Finance Exam Prep

Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 26, S Corporation Stock Basis vs Debt Basis

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 precise ordering for deducting S corp losses: first against stock basis to zero, then against debt basis. - Why a shareholder loan guarantee does NOT create debt basis, while a direct loan does. - The reverse ordering for basis restoration: net income restores debt basis first, then stock basis. - How to calculate deductible and suspended losses using a concrete, multi-year example. - A mnemonic to remember the ordering rules: SDL-RDS (Stock-Debt for Losses, Restoration-Debt-Stock). 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] 25, S Corporation — Eligibility and Election (Form 2553)

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: - An S corp must be a domestic entity with no more than 100 shareholders, counting all members of a family as a single shareholder. - Only U.S. individuals, estates, and certain trusts are eligible shareholders; corporations, partnerships, and non-resident aliens are prohibited. - S corporations can only have one class of stock, which means identical rights to distributions and liquidations, though differences in voting rights are permitted. - The S corp election on Form 2553 must be filed by the 15th day of the third month of the tax year to be effective for that year, and requires unanimous shareholder consent. - Relief for a late election is available under Revenue Procedure 2013-30 if there was reasonable cause for the failure to file on time. 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] 24, C Corp Liquidation — §331 and §336

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 shareholders calculate capital gain or loss on a complete liquidation under §331. - How corporations recognize gain or loss on distributed property as if sold at FMV under §336. - Why C Corp liquidations result in a double tax, hitting both the corporation and the shareholder. - The critical exam distinction between liquidating distributions (gains and losses recognized) and non-liquidating distributions (gains only). - How liabilities assumed by a shareholder affect the gain/loss calculation for both the shareholder and the corporation. 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] 23, C Corp Distributions — Dividends, ROC, Capital Gain

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 three-tier system for C Corp distributions: Dividend, Return of Capital, and Capital Gain. - The critical ordering rule for applying current and accumulated Earnings & Profits (E&P). - How to handle distributions when current E&P is positive but accumulated E&P is negative. - The correct tax treatment when current E&P is negative, requiring proration against positive accumulated E&P. - The "D-R-C" mnemonic to remember the distribution characterization sequence for the exam. 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] 22, Section 1202 Qualified Small Business Stock

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 five critical requirements for stock to qualify as QSBS: C-Corp, original issuance, under $50M in assets, active business, and a 5-year holding period. - How to calculate the maximum gain exclusion, which is limited to the greater of $10 million or 10 times the stock's basis. - Common exam traps such as S-Corp stock, secondary market purchases, and significant stock redemptions. - Which types of businesses, like specific professional services, are excluded under the 'active business' requirement. - How the stock's acquisition date determines the gain exclusion percentage, which can be 50%, 75%, or 100%.