Business Taxation

Overview

Americans who want to be their own boss are not entirely on their own. They have a rich uncle - Uncle Sam - who is there to help, as well as to make demands. The nation’s tax laws are intended to encourage people to start new businesses and are chock full of incentives and tax breaks, as well as sometimes onerous reporting requirements. This course is a fast-paced and entertaining guide through tax issues affecting business entities and their owners. The focus of this class is on tax devices and techniques available to the small-business owner. Emphasis will be given to operational deductions, fringe benefits, compensation, family income splitting, retirement plans, and estate planning.

Highlights

• Structure, Reporting & Accounting • Business Income, Credits & Assets • Selected Business Expenses • Employee Compensation & Benefits • Automobiles • Business Travel & Entertainment • Retirement Plans • Insurance • Estate Planning

Designed For

This program is appropriate for professionals at all organizational levels.

Objectives

• Recognize sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations as organizational formats for new and existing businesses. • Identify the various types of income and their implications, including the hidden income tax dangers of cancellation of indebtedness income, tax recoveries, and recapture of depreciation. • Recognize the central importance of 162 in deducting and substantiating business expenses and costs and specify the implications of the deduction timing and limits noting the reporting of deductions for not-for-profit activities. • Specify the common-law rules used by the IRS to determine whether a person is an employee for purposes of FICA, FUTA and federal income tax withholding. • Identify the apportionment of business and personal use of an automobile, including deduction limitations, and specify the various depreciation methods such as MACRS and 179 expensing. • Determine the factors associated with the business purpose requirement noting how they determine deductible expenses for meals and entertainment. • Determine the differences between defined contribution and defined benefit plans noting the different types of plans and their effect on retirement benefits. • Recognize the benefits of company-provided insurance policies by identifying how to qualify for group term life insurance and citing the requirements of retired lives reserve funds and split-life insurance policies. • Recognize the elements of general estate planning such as the unlimited marital deduction, including the qualified terminable interest property trust, stepped-up basis, and modified carryover basis rules.