session designed to help tax professionals cut through the noise and set defensible W-2 wages for S corporation shareholder-employees. This session covers what the IRS actually cares about, the fact patterns that tend to trigger scrutiny, and why low-wage or zero-wage S corporations create exposure when shareholder-employees are actively working in the business. Attendees will learn how to evaluate the shareholder's role, time, responsibilities, experience, and business profitability; apply a consistent wage-setting framework; and document an approach that can stand up to questions from clients, payroll providers, and examiners. The session also addresses how reasonable compensation connects with distributions, cash flow, retirement plan contributions, accountable plans, QBI planning, and more-than-2% shareholder fringe benefit reporting. The goal is simple: reduce exposure, reduce rework, and give clients a clear, supportable wage recommendation that matches the reality of the business.

Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain the IRS rationale for reasonable compensation in S corporations and describe why "profits only" and "zero wages" positions create significant employment tax risk.
• Identify common audit triggers and red flags tied to shareholder compensation and distributions, including lifestyle-versus-wages mismatches, inconsistent payroll, and late-year catch-up wages.
• Apply a consistent wage-setting framework using role-based factors, including duties performed, time spent, experience, business size, profitability, and comparable compensation data.
• Coordinate reasonable compensation decisions with related planning areas, including QBI, retirement plan contributions, accountable plans, health insurance, and more-than-2% shareholder fringe benefit reporting.

Details

Instructor

Jared Foos, EA

Duration

100 minutes

Prerequisite

General understanding of federal tax law

Advanced preparation

None

Delivery method

Group Live

Description

This course explores the practical tax implications, benefits, and challenges of Roth conversions for individuals over age 65. Through detailed case studies and scenario based planning—such as "Mike," the ideal candidate, and "Dennis & Leah," a more complex couple—participants will learn how to evaluate and implement effective Roth conversion strategies. The course emphasizes communication techniques for working with both taxpayers and financial advisors, highlighting how tax professionals can add value through data-driven guidance without crossing ethical or advisory boundaries. Special attention is given to variables such as Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), Social Security timing, fixed income, and the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) expiration. Attendees will leave equipped with planning tools to assess when conversions are wise, how to quantify tax tradeoffs, and how to collaborate effectively with Certified Financial Planners (CFPs).

Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Analyze the tax implications of Roth conversions for clients over age 65, including impacts on RMDs, Social Security taxation, and tax brackets.
• Identify both ideal and complex client profiles where Roth conversions may offer significant tax savings—or unnecessary costs.
• Communicate effectively with taxpayers and financial advisors to present Roth conversion plans that are supported by data, not personal opinion.
• Recognize the potential pitfalls of Roth conversions, including the risk of overpaying taxes, law changes, death of a spouse, and CFP conflicts, and develop strategies to mitigate these risks.

Details

Instructor

Jared Foos, EA

Duration

100 minutes

Prerequisite

General understanding of federal tax law

Advanced preparation

None

Delivery method

Group Live

Description

(Course description & objectives subject to change with legislation.) Every filing season brings a fresh wave of legislation, revenue procedures, and court decisions that reshape the tax landscape. This annual update distills the most consequential federal changes affecting individuals, businesses, and estates for the 2026 filing year. Real-world examples, and practitioner checklists ensure attendees leave ready to apply the updates on 2026 returns and proactively advise clients for 2027.

INSERT SESSION DESCRIPTION

Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Identify the key statutory changes and new IRS guidance effective for 2026.
• Analyze how recent court cases and IRS rulings alter tax positions on hot-button issues.
• Apply the 2026 inflation-adjusted thresholds (standard deductions, retirement-plan limits, phase-outs, penalty amounts) and new procedural requirements.
• Develop an actionable client communication plan—using checklists and talking points—to implement mid-year tax-planning moves that leverage the new rules while minimizing audit risk.

Details

Instructor

Jared Foos, EA

Duration

100 minutes

Prerequisite

General understanding of federal tax law

Advanced preparation

None

Delivery method

Group Live

Description

A partner's basis in a partnership is a fundamental concept that a􀆯ects loss deductibility, distributions and gain or loss on disposition. However, many partners fail to track their basis properly, leading to reporting issues and potential tax consequences. This session will cover the calculation of a partner's outside basis. You'll learn how to reconstruct basis when records are incomplete using available tax documents such as K-1s, prior tax returns and partnership agreements. By the end of this course, you'll leave equipped to accurately track and restore partner basis, ensuring proper reporting and preventing costly tax errors.

Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Identify the importance of outside basis
• Discover pitfalls of lack of basis
• Determine tools needed to re-create basis
• Develop the correct method to re-create basis

Details

Instructor

Jared Foos, EA

Duration

100 minutes

Prerequisite

General understanding of federal tax law

Advanced preparation

None

Delivery method

Group Live

Description

The Net Investment Income Tax can quietly add 3.8% to a taxpayer’s federal liability—but determining whether the tax actually applies requires more than simply accepting the software calculation. This case-study-based session examines who is subject to NIIT, what income belongs in net investment income, and how the tax is calculated on Form 8960. Through taxpayers with rental-property gains, S corporation income, interest, and significant brokerage gains, attendees will explore the interaction between §1411, trade-or-business status, material participation, passive activity rules, rental activities, and dispositions. Particular attention is given to identifying income that should be included or excluded from Form 8960 and recognizing situations where tax software may require additional practitioner input.N

Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Determine when a taxpayer is subject to NIIT based on modified adjusted gross income and the applicable filing-status threshold.
• Classify common sources of income and gain as included in or excluded from net investment income.
• Evaluate how material participation, passive activity rules, rental activities, and trade-or-business status affect NIIT treatment.
• Calculate and review NIIT using Form 8960 and identify circumstances in which tax software calculations may require practitioner adjustments.

