Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 80, Trust Income Tax — Form 1041 Basics

Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 80, Trust Income Tax — Form 1041 Basics

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 purpose of Form 1041 for reporting income for estates and trusts. - How severely compressed tax brackets cause trust income to be taxed at the highest rates at very low thresholds. - The fundamental pass-through principle: trusts are taxed on retained income, while beneficiaries are taxed on distributed income. - The role of Distributable Net Income (DNI) as a ceiling on both the trust's distribution deduction and the beneficiary's taxable income. - The requirement for most trusts to use a calendar tax year and how Schedule K-1 is used to report income to beneficiaries. 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] 79, Advising Clients on Entity Tax Planning

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: - Why an S corporation is often the optimal choice for a single-owner business aiming to reduce self-employment taxes. - The critical differences in tax treatment for buyers and sellers in asset versus stock acquisitions, and why buyers prefer a stepped-up basis. - How the related-party rules under IRC Section 267 disallow immediate loss recognition on property sales between family members. - Key distinctions between retirement plans like SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and Solo 401(k)s, and which is best for a self-employed individual. - The tax implications of employee classification and why misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor is 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] 78, Estimated Tax Payments — Corporations

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: - C corporations must make estimated tax payments if their expected annual tax is $500 or more. - The four quarterly payment due dates for a calendar-year corporation are April 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15. - Safe harbors to avoid the underpayment penalty include paying 100% of the current year's tax or 100% of the prior year's tax. - A 'large corporation,' with $1M or more in taxable income in any of the three prior years, can only use the prior-year safe harbor for its first installment. - The underpayment penalty for corporations is governed by IRC Section 6655 and payments are figured using Form 1120-W. 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] 77, Schedule M-1 / M-3 Reconciliation

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 purpose of Schedule M-1 and its role in reconciling book income to taxable income for corporations with assets under $10 million. - When the more detailed and complex Schedule M-3 is required for corporations with $10 million or more in assets. - How to properly add back non-deductible expenses, such as federal income tax, to book income. - Why tax-exempt income, like municipal bond interest, is subtracted from book income during the reconciliation. - How to handle the common temporary difference created by using straight-line depreciation for books and accelerated methods (MACRS) for tax. 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] 76, Form 1065 — Partnership Return Filing

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 due date for a calendar-year Form 1065 is March 15th, with a six-month extension available via Form 7004. - Form 1065 is an informational return; tax liability flows through to individual partners via the Schedule K-1. - Separately stated items, like capital gains and charitable contributions, are not part of ordinary business income and are reported directly to partners. - A common exam trap is to incorrectly subtract separately stated items when calculating a partnership's ordinary business income. - Under the BBA audit regime, tax deficiencies are assessed at the partnership level unless a 'push-out' election is made to pass the liability to the partners from the year under review. 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