Wolters Kluwer's Top Federal Tax Issues Course identifies those recent events that have developed into the current “hot" issues of the day. These tax issues have been selected as particularly relevant to tax practice in 2025. They have been selected not only because of their impact on return preparation during the 2025 tax season but also because of the important role they play in developing effective tax strategies for 2025 and beyond.
This module covers tax tips and issues. Topics covered include 1099 essentials, planning for the estate tax exemption cliff, virtual currency, 20 essential tax problem-solving tips, and navigating the top 10 IRS issues for small businesses.
This course is excluded from the following subscription programs:
Value Pass, Self-Study Package, Webinar Package, Self-Study & Webinar Package, and Firm Package.
Publication Date: December 2024
Designed For
CPAs and Tax Professionals
Topics Covered
- 1099 E-Filing Changes
- Forms 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC
- Form W-9
- Validating Data
- Backup Withholding
- Form 1099 Corrections
- B Notice Response Best Practices
- Details of the Estate Tax Cliff
- Using the Exemption Prior to 2026
- Post-Death Tax Mitigation
- What is Virtual Currency?
- Form 1040 Digital Assets Question
- Key Concepts and Vocabulary
- IRS Guidance and Compliance Efforts
- Tax Principles for Virtual Currency
- Common Cryptocurrency Transactions
- FinCEN and Form 8938
- Virtual Currency Best Practices
- Top 20 IRS Tax Problem-Solving Tips
- IRS Audit Issue #1: Unreported Income
- IRS Audit Issue #2: Code Sec. 183 Hobby Loss Rules
- IRS Audit Issue #3: S Corporation Reasonable Compensation
- IRS Audit Issue #4: S Corporation Losses in Excess of Basis
- IRS Audit Issue #5: Construction Industry
- IRS Audit Issue #6: Employee vs. Independent Contractor
- IRS Audit Issue #7: Form 1099-K
- IRS Audit Issue #8: Form 1099 Noncompliance
- IRS Audit Issue #9: IRS Package Audits
- IRS Audit Issue #10: Penalties
Learning Objectives
- Recognize what you are required to report on Form 1099 and when those payments are reportable
- Identify Form 1099-NEC/MISC boxes
- Describe what information a payer needs from a payee to properly report a payment
- Recognize how to use the W-9 to collect the correct information and when you are required to obtain a signed W-9
- Identify how to use the IRS TIN Matching program and how it can help ensure the information you have is correct
- Identify the changes implemented by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) to the basic exclusion amount and the impact on taxpayers when the exclusion returns to pre-TCJA levels
- Describe the potential types of transfers that a taxpayer should consider to lock in the increased exclusion and powers to avoid inclusion in the gross estate
- Identify gifting transactions and the pros and cons related to various gifting scenarios
- Recognize tax-saving opportunities and clients who should consider large gifts before 2026
- Identify the basic exclusion amount for deaths occurring in 2024
- Identify virtual currency
- Identify and translate cryptocurrency’s vocabulary
- Identify IRS notices, revenue rulings, and FAQs concerning cryptocurrency
- Identify the 18 tax principles for virtual currency
- Recognize common cryptocurrency tax events
- Identify FinCEN regulations regarding virtual currency
- Identify Form 8938 requirements
- Recognize how to formulate best practices concerning virtual currency
- Recognize what to include in an engagement letter for a tax practice
- Recognize trends in current IRS compliance enforcement programs
- Identify the most common tax problems facing taxpayers and solutions that are commonly used to resolve these problems
- Recognize how to follow the three-step tax problem-solving process to effectively resolve a client’s tax problem
- Identify how to set up a firm to be proactive in resolving client IRS post-filing issues and notices
- Identify tips that will increase client retention
- Recognize the top 10 IRS audit issues for small businesses
- Identify why the IRS audits these issues
- Describe how to mitigate the risk of an IRS audit, as well as how to prepare for an IRS audit
- Recognize the consequences if an IRS tax deficiency arises involving one of the top 10 IRS audit issues
- Identify the largest component of the tax gap
Level
Intermediate
Instructional Method
Self-Study
NASBA Field of Study
Taxes (9 hours)
Program Prerequisites
A basic understanding of estate tax will be helpful before taking this course.
Advance Preparation
None
Instructors
A.J. Reynolds
Recipient of the 2024 Excellence in Education Award from the National Association of Enrolled Agents.
A.J. Reynolds, EA has over thirty years of experience encompassing various areas of taxation. Though his practice centers on Individual, Business, and Estate Tax preparation, A.J. focuses a portion of his practice to IRS Representations. As diverse as his specializations, A.J.’s clientele, too, ranges from average workers to Fortune 500 executives. Additionally, A.J volunteers his time with the Iowa Legal Aid’s Managing Attorney assisting in Tax Court cases and assorted income tax issues.