Details

Instructor

Jared Foos, EA

Duration

100 minutes

Prerequisite

General understanding of federal tax law

Advanced preparation

None

Delivery method

Group Live

Description

Every year tax pros feel the pressure and urgency to finish strong by April 15th. This session explores potential areas of weakness, due to time crunch, and lack of information provided by their taxpayers. This session focuses in on repeatable, accurate procedures, and tools to help avoid assumptions that lead to inaccurate returns.

Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Identify common situations that have ethical implications
• Illuminate potential practice management procedures
• Evaluate communication and installation of procedures for staff and clients.

Details

Instructor

Jared Foos, EA

Duration

100 minutes

Prerequisite

General understanding of federal tax law

Advanced preparation

None

Delivery method

Group Live

Description

"To Kill an S-Corp — and Get Away With It, Jessica Fletcher Style" is a practical, step-by-step session on ending an S corporation cleanly without leaving behind the "crime scene" evidence that triggers IRS notices, state correspondence, shareholder surprises, or year-end cleanup nightmares. Using a light investigative theme, this session follows one S corporation from the first client conversation through the final return, liquidation analysis, shareholder basis review, debt cleanup, payroll wrap-up, state dissolution, and closing file documentation. The focus is not just on what forms to file. The focus is on how to tell a coherent final-year story: why the corporation ended, what happened to the assets, how the shareholder was paid out, whether distributions exceeded basis, what happened to remaining liabilities, and whether payroll and fringe benefits were handled before the entity disappeared. The IRS requires a final return for the year a business closes, and the Form 1120-S instructions specifically say that if the corporation's final return is being filed and it will no longer exist, the preparer should check the "Final return" box and also check the "Final K-1" box on each shareholder's Schedule K-1.

Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Differentiate common S corporation endings, including formal dissolution, inactivity, conversion, asset sale, and stock sale, and identify when each path may fit the client's facts and goals.
• Outline the final-year filing roadmap, including the final Form 1120-S package, final Schedule K-1s, shareholder basis workpapers, payroll filings, contractor reporting, and dissolution-related filings.
• Analyze liquidation and final distribution consequences at a planning level, including how shareholder stock basis affects taxability, how corporate asset distributions may trigger gain, and how shareholder loans or corporate liabilities complicate the final year.
• Prevent common S corporation closing mistakes, including excess distributions, unreported shareholder benefits, personal expenses left in the entity, weak payroll cleanup, unsupported loan balances, and missed state dissolution steps.
• Build a repeatable S corporation closing file that documents the client's decision, timeline, filings, asset disposition, shareholder approval, tax treatment, and final client sign-off.

Details

Instructor

Jared Foos, EA

Duration

50 minutes

Prerequisite

General understanding of federal tax law

Advanced preparation

None

Delivery method

Group Live

Description

When a client sells a business, one question can dramatically change the tax result: are they selling the stock or selling the stuff? This session examines the federal tax consequences of stock sales versus asset sales from both the seller’s and buyer’s perspectives. Attendees will explore how entity type, stock and asset basis, purchase-price allocation, depreciation recapture, and gain characterization affect the economics of the transaction. Using practical examples and side-by-side modeling, the session follows business assets through §1231, §1245, §1250, and §197 treatment and demonstrates why an asset sale can produce a very different after-tax result than a stock sale. The session also examines special stock provisions, including §§1244 and 1202, and identifies planning opportunities that should be considered before the purchase agreement is signed.

Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Distinguish between stock and asset sales and explain how transaction structure, entity type, and basis affect the seller and buyer.
• Classify business assets under the appropriate tax rules, including §§1231, 1245, 1250, and 197, and identify potential ordinary-income recapture.
• Analyze purchase-price allocations and build a side-by-side comparison of the seller’s after-tax results under competing transaction structures.
• Evaluate the potential application of special stock provisions, including §§1244 and 1202, when planning or negotiating a business sale.

Details

Instructor

Jared Foos, EA

Duration

100 minutes

Prerequisite

General understanding of federal tax law

Advanced preparation

None

Delivery method

Group Live

Description

Choosing an entity is rarely as simple as comparing tax rates. The right structure depends on the taxpayer’s ownership, profitability, compensation needs, future plans, administrative burden, and overall business goals. This case-study-driven session puts those factors into practice by comparing sole proprietorships and single-member LLCs, partnerships, S corporations, and C corporations. Attendees will work through realistic client situations and evaluate how self-employment and payroll taxes, owner compensation, QBI, fringe benefits, and future business plans can change the recommendation. The goal is not to identify one “best” entity, but to develop a practical framework for determining which structure best fits a particular taxpayer.

Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Compare the primary federal tax characteristics of sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations, and C corporations.
• Evaluate how owner compensation, self-employment or payroll taxes, QBI, and fringe benefits affect entity selection.
• Analyze client-specific facts and identify when an existing business structure may warrant reconsideration.
• Apply an entity-selection framework to case studies and recommend an appropriate tax structure based on the taxpayer’s facts and objectives.

Details

Instructor

Jared Foos, EA

Duration

50 minutes

Prerequisite

General understanding of federal tax law

Advanced preparation

None

Delivery method

Group Live