Eva Rosenberg, EA CTC, Author at Think Outside the Tax Box

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT

Eva Rosenberg, EA CTC

Eva Rosenberg is the Internet’s TaxMama®. She answers tax questions, provides a free daily TaxQuips podcast and weekly Ask TaxMama® ezine, and a wealth of resources to help folks like you deal with your personal and business tax issues at www.TaxMama.com.

Eva was a syndicated national columnist, writing a tax column for Dow Jones’ www.MarketWatch.com for nearly 15 years. She is a best-selling, award-winning author of several books, including the 4th edition of Small Business Taxes Made Easy, due out in March 2020.

She teaches tax law and representation to tax professionals at TaxMama’s EA Exam Review Course www.IRSExams.school

A popular speaker at tax workshops for Internet businesses, organizations, and tax professionals, Eva helps you see the fun side of taxes and the IRS, while saving you buckets of money. After all these years, if TaxMama® doesn’t know the loopholes, who does?

TaxMama® is a favorite tax guest of radio show hosts around the country, because she’s usually got an interesting and helpful twist on tax laws and strategies – and what a voice!

Oh yes, credentials – my bona fides!

BA in Accounting

MBA in International Business

Enrolled Agent credential – authorized to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service

READ MORE BY Eva Rosenberg, EA CTC

Yes, Virginia, There is a Tax Bankruptcy!

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…

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What Would You Do? A Fun, But Serious Ethics Quiz

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?

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Reporting Cannabis on a Federal Return: A Very Basic Primer

You can find new cannabis dispensaries or head shops on every corner in my neighborhood. But purchase and sale of marijuana has not been legalized on the federal level. What’s an ethical tax professional to do, when your client walks in with the news that they’ve started a cannabis business in your state? Read on to find out!

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Quick Guide to Claiming Work-From-Home COVID-19 Expenses to Reduce Your Tax Bill

This information is particularly important if you are the owner/shareholder of your own corporation – C or S corp. You can set up payroll and designate tax-free reimbursements for you to be working at home – as well other tax-free money for you and for your employees. (We will discuss employees momentarily. Yes, it’s essential.)

If being an employee is your main source of income – watch out! The short answer to employees claiming an office in home deduction this year is…

There is no deduction!

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No One Wants to Pay SE Taxes on Royalties

Most of the Tax Code is “gray.” No, I don’t mean the color font it is written in. Unlike a lot of rules, the Tax Code is difficult to judge what is right and wrong. Perhaps it has to be written this way because to try and define every possible money situation is unfeasible. Perhaps, the writers like it this way because as we’ve said here many times at Think Outside the Tax Box, the gray area provides opportunity for tax savings.

Take for example the official Tax Code definition of taxable income. Rather than affirmatively define it, the authors chose to negatively define it. Generally, an amount is part of taxable income unless the law specifically exempts it.

Certain types of income get taxed twice. If, for example, you are subject to net investment income tax, you’ll not only pay income or capital gains tax, but an additional tax, as well. The same is true for royalty income.

In some instances, it is necessary to pay income tax and self-employment tax on royalty checks you receive. To take advantage of breaks we must examine what loopholes or gray areas exist for royalties, and more importantly, how can you shield it from as much tax as possible.

Continue reading to learn how.

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Is Your Spouse Innocent or Injured? Part One: The Injured Spouse

Jack and Jill went up the hill
to have a lovely wedding
Jack fell down and broke his crown
When Jill learned all his tax debts

That pretty much describes the origin of the taxes faced by an injured spouse: The taxpayer was not married to that spouse at the time he or she incurred the tax obligation or it was assessed or did not sign the tax return where the balance due originated.

In other words, it was never the injured spouse’s debt or obligation in the first place.

What kinds of debts or taxes might the IRS collect (or “offset”) that would affect the injured spouse’s refund?

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Is Your Spouse Innocent or Injured? Part 2: The Innocent Spouse

Jack Sprat did pay no tax.
His wife paid all of hers.
But when they filed a joint return,
She learned she owed all of his!

This is the heart of the innocent spouse!

The innocent spouse filed a joint return with a balance due – but didn’t really create the tax obligation. S/he did everything right, paid all the proper withholding or estimated tax payments. Yet, s/he suddenly finds out that the spouse has a balance due and doesn’t have the money to pay it all.

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Do Your Clients Know Their Own Business Entity?

Have you been working with a partnership client or Schedule C client for a couple of years, only to find out: “Oh, by the way, we incorporated two years ago?” Or the taxpayer brings you a notice for non-filing penalties on the partnership or S corporation you didn’t know existed?

When you are working with existing business clients for several years, you are not concerned about their prevailing business structure. After all, if you have been filing the wrong entity’s tax return, you would have been alerted by now. Right?
As it turns out, not always.

When you find out about the error, your gut reaction is that it’s your fault. Is your errors and omissions insurance (or malpractice insurance) up to date? Take a deep breath; it’s not your fault. Probably. Let’s keep reading and find out.

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10 Reasons Your Clients Should Get a Tax Divorce

As a married individual, you can select a tax filing status as either married filing jointly or married filing separately, and in some cases neither of these statuses achieve what is possible for two single taxpayers each filing their own tax return. In many cases it can seem you are getting penalized for being married in the U.S.

