Individual Strategies

Do your clients ever insist on having you do something that makes you uncomfortable? Do your clients tell you that their previous tax pro always did it this way – and why can’t you just do that, too, without question? Do you know something about your client’s activities that they didn’t disclose? What are you supposed to do?

The trick to any tax preparation or tax planning engagement is to do the work as if you would have to defend it in an audit. And when it comes to an audit, “Google said I could” is about as defensible as saying “I saw it on TikTok,” “I read it on Reddit,” “My cousin's friend said I could,” or the Twinkie Defense. What you need to defend in an audit and win is substantial authority (and really good books and records, but that is a topic for another day). This article provides some tips for conducting tax research that will get you to the authority you need.

The tax law disadvantages gamblers with its treatment of gambling gains and losses. Add that to the fact that gamblers often aren’t the best recordkeepers, and you have a recipe for years of overpaying taxes. How most tax professionals attempt to reconcile gambling reporting on the tax return can cost gamblers thousands of dollars a year in increased taxes and Medicare premiums (if over age 65). We’ll discuss how to calculate gambling gains on the tax return, which in many cases reduces or eliminates the excess taxes many gamblers could pay.

In society, bankruptcy no longer carries the humiliating stigma of failure ; which is why there are hundreds of thousands of bankruptcy filings each year. Interestingly enough, filings have been dropping dramatically since 2018. The total individual and business filings for fiscal year 2022 are nearly half of those from 2018. The statistics don’t include specific information about how much tax debt was extinguished in bankruptcy. Filing bankruptcy is not for everyone. It can be a viable option for those people whose tax debt meets certain criteria. The following is a basic overview of the concept...

Many taxpayers lost substantial amounts of money in the crypto collapse of 2022, but what tax consequences come with that loss? Taxpayers may be expecting to be able to deduct the full amount of their crypto losses, and may, unfortunately, find out it isn’t as straightforward as they would like...

Those of us who are parents of Gen Z children know it’s “no cap ” that we have no clue what our children get up to on the internet. My son, for example, makes a lot of YouTube videos of our cat for some reason. Thankfully, he hasn’t monetized his videos (yet!), so they don’t carry any tax consequences. However, many taxpayers are finding out that their dependents have spent their time in the metaverse, defi gaming, or nfts, and as a result have engaged in dozens to thousands of taxable transactions without even being aware it. Those transactions may also trigger the “Tax on a Child's Investment and Other Unearned Income,” also known as the “Kiddie Tax.” Read on to learn more...

As a proactive client, you often ask your tax professional about the tax effects of taking distributions from your retirement accounts. Unfortunately, it seems that proactive clients are in the minority. More often, your tax professional only learns about your retirement account distribution when the Form 1099-R arrives with your other tax documents. Proactive tax planners can improve their tax savings strategies by asking the when, where, and why that can help reduce negative tax consequences and can make you look like a problem-solving rock star to your clients. Whether you are looking for proactive ideas to implement on your own, or you want to be a problem-solving rock star with your tax planning clients, keep reading to learn how to make smart retirement account distributions.

Four keynote speakers headline the 38th Annual UCLA Tax Controversy Institute this year. It was a terrific opportunity to hear from the top IRS executives, get their perspectives on the past year – and coming policies and programs. And, even, to be able to ask them questions. Keep reading for the in-person account!