A.J. brings his everyday “in the trenches” experience to seminars and webinars for multiple organizations to assist attendees with real issues affecting tax professionals.
A.J. started his tax career with a national CPA firm in San Diego, CA after proudly serving for five years in the United States Navy onboard the Guided Missile Destroyer USS Callaghan. While onboard the destroyer, the ship executed many missions in the Straits of Hormuz off the coast of Iran.
Outside of his tax practice, A.J. is a member of the Diocese of Sioux City Priests’ Pension & Welfare Board and the Investment Advisory Board for the Diocese. When not working, his time is spent in various activities, including traveling with his wife and their two children.
Jim Buttonow
Jim Buttonow, CPA, CITP, has been a leader in helping taxpayers and tax professionals resolve tax problems with the IRS.
For 19 years, Jim worked at the IRS in various compliance enforcement positions. Since 2006, Jim has been in private practice and tax and accounting software development. Jim consulting practice focuses on the areas of tax controversy and tax administration. Jim led product development and marketing for a successful software company that developed tax problem software for tax professionals and has developed and implemented post-filing tax services to large tax providers, such as H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt. This software is currently being used by tens of thousands of tax professionals and businesses in the United States.
Jim has been an IRS partner in improving IRS operations and post-filing service to taxpayers. Jim served as chairperson of the IRS Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) in 2015 and 2016 during which ETAAC played a central role in promoting the IRS digital strategy to develop transformative technology solutions to systemic challenges in tax administration. Jim also served as the North Carolina representative on the IRS’ Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) from 2020-2022.
Jim regularly speaks on areas of tax administration and problem solving to national associations and has testified before Congress in areas of tax administration. He has also published many articles in industry publications. In his articles, Jim focuses on delivering practical insights, advocating for IRS transparency and efficiency, and proposing innovative large-scale solutions for taxpayers and tax professionals.
Jim currently authors the Tax Problems and Solutions Handbook, a publication aimed at helping tax pros work more effectively in post-filing matters and resolving their clients’ most common tax problems. The book can be found online at TaxProblemsHandbook.com. Jim can be reached at Jim@buttonowcpa.com or at his website at buttonowcpa.com.
Klaralee R. Charlton
Klaralee Charlton is a Partner at 3i Law in Denver, Colorado. She practices fiduciary tax, estate administration, and business transactional law. As part of her practice, she guides clients through the process of administering a loved one’s estate including the collection, valuation, management and transfer of assets including financial accounts, real estate, and business interests with a focus on minimizing estate and income tax liability. Klaralee also works closely with trustees of ongoing trusts to ensure compliance and prepares clients’ fiduciary income tax returns annually.
Klaralee has written and lectured on topics including estate and gift tax, fiduciary income tax reporting and U.S. regulations governing the valuation of small family businesses. She is an active member of the Colorado Bar Association, Tax Section and Adjunct Profession at the University of Denver, Graduate Tax Program.
She earned her J.D. in 2011 from the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law, her LL.M. in Tax Law from the University of Denver in 2013, and her B.A. in political science in 2009 from Bryn Mawr College. She is admitted to practice in both Colorado and Montana.
Steven D. Mercatante
Steven Mercatante is the principal and founder of TIR Consulting, LLC. He is a nationally recognized leader in tax reporting education and consulting on specialized compliance issues. He has conducted on-site consultation for corporate clients from across the world and led countless seminars and webinars for Convey Compliance Systems, IAPP, Balance Consulting, The Accounts Payable Network, Accounts Payable Now and Tomorrow, Progressive Business Conferences, The Center for Competitive Management, and more.
He is also a published author, with numerous articles published on tax and financial law, and he has authored and published a series of tax guides on topics such as: W-9/1099 & W-8/1042-S compliance and reporting, payment cards, U.S. State & Local Reporting, worker compensation issues, international tax compliance, and more.
Susan Harper
Susan Harper, Certified Fraud Examiner, began her career as an Internal Revenue Agent with the Internal Revenue Service in 1988. She joined the first Abusive Tax Avoidance Transaction group in 2002 before becoming a Fraud Enforcement Advisor in 2008 through 2021 where she helped other auditors, who identified first indicators of fraud in their examinations. Later, Susan joined Research, Applied Analytics, and Statistics in 2021 and recently retired as the Technical Advisor to the Chief Operating Officer. Susan has been instructing CPE seminars for 25 years and looks forward to interacting with her audience for many years to come.