You may get frustrated that you seem to keep getting hit with “wealth taxes or penalties.” Of course, you may not refer to it that way. But when you see things like the Alternative Minimum Tax, The Net Investment Income Tax, the Additional Medicare Tax, and a whole variety of other taxes that are higher for married filers than they are for two single people…you may be tempted to think about a divorce.

And “live in sin”?

No matter your personal beliefs there are at least 10 tax attributes that cost married filers more than two single people. In some instances, children are in the mix, as they relate to specific credits. Some of these situations only apply to wealthy couples. Some only apply to those earning $50,000 or less or seniors.

These attributes, commonly known as the so-called “marriage penalty” refer to situations where it may pay to file as two single individuals rather than as a married couple. However to qualify, you cannot legally be married as of December 31.

To learn more about these penalties and find out how to work around them, continue reading.

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CURRENT EDITION

Summertime Marketing in Your Tax & Accounting Firm

Tax season is prosperous, summer is dry until extension season. Do you find yourself in that cycle? Clients are “easy” to get during tax season when taxes are top of mind. Then the direct deposits go dry by June, and you are looking for what’s next. Stop the search, you don’t have to add another service. You need better marketing to highlight the service that you offer and specialize in. This will allow you to have a predictable client pipeline. You can do tax preparation, planning, and or representation all year long.

Observations on the House-Passed OBBB

This article focuses on the OBBB from the House offering a variety of observations to help understand the range of changes, relevance to compliance and planning, process considerations and some unexpected provisions. While the final OBBB will not include all of the House provisions or will modify some of them, there are lessons to learn to understand the tax legislation process and results now and in the future.

Client Retention as a Prospecting Strategy: Turning Current Clients into Referral Sources

In the competitive accounting world, where trust and reliability are paramount, client retention is not just a success metric—it’s a vital strategy for sustainable growth. For Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), accountants, and bookkeepers, maintaining a solid relationship with existing clients can unlock new business opportunities, turning satisfied clients into powerful referral sources.

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  • Maximize Your Tax Deductions on Business Repairs

    When you own business properties, they will occasionally require repairs; that’s just a fact of business ownership. So, whether you need to make repairs on your place of business or your rental buildings, keep these simple truths in mind: You can either increase your net worth with tax-favored repairs, or you can decrease your net worth with tax-impaired improvements. Which would you prefer?

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    Client Alert

    Beyond Borders: Essential Tax Planning Insights for Advising Foreign-Invested Partnerships

    Cross-border ventures can unlock exciting destinations for growth and investment, but they also come with some heavy-duty baggage -- think IRS paperwork, withholding headaches, and estate tax landmines. If you're a tax planner gearing up for this global expedition (especially if it's your first trip), this guide is your passport to smoother travels.

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    TAX COURT ROUNDUP – June 2025

    A mix of old and new this month, obvious miscues and arcane strategies, an old protester/defier, and the perennial discovery jousts.

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    Networking Events for CPAs: Making the Most of Conferences and Seminars

    Networking is vital to any profession and is no different for us Certified Public Accountants (CPAs). Attending conferences and seminars can be a game-changer, offering opportunities to learn, connect, and grow your professional network. These events are not just about business but also about personal and professional growth. However, to truly benefit from these events, it's essential to have a strategy in place.

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    Beyond Numbers: How Post-Cognitive Accountants Transform the 1040 into a Portal of Profound Insights

    In an era where Artificial Intelligence (AI) effortlessly handles the computational heavy lifting of tax preparation, the role of the accountant is evolving into something far more profound. The Post-Cognitive Accountant emerges not as a number cruncher but as a holistic advisor, transforming mundane tax documents into gateways of deep personal and financial insight. The once straightforward Form 1040 is now a rich tapestry, each box a doorway into the unique narrative of an individual's life. Let's embark on a journey through the 1040, reimagined as a portal to new dimensions of understanding and opportunity.

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    Tax Tips for Families Affected by Disability: What More People Should Know

    There are a few tax tips for people with disabilities that I think are not as well-known as they should be. They can also be applicable to their parents or others who care about them. This is not meant to be a comprehensive treatment of all aspects of how taxation and disability interact. Rather it is to alert you to some things I think should be more widely known. One thing to keep in mind is that some of the parents and grandparents of disabled adults don’t necessarily share this part of their personal life, so you may be surprised at how this information might be valuable and appreciated by some of your clients.

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    Client Alert

    Helping Elderly Clients Avoid Tax Scams

    Taxes are scary enough, even without the threat of scammers involved. While technology has in some ways made taxes easier than ever, like any tool ever invented by humans, these new technologies have also become the plaything of scammers looking to pull off cons. Elderly clients who often have large life savings can be easy targets for scams, whether because of social isolation or emotional and cognitive problems, or maybe just because they didn’t keep up with the latest IRS or FBI warnings about being careful on the internet. Some elderly victims learn too late that it takes serious effort to resolve thefts of money – and potentially years to fix identity theft. These clients need to be extra vigilant. Here’s what to tell them.

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    Client Alert

    Client Retention as a Prospecting Strategy: Turning Current Clients into Referral Sources

    In the competitive accounting world, where trust and reliability are paramount, client retention is not just a success metric—it's a vital strategy for sustainable growth. For Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), accountants, and bookkeepers, maintaining a solid relationship with existing clients can unlock new business opportunities, turning satisfied clients into powerful referral sources.

    Read More
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