Thriving with Less IRS: Smart Self-Help Strategies for Tax Pros
The IRS continues to face significant staffing reductions, leaving tax professionals and taxpayers to rely increasingly on self-help tools and digital services. This session explores practical ways to navigate IRS resource constraints by leveraging online accounts, secure communication platforms, and other technology-driven solutions. Participants will gain strategies to streamline compliance, improve client outcomes, and reduce frustration while maintaining high professional standards. The presentation also highlights external resources — from advocacy groups to professional networks — that can strengthen tax practice in an era of limited IRS capacity.
Planes, Yachts & Automobiles: Depreciation Rules for Listed Property Under IRC §280F
Is that business jet, RV, yacht or luxury automobile really deductible? This course tackles the tricky terrain of listed property depreciation, helping tax professionals navigate IRC §280F with confidence and clarity. Whether your client is flying high, cruising the coast, or hitting the highway, this session will help you determine what qualifies, what doesn’t, and how to keep the IRS at bay.
Unpaid Payroll Taxes: A Time Bomb You Can Defuse
Unpaid payroll taxes and missing payroll tax returns can create the severest of financial pains and result in possible prison time, but most employers are not aware of it until it is too late. It’s a time bomb that will detonate if ignored, leaving its victims devastated from the aftermath. The civil penalties alone can be approximately 50% of the tax due alone and can be assessed personally against the business owner and others. The good news is that the time bomb can be defused if the right actions are taken by the tax professional before it is too late.
Hobby or Hustle? Cracking the §183 Code
This course explores the nine factors the IRS uses to determine whether an activity is engaged in for profit or as a hobby under IRC §183. Drawing on 17 years of experience inside the IRS — including 10 years as a Revenue Agent and 7 as an Appeals Officer — Israel Ostrov offers a clear, insider’s perspective on how to evaluate, document, and defend profit motive. Participants will gain practical tools to apply these principles in audit and advisory settings.
Eat, Drink, and Maybe Deduct: Mastering IRC §274
This session provides a comprehensive analysis of meals and entertainment regulations under IRC §274 as amended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Participants will learn how to identify deductible vs. nondeductible expenditures, interpret the regulatory definitions surrounding “entertainment,” “business associate,” and reimbursement arrangements, and apply the numerous exceptions under IRC §274(e), including compensation, recreational activities, public availability, and goods or services sold to customers. Using examples from the final regulations, we will dissect key distinctions such as separately stated food and beverage costs, employer-provided meals, and the treatment of per diem reimbursements. This course equips practitioners with the technical precision required for compliance, documentation, and audit defense.
Inside Cost Seg: What the IRS Engineer Actually Looks For
This course provides a comprehensive exploration of cost segregation studies from both technical and compliance perspectives, emphasizing what truly distinguishes a high-quality, IRS-defensible report. Drawing from the IRS Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guide (ATG) and the instructor’s experience as a former IRS engineer and Cost Segregation subject matter expert. Participants will gain practical understanding of how to evaluate, perform, and document cost segregation studies. Topics include the fundamentals of cost segregation and depreciation methods, the differences between Section 1245 and 1250 property, and the importance of accurate cost allocations, engineering documentation, and supportable estimates. The course also covers the principal elements of a well-prepared report, common pitfalls that trigger IRS scrutiny, and practical remedies to strengthen study credibility and audit resilience. By the end of this session, tax professionals, engineers, and financial advisors will be equipped to recognize the hallmarks of a quality cost segregation study and avoid costly mistakes in the process.