Individual Strategies

What Clients Should Know About Innocent Spouse Relief

Some clients marry into tax trouble – and then have no clue how to get out. Others are on the cusp of a separation or divorce and want the uncoupling (at least in the eyes of tax authorities) to start ASAP. Few clients who need the IRS tool called “innocent spouse relief” to unshackle themselves from a spouse’s tax mess (either one that spouse brought to the marriage or one they racked up later) seem to know about it. Here’s what to tell such a client about what this relief does and does not cover and what your client will have to prove before they can qualify – as well as how difficult this relief can be to get.

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Think Outside the Tax Box provides tax reduction strategies along with practical implementation advice in order to reduce your clients’ federal tax bill with ease.

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CURRENT EDITION

An Analysis of the OBBBA’s Trump Accounts (Part 1)

Tyler Menzer, CPA, PhD

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025, added a new tax saving tool for minors, the aptly named Trump Accounts. In this article, I go over the details of the new Trump Accounts. In part II, I will discuss some of the potential tax planning opportunities and pitfalls related to the new accounts.

Student Loans After the OBBBA Part 1: New Rules Every Advisor Needs to Know

Caitlin See, MPA

Big changes are coming to the student loan world (yet again), and they’re not the kind you can just skim past. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has reshaped how much students will be able to borrow, how they’ll repay it, and which programs will qualify for federal aid going forward. For financial and tax professionals, these shifts aren’t just policy updates. They’ll set the stage for how you’ll advise clients for years to come… and could even change the way you manage your own student loans. In Part 1 of our OBBBA student loan series, we break down the nuts and bolts of these new rules to help advisors (and borrowers) get some clarity on the collective question: “Seriously, what’s going on with student loans?”

IRS And Courts Have Wisdom to Offer Startup Businesses

Peter J Reilly CPA

There is a wealth of business wisdom in a fairly unlikely area. All the businesses involved lost money, sometimes enormous sums. The source is the litigation and regulation around Code Section 183 of the Internal Revenue Code – Activities not engaged in for profit. In order to deduct those losses against other income, taxpayers need to convince the IRS or the court that they had an honest objective of making a profit. The determination of whether an activity is carried on for profit is made by reference to objective standards. Is it possible that following those standards might contribute to you being profitable? It’s worth thinking about.