Finance Exam Prep

Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 68, Research and Development Credit (§41)

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - Post-2021, §174 R&D costs must be capitalized and amortized over 5 years for domestic research or 15 years for foreign research. - The §41 credit is calculated on Qualified Research Expenses (QREs), such as wages and supplies, but excludes costs like research after commercial production begins. - Claiming the R&D credit requires you to reduce your otherwise allowable deduction for those same research expenses by the amount of the credit. - A Qualified Small Business may elect to use the R&D credit to offset payroll taxes. - To be a Qualified Small Business for the payroll tax offset, the business must have less than $5 million in gross receipts and be in its first five years of having gross receipts. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 67, W-2 Wage and UBIA Limitation for QBI

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - How to calculate the two separate QBI limitations for high-income taxpayers with non-SSTB businesses. - The specific formula: the QBI deduction is limited to the greater of (a) 50% of W-2 wages or (b) 25% of W-2 wages plus 2.5% of UBIA. - A critical exam trap: always use the Unadjusted Basis Immediately after Acquisition (UBIA), not the depreciated or adjusted basis of property. - The key difference between the limitation for a non-SSTB and the complete disallowance of the QBI deduction for a high-income SSTB owner. - A mental shortcut for remembering that the UBIA part of the formula is designed to benefit capital-intensive businesses. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 66, QBI Phase-out and SSTB Limitations

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The definition of a Specified Service Trade or Business (SSTB) for the QBI deduction. - The specific 2025 taxable income thresholds that trigger the QBI phase-out rules. - How to calculate the proportional phase-out of the QBI deduction for an SSTB within the income limitation range. - The key difference in how limitations apply to SSTBs versus non-SSTBs once income exceeds the initial threshold. - Why the SSTB QBI deduction is completely disallowed once taxable income surpasses the top of the phase-out range. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 65, Section 199A QBI Deduction Overview

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The QBI deduction offers up to a 20% deduction on income from pass-through entities like sole proprietorships, S-corps, and partnerships. - For 2024, the deduction is simplest for taxpayers with taxable income below $191,950 (Single) or $383,900 (Married Filing Jointly). - Above these income thresholds, the deduction for Specified Service Trades or Businesses (SSTBs) like law and accounting is phased out and eventually eliminated. - For non-SSTBs above the income thresholds, the deduction is limited by a formula based on W-2 wages and the unadjusted basis of business property. - A final overall limit applies: the QBI deduction cannot exceed 20% of taxable income minus net capital gains, a common exam trap. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 64, Excess Business Losses — §461(l)

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - How to calculate an excess business loss using the inflation-adjusted thresholds for different filing statuses. - That any disallowed excess business loss is treated as a Net Operating Loss (NOL) carryforward to subsequent tax years. - The critical ordering rule: basis, at-risk, and passive activity loss limitations must be applied before the §461(l) limitation. - Why you must aggregate all trade or business income and losses before comparing the net amount to the annual threshold. - How the excess business loss limitation applies only to noncorporate taxpayers and is calculated on Form 461. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep