The TaxScout Blog

Backdoor Roth IRA: How CPAs Execute the Strategy Without Triggering Pro-Rata Tax

High-income clients are phased out of direct Roth contributions in 2026, but the backdoor Roth IRA remains a viable — and powerful — strategy when executed correctly. This guide walks CPAs through the two-step contribution-and-conversion process, the pro-rata rule traps most practitioners miss…

Amended FBAR Procedures: How CPAs Correct Foreign Account Errors Without Triggering Penalties

Most FBAR content covers initial filing. This guide goes deeper — walking CPAs through the exact steps to correct a filed or missed FinCEN 114, choose between delinquent and streamlined procedures, document reasonable cause, and communicate risk exposure to clients without alarming them.

Transparency in Coverage Final Rules: What CPA Firms Must Do Now

Federal regulators published final Transparency in Coverage rules on October 6, 2026, amending price reporting requirements for non-grandfathered group health plans under ERISA, the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code. CPA firms serving S-corps, partnerships, and nonprofits…

Backdoor Roth IRA: How CPAs Execute the Strategy for High-Income Clients

High-income clients are phased out of direct Roth IRA contributions, but the backdoor Roth IRA mechanic keeps the door open — if their CPA executes it correctly. This guide walks through Form 8606 line-by-line mechanics, the pro-rata rule trap, SEP and SIMPLE IRA aggregation issues, and multi-year…

Late Filing Penalty Relief: How CPAs Reduce or Eliminate IRS Failure-to-File Charges

When a client faces IRS failure-to-file penalties, the CPA's first move is rarely obvious — choose wrong between first-time abate and reasonable cause and you may forfeit the stronger argument. This practitioner playbook walks through eligibility rules, FTA stacking limits, documentation strategy…

Medicaid Planning for CPAs: How to Protect Client Assets Before the 5-Year Lookback

Most CPAs treat Medicaid planning as someone else's problem — but by the time the elder law attorney gets the call, the 5-year lookback window may already be closing. This guide walks CPAs through disqualifying transfer rules, exempt asset classifications, spousal impoverishment protections, and…

SALT Deduction Cap Workarounds: How CPAs Reduce State Tax Burden for High-Income Clients

The $10,000 SALT cap continues to punish high-income clients in California, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois — but CPAs have more levers than ever to push back. This guide delivers a tactical playbook covering PTET elections, charitable offset structures, entity restructuring, and multi-state…

Transparency in Coverage Final Rules: What CPA Firms Must Do Now

Federal regulators published final Transparency in Coverage rules on October 6, 2026, amending price reporting requirements under ERISA, the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code. The rules affect non-grandfathered group health plans sponsored by S-corps, partnerships…

Charitable Giving Strategies: How CPAs Reduce Client Tax Liability Beyond Simple Donations

Most charitable giving content covers individual vehicles in isolation. This guide gives CPAs a unified decision framework — matching donor-advised funds, QCDs, appreciated stock donations, and bunching strategies to each client's age, income level, and asset type — with the IRS thresholds and…

Multistate Payroll Tax Compliance: How CPAs Keep Distributed Clients Out of Trouble

Remote work has turned a manageable multistate payroll tax compliance problem into a minefield — and most business clients have no idea how many states are watching. This operational playbook shows CPAs exactly how to audit a client's payroll footprint, navigate withholding registration deadlines…

Multistate Payroll Tax Compliance: How CPAs Handle Remote Employees for Business Clients

Remote work didn't just change where employees sit — it created a patchwork of withholding registrations, SUTA accounts, and reciprocity agreements that CPA firms must actively manage for their business clients. This guide walks through every employer-side trigger, from the first remote hire to a…

Federal Scholarship Tax Credit: What CPA Firms Must Do Now

Treasury released temporary regulations on October 2, 2026 creating a new nonrefundable Federal Scholarship Tax Credit for qualified contributions to scholarship granting organizations starting in tax year 2027. The rules affect individual filers, S-corps, partnerships, and nonprofits in…

Hobby Loss Rules: How CPAs Protect Clients From IRS Section 183 Reclassification

When a client's side hustle posts losses three years running, the IRS starts asking whether it is a real business or a hobby. This guide walks CPAs through the nine Section 183 profit-motive factors, the records to build before filing, and the practice management habits that keep reclassification…

Hobby Loss Rules: How CPAs Protect Clients From IRS Section 183 Disallowance

When a client reports losses from an equestrian operation, a side-hustle Etsy store, or a small farm, the IRS may recharacterize those deductions under Section 183 — eliminating them entirely. This playbook gives CPAs the documentation cadence, nine-factor analysis, and engagement structure to…

Election To Pay in Installments Tax on Gain From Certain Farmland Property: What CPA Firms Must Do Now

The IRS published proposed regulations on September 29, 2026 governing the statutory election to pay in four equal annual installments the tax on gain from selling qualified farmland to a qualified farmer. CPA firms with agricultural clients, land-owning individuals, and pass-through entities…

Multistate Payroll Tax Compliance: How CPAs Manage Withholding for Remote Workers

Remote work has made multistate payroll tax compliance one of the most common—and most misunderstood—issues CPA firms face. This guide walks through reciprocity agreements, nexus-triggering thresholds, the convenience-of-employer doctrine, and the exact workflow steps your firm needs to protect…

Wash Sale Rules: How CPAs Protect Clients From Disallowed Loss Traps

Wash sale rules trip up even experienced CPAs when clients trade frequently, use robo-advisors, or hold crypto. This practitioner guide covers the 30-day mechanics, substantially identical securities tests, post-2025 crypto ambiguity, and how to adjust cost basis on Schedule D without drawing IRS…

Your client portal, on your firm’s domain

Connect your firm’s own domain to the client portal. Here is how to set it up and what your clients will see.

Estate Tax Closing Letter User Fee Update: What CPA Firms Must Do Now

The IRS finalized regulations on September 25, 2026, raising the user fee for requesting an estate tax closing letter (IRS Letter 627). Small and mid-size CPA firms with estate administration clients need to update their engagement scopes, client disclosures, and billing procedures immediately.

K-1 Distribution Timing: How CPAs Set Partner Expectations Before Tax Season Ends

Late Schedule K-1s don't just inconvenience one client — they force extensions up and down your entire 1040 roster. This guide gives CPAs a practical playbook for sequencing K-1 collection, setting delivery SLAs with partnership clients, and building an automated tracking system that stops the…