L. Leon Geyer (geyer@vt.edu), Professor, Agricultural Law, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech
This year we offer three different seminars: 1) Introductory Tax Preparation Seminar 2) General Income Tax Seminar and 3) The new annual filing season program for tax return preparers
1. Introductory Tax Preparation Seminar
Two 1-day seminars offered as live instruction while space is available. These seminars are designed for those who wish to prepare tax returns and will focus on form IRS form 1040. It is designed for those who are new to taxes, or those who simply seek a refresher course.
Those interested can expect two total seminars, one in Richmond and one in Roanoke are held in the second week of January 2015. Please refer to www.tax.vt.edu for more information.
2. General Income Tax Seminar
Two days of intensive study of new tax laws, new cases, and selected topics with farm tax and ethics sessions at selected locations (see Table 2). All details can be found by visiting www.tax.vt.edu or contacting
Income Tax School Registrar, Continuing and Professional Education
702 University City Blvd., Virginia Tech, Mail Code 0272
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Fax: (540) 231-3306 Phone: (540) 231-5182
Email: vttax@vt.edu Web Page: www.tax.vt.edu
Topics Covered in the General Sessions
1. Understand the Affordable Care Act mandates for health insurance for individuals and employers, as well as understand the tax practitioners role in implementing these mandates
2. Verify selected new rulings and cases that were issued from September 2013 through August 2014 by the IRS and the courts.
3. Apply the Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT), including reporting net investment income to and from Schedules K-1.
4. Tax rules to assist the Individual Taxpayer in the following areas:
- Tax Issues for parents of disabled children
- Hobbies
- Dealing with identity theft
- Portability of the estate tax exemption equivalent
- Analyze Business Issues and recommend the appropriate tax treatment for the tax payers in the following areas:
- Uniform Capitalization rules under I.R.C. § 273A.
- Per diem Rules
- Automobiles
- Amending and making late elections
- Startup expenses
- Correction depreciation errors
- Method of accounting
6. A single member LLC as a disregarded entity or an S corporation. They will know how to make the S election, understand adequate compensation, gifting shares to family members, and terminating the S election.
7. Know which key issues the IRS highlights for practioners, including employment tax issues, audit reconsideration, and collection issues.
8. Ethics for the IRS, as well as CPA requirements for ethics.
9. Review what tax practice issues may be encountered by tax preparers, including but not limited to:
- Working with incomplete records
- Pro’s and con’s of extending the statute of limitations
- What triggers an audit
- Power of attorney issues
- How to report tax practioner misconduct
10. Understand Retirement issues that affect tax practioners in the following areas:
- myRA accounts
- Inherited IRA’s
- IRA rollover tax law changes
- Taxable social security benefits
- One-participant 401(k) plans
11. Apply and understand the use of Form 4797 for reporting certain property transactions, including:
- I.R.C. § 1231 treatment
- Casualty gains and losses
- Depreciation recapture
- Installment sales
- Recapture of I.R.C. § 179 deductions
12. Understand the effects of repair and capitalization regulations on small and large businesses and how they are affected differently. They will also know when Form 3117 is not required by small businesses; why a “unit of property” matters; and how rental property is affected.
13. Fiduciary Tax issues including:
- Income Distribution
- Income in respect of a decedent
- Basis of assets for simple estates
14. Foreign Tax Issues: understand common issues tax practitioners face with clients who have foreign income or foreign accounts, including the foreign tax credit and filing requirements for U.S. citizens living abroad.
Topics Covered in the Agricultural and Natural Resource Session
- Allocating crop insurance payment between crop loss and revenue loss
- Christmas trees
- Water issues
- Ethanol credits and carry forwards
- Material participation
- Lease v. purchase of farm assets
3. Annual Federal Tax Refresher course
As of August 1, 2014, The Annual Filing Season Program is a voluntary continuing education program for tax return preparers. Those who complete the program receive an Annual Filing Season Program (AFSP) – Record of Completion. The IRS permits anyone with a Preparer Tax Id Number (PTIN) to prepare tax returns for compensation, but will not allow all unenrolled PTIN holders to represent clients before the IRS. An unenrolled tax return preparer must complete the 6-hour IRS Annual Federal Tax Refresher Course (AFTR), along with additional continuing education to receive an AFSP record of completion.
Our 18 hour program will cover the 11 hours of continued education required for the AFSP. We will offer the 6 hour AFSP course and required test with a shared provider. There will be two options for taking the test:
Option one: you will receive an electronic and a hard copy of the book for $119
Option Two: You will receive an electronic copy of the book for $59
*Both options require you to take an online test. You will have several times to pass the test
Session Dates
| Site | Date General Session 16 hrs. |
Farm Session 2 hrs. |
Ethics Session 2 hrs. |
| Richmond I | November 3-4 | Day 1 | Day 2 |
| Weyers Cave | November 5-6 | Day 1 | Day 2 |
| Abingdon | November 10-11 | Day 1 | Day 2 |
| Lynchburg | November 12-13 | Day 1 | Day 2 |
| Roanoke | November 17-18 | Day 1 | Day 2 |
| Falls Church | November 19-20 | Day 1 | Day 2 |
| Dulles | December 1-2 | none | Day 2 |
| Fredericksburg | December 3-4 | Day 1 | Day 2 |
| Williamsburg | December 8-9 | Day 1 | Day 2 |
| Chesapeake | December 10-11 | none | Day 1 |
| Richmond II | December 15-16 | none | Day 1 |
Calendar 2015
November
3-4 Income Tax Seminar. Richmond I. General Session and Farm Session. Contact Income Tax School Registrar by phone at (540) 231-3306 or by email at vttax@vt.edu.
5-6 Income Tax Seminar. Weyers Cave. General Session and Farm Session. Contact Income Tax School Registrar by phone at (540) 231-3306 or by email at vttax@vt.edu.
10-11 Income Tax Seminar. Abingdon. General Session and Farm Session. Contact Income Tax School Registrar by phone at (540) 231-3306 or by email at vttax@vt.edu.
12-13 Income Tax Seminar. Lynchburg. General Session and Farm Session. Contact Income Tax School Registrar by phone at (540) 231-3306 or by email at vttax@vt.edu.
17-18 Income Tax Seminar. Roanoke. General Session and Farm Session. Contact Income Tax School Registrar by phone at (540) 231-3306 or by email at vttax@vt.edu.
19-20 Income Tax Seminar. Falls Church. Contact Income Tax School Registrar by phone at (540) 231-3306 or by email at vttax@vt.edu.
December
1-2 Income Tax Seminar. Dulles. General Session. Contact Income Tax School Registrar by phone at (540) 231-3306 or by email at vttax@vt.edu.
3-4 Income Tax Seminar. Fredericksburg. General Session and Farm Session. Contact Income Tax School Registrar by phone at (540) 231-3306 or by email at vttax@vt.edu.
8-9 Income Tax Seminar. Williamsburg. General Session and Farm Session. Contact Income Tax School Registrar by phone at (540) 231-3306 or by email at vttax@vt.edu.
10-11 Income Tax Seminar. Chesapeake. General Session. Contact Income Tax School Registrar by phone at (540) 231-3306 or by email at vttax@vt.edu.
15-16 Income Tax Seminar. Richmond II. General Session. Contact Income Tax School Registrar by phone at (540) 231-3306 or by email at vttax@vt.edu.