Surgent's Preparing Individual Tax Returns for New Staff and Paraprofessionals

Overview

The objective of this course is to train new staff accountants, data processing employees, paraprofessionals, and bookkeepers to prepare a moderately complex federal individual income tax return (Form 1040). Over the years, thousands of new staff have received practical, hands-on experience to become familiar with tax forms. This course covers the latest tax law changes, making it essential for your new staff.

Highlights

Comprehensive coverage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and The SECURE Act 2.0
Preparation of various Form 1040 individual tax returns and schedules; provided answers include “filled-in” forms
Coverage of Form 7203
Coverage of §199A qualified business income, its calculation, limitations, and examples
Dividends and interest – Ordinary, return of capital, and capital gain distribution dividends; tax-exempt interest, original issue discount, etc.
Security transactions – From Form 1099-B to Form 8949 to Schedule D, plus mutual fund sales and related basis issues
Self-employed person issues
Schedule C deductions including depreciation
Sale and exchange of property – Understanding Form 4797 and depreciation recapture; capital gains
A working understanding of passive losses – How to handle rental property and how the passive loss rules flow to the tax forms
Itemized deductions – A thorough understanding of what’s deductible and what’s not
Interest deductions – Limitations and timing problems
Charitable contributions substituting for taxes, IRS says – No!
Retirement contributions and education credits and deductions
Tax computations – The Kiddie Tax, AMT, regular tax, tax credits
Individual problems illustrated by form preparation for various items, with numerous “practice tips”
Impact of recent legislation and forms changes on the 1040

Prerequisites

None

Designed For

New staff and paraprofessionals who prepare individual returns

Objectives

Learn complicated issues of filing status and dependency exemptions
Learn about Schedules A, B, C, D, E, and SE; Forms 8867, 4797, and 4562; passive rules and more
Complete comprehensive problems related to Schedules A, C, and D; QBI, 4797, 6251, and more, all with “filled-in” forms
Learn about IRA contributions, self-employed retirement plans, child-care credits, and the adoption tax credit